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| Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Munoz speaks during a press conference at the company's headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif. Jan. 10 (Korea Standard Time). Courtesy of Hyundai Motor |
2025 sales to reach 1 mil., defying market downturn
By Nam Hyun-woo
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. ― Hyundai Motor set its mid-term sales target in the U.S. market at 1 million vehicles by 2025, which is an aggressive number compared to its delivery of 710,000 vehicles last year and the slowing growth of the U.S. car market.
According to Hyundai Motor America CEO Jose Munoz, however, this is not just hype. He referenced the company's performance in closing the gap between Japanese rivals as well as a series of new SUVs and new luxury vehicles from the Genesis brand in the pipeline, which will help the company to "buck the trend."
"So we could just simply say we're gaining momentum in the market, which has been declining but is still healthy," Munoz said during a press conference at Hyundai Motor America headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif, Jan. 10 (KST). "We need to say loudly and proudly that we are ahead of direct Japanese competitors and domestic competitors who have been a strong force in this field."
Last year, Hyundai Motor America sold 710,007 vehicles in the U.S. market, up 4.7 percent from a year earlier. During the same period, U.S. light-duty vehicle sales totaled almost 17.1 million vehicles last year, a 1.6 percent decline from a year earlier, according to research firm Edmunds.
Munoz attributed the growth to more balanced mix between sedans and SUVs, following the debut of new SUVs such as the Palisade, the Kona and the Venue.
"Our mix is better than ever before," he said. "We raised SUV's share to 55 percent from 44 percent a year earlier, and this contributed to a 32 percent growth year-on-year in SUV retail sales. This is a reassurance that we are on the right track."
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| The Hyundai Palisade / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor |
Of those new vehicles, Munoz underscored the contribution of the Palisade, describing it as "the brand halo." After launching the large SUV ― which is a midsize SUV in the U.S. ― in June, Hyundai Motor America delivered 28,736 Palisades in the past seven months, "stealing" customers from Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Chevrolet.
"You may know that one of the first actions I had to take after I took office was go to Korea and ask for additional capacity for our region driven by the great expectations we had for the Palisade," said Munoz, who joined Hyundai Motor in April from Nissan.
Based on this trajectory, Munoz said Hyundai Motor America will sell 728,000 Hyundai and Genesis vehicles this year, up 2.5 percent from last year, and will deliver 1 million vehicles by 2025. This is a contrast to the market projection of a 1.3 percent decline for next year.
Driving the growth plan will be new cars. Starting from the Venue mini SUV which debuted in the U.S. in November, Hyundai Motor America will roll out a full-change model of the Tucson, which has been the highest-selling SUV for the company. New sedans including the Elentra, which is the Avante in Korea, will be introduced in the market this year. Genesis will support with the GV80 SUV, scheduled to debut this summer, the G80 full-change and the G70 facelift.
Hyundai will launch the company's first crossover truck, the Santa Cruz, next year. The pickup truck will be produced in Hyundai Motor America's plant in Alabama. Genesis will also introduce an electric vehicle by then.
For the 1 million mark, Munoz said Hyundai Motor America will capitalize on the five pillars of product, brand, retail experience, optimization of production and preparation for future mobility technologies. Of them, he stressed that the Hyundai and Genesis brands are in a strong position in terms of their product, quality and technology, but need to put in more effort to improve brand awareness for U.S. consumers.
"If you look at direct competitors, mainly the Japanese, they are all selling over 1 million," he said. "That's why I don't think we need to be shy."
