“If the roads of a country are the arteries, the cars are the blood.

I will
never give up on the automobile. If the roads of a country are the arteries, the cars are the blood. I will
never give up on the automobile. Even if I do not succeed, I will be content just having placed
stepping stones for my future generations.” — Former CEO Ju-Young Chung, in conversation with the
US Ambassador prior to exporting the Pony in 1977With the realization that the only way for the
company to survive was to produce 100% domestic cars, former CEO Ju-Young Chung decided to
commit 100 million dollars to construct an automobile manufacturing factory that would produce
50 thousand vehicles annually by 1967.a At that time, not only was the development of
automobiles difcult, but annual domestic sales did not even reach 1,000. In such a situation,
Chung began the biggest gamble of his life: “We will make money by exportation.” With such
high hopes, Chung showed the courage to target foreign markets for prot. In 1976, he released
Korea’s rst and very own auto-mobile brand, the Pony. It captured 43% of the domestic
market and began being exported to Ecuador, Africa and parts of the Middle East. On the
strength of the Pony’s great success, Pony 2 was released in 1982. It sold over 40 thousand units
domestically in its rst year, was exported to Canada in 1983, and sold 80 thousand in 1986. In
1985, Hyundai Motor became the rst Korean corporation to establish its local sub-sidiary in the
US. It broadcast TV commercials on three major a The Hyundai Motor Service Center was
established in Chungmuro, Seoul to become the hub of today’s Hyundai Motor Company. In the
beginning it started out as a service center but later expanded into an automobile remodeling
center.S0218927515500029.indd 29 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
30 ACRJ networks with the slogan, “Cars That Make Sense.” After viewing the commercials,
Korean residents in the US cried tears of joy. Up until then, they thought that Korea still sub-
sisted on aid goods.As Korea’s representative automobile manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Company
(HMC) led in globalizing the Korean automobile industry by expanding into domestic regions in
order to widen its sphere of activity to foreign markets. Since acquiring Kia Motors in 1998, HMC
(Hyundai-Kia Motors, CEO Mong-Koo Chung) leaped from 10th place in 2000 to 5th place in
2010 in global market shares (see Exhibit 3). In the past 10 years, Hyundai-Kia created out-
standing results when compared to global competitors, with an annual average growth rate of 9%.
By 2010, the corpora-tion recorded 7th in the US market with a 7.7% share, 8th in the Chinese
market with 9.8%, 8th in Brazil with 4.7%, 2nd in Russia with 10.0% and 10th in the European
regions with 4.5%. The corporation ranked 2nd in India’s market with an astonishing share of
19.1%. Its activities particularly stood out in the Indian market, with its immense population of
1.2 billion, by recording an annual economic growth of 8%. Hyundai increased not only sales in
advanced markets but also in emerging markets around the BRICsb to grow in each region
throughout the world.1 ENTRY INTO INDIAIndia’s Market: Ultimate Chaos“15% of all mankind, in
other words, one-seventh, live in the magical land of India. However, it is not easy to nd the
univer-sality that corresponds to one-seventh of human culture. Culture of India is just unfamiliar
and mystical.” — Gitanjali Susan Kolanad, Indian regional expert b BRICs refers to the 4 emerging
nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China that have displayed rapid economic growth in the 2000s.
South Africa has recently joined as the 5th nation. S0218927515500029.indd 30 30/7/2015 5:01:11
PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 31 With a size 33 times the area of
South Korea, India comprised 28 states and 7 union territories with different languages, cos-tumes,
religious observances, arts and food. Diversity also existed within each single region according to
social rank. Such elements of diversity could be discovered on the streets and roads of India. It
was difcult to nd actual streets for pedestrians in India. People took part in various activities
unconnected with the original purpose of streets such as sleeping, selling goods, parking bicycles,
drinking tea or lis-tening to cricket games over the radio. Roads in India were also chaotic.
Trafc was a day long frenzy of buses, trucks, cars, auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, bicycles,
motorcycles, cow-wagons, cows, dogs, camels, elephants, and fearless pedestrians. Owing to a
backward infrastructure and decline in trafc safety awareness, India displayed the ultimate in
road chaos. Trafc lanes and signals were rarely seen. Further-more, citizens went their ways
even with cars coming at them. When cars entered roads that were under repair or con-struction, they
were sometimes tilted 20 degrees. The abrupt appearance of people, dogs and cows crossing the
streets were very common events in India. Moreover, cars trav-eling on opposite sides of the
streets and cars making abrupt U-turns were all left to fate. Thus, honking the horn was the only
method of alerting others. No one knew where or when emergencies occur. A cool head and
ability to smile under pressure were essential.2India was the world’s only leading nation with no
de-nite policies for reducing trafc accidents. Despite the urgent need for safety awareness, a
stable infrastructure, and strong trafc regulations, there was little display of these items. Would it
be possible to enter a market with such unpredict-able elements? The innite potential of India
was hidden behind China, to be regarded as second-rate. However, forecasts showed India will
overtake China’s population by 2030 and its GDP will become 2nd in the world. At present, half
of India’s population was under 25 years of age, and the pop-ulation increase was potentially
1.5%. Moreover, India had the best location for distributing to Europe and Africa. In
S0218927515500029.indd 31 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
32 ACRJ addition, it was rich in natural gas. The government was actively striving for energy
diversication. Also, active poli-cies for attracting investments were being conducted by the
central and state governments to create a positive invest-ment environment. Above all, the
strength of India was that English was used as a common language. Since English was used in all
parts of India, business was possible with many nations. With its innite growth potential, the
entire world had its eyes on the Indian market. It was difcult to deny that all these factors turned the
chaotic market of India into an enticing place of business.3 Hyundai Motor IndiaLocated 35 km west
of Chennai, Tamil Nadu in Southern India, the road to Hyundai Motor India’s factory had views
of abandoned lands, poor villages and collapsing schools. In contrast to such sights, Hyundai
India’s factory had a very modern look. Spread across 2.1 million m², Hyundai Motor’s factory was
built with 7 billion dollars in investment funds and knocked on the doors of India with 100%
wholly-owned methods — an unprecedented event in India4. With its need for a new growth engine,
Hyundai chose India as the next region to achieve market penetration in a short time while
carrying forward with globalization. In 1996, India’s domestic automotive market had great poten-
tial to expand alongside India’s economy. It offered a foot-hold for further exportation. When
bringing foreign vehicles into India, the tax on new cars was 60%, while used cars were taxed
100%. India’s government created an environment in which automotive companies could escape
the burden of high taxation by assembling vehicles inside India. Rather than bring cars into India, it
was more advantageous to bring in the factories to build the cars. At the time of Hyundai Motor
Company’s entry into India, there were strict restrictions against foreign ownership. Joint ventures
were practically inevitable. Since Indians had a history of regulating for foreign investment, they
were all too aware of how to gain the most prot from foreign partners.
