For those who plead Hyundai to introduce a luxury brand for countless years, the wish has been granted - that is, if you reside in China. As a chiefly move to improve the image of the brand in the country, Hyundai will launch a premium brand as early as 2010. "We are refurbishing our brand image in China," says Young-Key Koo, chief representative of Hyundai Motor China for sales and marketing.
Launching a high-end automaker is more than difficult when the words "economical" and "affordable" dominate the minds of consumers in China regarding the brand. Hyundai's strong sellers in China are the Elantra and Sonata. The two models are also widely used in taxi fleets across the country, with the former being the second most popular next to the Volkswagen Santana. In an effort to improve the brand image, Hyundai will remove a few of its low-priced models - the most significant being the Matrix. In turn, Hyundai will launch the Rohens (Genesis in other markets) in April. The Genesis Coupe will replace the Coupe in October with a higher price tag. A refreshed Santa Fe and Azera will also debut in China for 2009.
[Source: China Daily via Gasgoo.com]
Article continued after the jump
Hyundai also plans to introduce a luxury model more expensive than the Rohens - this one packing a larger 4.8L V8. A crossover is also scheduled to be released. Hyundai vows to continuously bring out premium cars to reinforce its brand image. 2010 is the year Hyundai is slated to launch its luxury brand, along the lines of Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti.
Immediate efforts to ameliorate the brand's perception have commenced already. The company's advertising budget was increased 60 percent in 2007. The number of dealerships in the country have grown from 23 to 42. Since September of 2007, Hyundai has vowed to recuperate on the 4 S's - sales, service, spare parts and survey stores. Plans to renovate its dealerships into more upscale environments have undergone.
Hyundai is gaining territory in one of the largest markets for the automaker. But, what about us folks in North America? Speculations point to the introduction of the premium-oriented brand in our continent as well. It is only a matter of Hyundai whipping up official word on that. And, if you haven't noticed, Hyundai has already showed signs of image improvement on our shores despite the monotonous sales numbers. How about those monotonous sales numbers? Well, Hyundai has plans to release more models throughout the decade and as you know, each redesign released by them seem to only improve upon its predecessors. That already, ipso facto, is a sign that points Hyundai to a brighter outlook in the years to come.
