Hyundai sees room for more U.S. market share gains

[doh]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articl...mktNews&rpc=44

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Aug 10 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co. Ltd. (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) has room to grow its share of the U.S. auto market, with research showing almost a quarter of new car buyers considering the South Korean brand, an executive said on Thursday.

Hyundai U.S. sales have risen 5 percent so far in 2006, putting the company behind only Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T: Quote, NEWS, Research) and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (7267.T: Quote, NEWS, Research) in sales gains. The company ended 2005 with a 3 percent share of the U.S. market.

John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America vice president for product development and strategic planning, said that the number of U.S. car shoppers who indicated that they would consider Hyundai had more than doubled from 11 pct in 2003 to 23 pct now.

"It's difficult to say, that this is the fastest it's ever been done in the industry, but we've not found another brand that's done it faster in our research," he said. "This is extremely important for us ... This 23-percent shopping list level that we've got gives us some headroom to drive future sales increases."


Hyundai posted 26 pct annual growth between 1998 and 2005, making the automaker the fastest to go from sales of 100,000 units per year to 400,000.

Hyundai's sales gains have come as the company has improved the quality of its products. Krafcik said the warranty cost of the average vehicle had been cut almost in half between 2003 and 2006.

In a major upset, Hyundai also eclipsed Toyota in the 2006 initial quality survey conducted by market research firm J.D. Power and Associates to become the highest-ranked non-luxury auto brand.

Hyundai announced on Thursday that its new crossover vehicle would be named the Veracruz, a slight twist on the convention the Korean company has established by naming its U.S. models after cities in the Southwest.

"We didn't like the sound of Flagstaff," said Krafcik, who was speaking at an industry conference here.

Hyundai has said recently that it was considering launching a performance car and entering the increasingly crowded market for pickup trucks.

Krafcik declined to comment on Thursday on when or whether Hyundai would enter the luxury market.

[56 Starchief]

theyre already showing signs of weakness with the Sonata sales...

i think theyre getting overeager.

[paul3230]

I think so too...they're really aggressive..but I think that will hurt them in the end.

[nadepalma]

Originally Posted by doh

Hyundai announced on Thursday that its new crossover vehicle would be named the Veracruz, a slight twist on the convention the Korean company has established by naming its U.S. models after cities in the Southwest.

I thought that Veracruz was in Mexico no? Is that what the "slight twist" is all about? Interesting.

^^^I agree...they may be getting a bit over zealous here. Who knows if it can be sustained.

[tgagneguam]

Funny how they mention Hyundai's IQS study in support of its great (ahem) qaulity but then forget to mention how Hyundai/Kia traditionally has done poorly in 3-year dependability studies, including this year; both Hyundai and Kia continue to suck.

I, for one, hope Hyundai/Kia overstretches its reach, much like Mitsubishi did several years ago with its rapidly increasing sales. And while each companies' gains were based on different strategies, I'm hoping that nonetheless Hyundai/Kia does a face plant, again, much like Mitsubishi did just several years ago.

[asim]

Originally Posted by paul3230

I think so too...they're really aggressive..but I think that will hurt them in the end.

You think so? Maybe later on, much later on.

[hunchman]

.......as long as americans continue to hate american made cars (gm ford and chrysler) hyundai and others will gobble up more and more market share

[MrMax]

I've got no problem with Hyundai. But they need to keep their place close in mind. Unforunately from how they sound, they're starting to drink the Kool-Aid the media makes.

[Z28x]

As long a people want cheap cars with 100,000 warranties that don't cover very much they should do fine.

[Kennyboy]

Originally Posted by Z28x

As long a people want cheap cars with 100,000 warranties that don't cover very much they should do fine.

X marks the spot.

Lately, I'm starting to see older people driving hyundais and Kias. People want cheap cars with 100,000, then let them.

[cfch3399]

I don't know. With them and everyone else trying to move upscale they lose one of their selling points which is cheap cars. With the growth that Toyoduh is experiencing there's not gonna be much room for anyone else as the declining sales of Datsun show.

[ghughes]

MY ONLY prob. with them is that the koreans have a 98% domestic car share - like Japan, they export, only.

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by Kennyboy

X marks the spot.

Lately, I'm starting to see older people driving hyundais and Kias. People want cheap cars with 100,000, then let them.

GM would be wise to mimick this warranty. GM's reliability is probably at least equal to Hyundai's.

[Geotpf]

Originally Posted by ghughes

MY ONLY prob. with them is that the koreans have a 98% domestic car share - like Japan, they export, only.

They are actually worse than the Japanese in this regard, IMHO. For example, at one point people who owned foreign cars always seemed to get thier income taxes audited, although I think that policy has changed.

Of course, GM owns a "domestic" brand there, so such protectionism is actually a plus for GM at this point, in a way.

[t-rex]

Even with no tariffs or limitations on imports, I believe Koreans would still overwhelmingly prefer domestic cars. Like Japan and Germany (both free markets), domestic cars take a huge bite of the market because of either nationalistic ideas, or the simple fact that their domestic makers tailor the products and create a product line that suits the demands of the local market. Using Japan as an example, probably 2/3rds of the products produced there are not exported at all, because they have little appeal to buyers outside of Japan. I doubt Mitsubishi eK's, Toyota Alphards, and Nissan Stageas would find many buyers in either Europe or North America. The situation is similar in Korea, and a cursory glance at Korean maker's offerings show some oddball MPVs and chrome-laden luxury barges that in general aren't exported.