At a time when the American automobile industry is a
shambles, South Korean auto major Hyundai Motor seems to be
gaining in pace with deft marketing strategies and broad-based initiatives to
improve quality. It is smartly using the difficult industry situation as a good
opportunity to enter into the league of big auto makers in the world. Aided by
its inherent strength of strong lineup of small cars, weak won and strong
marketing push, Hyundai has emerged as a winner during these times of
industry slump.
In 2008—an unkind year for the automakers—Hyundai's global
unit sales went up by 2%, pushing its revenues up by 5%. In the first quarter
of 2009, Hyundai's global market share rose to 4.7%, compared to 4% a year
earlier. And importantly, through its aggressive marketing drive, Hyundai
has been able to make strong inroads into the major auto markets in the world.
In US, the world's biggest auto market, its market share increased to 4.3% in
the first half of this year, against 3.1% a year earlier. In other big markets,
such as China and the European Union, Hyundai's market share rose to
7.3% (from 5.3%) and to 2.3% (from 1.7%), in the first five months of 2009.
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