S0218927515500029.indd 32 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 33 Most multinational corporations
entered India in the form of joint ventures, and the automotive industry was no exception. Maruti was
created as a joint venture with Suzuki. Ford also possessed shares. However, Hyundai discovered
that these corporations faced discord with their local partners, which caused a great deal of
problems. In fact, Ford suffered much damage as its factory’s construction was delayed by disputes.5
“As the long-lived unrivaled automotive company in India, Maruti faced great difculties in
management due to great and small con-icts that occurred between Japan’s Suzuki and the Indian
govern-ment. Such differences that can occur in partnerships tended to lead to difculties of
decision-making. Gradually, bad blood was made between Suzuki and the Indian government and
the time required for negotiations lengthened. It was a fact that this played the crucial role for later
corporations to take on great amounts of Maruti’s market shares. This was what Hyundai Motor
Company feared as well. In short, it was not only difcult to bear a partnership with a local
corporation that was favorable to Hyundai from the begin-ning, but also it was difcult to quickly
introduce new technologies if problems occur during management and this causes concern that it
continue as loss of product competitiveness.”— Yang-Soo Kim, Former Head of Hyundai Motor
India6For a foreign corporation to favorably conclude a partnership from the start was a very
difcult task. Joint investments could act as obstacles to implementing rm strat-egies or making
quick decisions. Accordingly, after fullling numerous conditions and making endless appeals,
Hyundai received authorization for independent investment from India’s government in May of
1996.c In October of the same year, a ground-breaking ceremony was held, and the factory was
completed in May 1998. In September 1998, the factory began mass production.7 After considering
distribution, human resources, infra-structure and support policies of the government among the
main automotive clusters around Mumbai, Delhi, and c Along with the massive production,
Hyundai Motor Company got the permission from the government by proposing over 70%
localization of parts within four years as well as transfer of key technologies to India.
S0218927515500029.indd 33 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
34 ACRJ Chennai, Chennai of Tamil Nadu was chosen as the place of investment. The state
government of Tamil Nadu provided the infrastructure for electricity, water, roads and communi-
cation. As well, it purchased the land to support construction for Hyundai Motor’s factory. With
such support, Hyundai completed the factory in one year and seven months, well ahead of the
planned three years. The history of Hyundai Motor India began. India’s Automotive IndustryIndia’s
automobile industry began in the 1930s. The industry had its earliest beginning when GM and
Ford launched a CKDd assembly line and established the local brand. However, development was
slow due to various regulations imposed by the Indian government, (including restrictions on
production capacity and high commodity taxes). Moreover, the Indian government of the 1960s
adopted strict industrial protectionism. GM’s and Ford’s dominance declined as the oligopoly
structure for local enterprises was formed. Never-theless, various regulations were relaxed in the
1980s due to the liberalized policies of industrial modernization. When the Lao administration
announced economic liberalization in July of 1991, the market was opened, and international
automobile companies began their entry into India. Duties for automobile parts were abolished in
1992, and restrictions on production were ended in 1997. These relaxations led to renewed inroads
by foreign corporations.7 In this land of opportunity, Hyundai Motor Company found potential and
began its entry into India’s market. At the time of their decision in 1995, Ford and Honda had
already entered India’s market through collaborating with local corporations. Suzuki also
collaborated with India’s gov-ernment in 1983 to establish Maruti. Maruti developed the people’s
car to occupying a record 80% of India’s market share in the late 1990s. During this time,
India’s automo-bile industry achieved outstanding growth. It changed into dCKD (Complete Knock-
Down) means to export in complete parts prior to assembly. S0218927515500029.indd 34 30/7/2015
5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 35 an arena of erce competition
between the North American enterprises of GM and Ford, Japan’s Toyota, Nissan, Honda and
Mitsubishi, the European companies of Volkswagen, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Fiat and
their local corpo-rations of Maruti Suzuki, Tata Nano, Mahindra and others. One of the distinguishing
features of India’s auto-mobile market was that its vehicle classication was seg-mented, with
small vehicles ranked according to the length of frames. Thus the 800 cc Mini (under 3400 mm)
and 1000 cc Compact (3401–4000 mm) fell into Segment A, while the Mid-sizes (4001–4500 mm)
and Executives (4501–4700) of over 1000cc fell into Segment C in the global market
classication. Premium (4701–5000 mm) fell into Segment D while Luxury (over 5001 mm) fell
into Segment E. In other words, although Sonata was considered as a mid-size vehicle by global
stan-dards, it was considered as a Premium vehicle in India (see Exhibit 5). Prior to Hyundai
Motor Company’s entry, the market of 800 cc mini vehicles occupied approximately 70% of the
320 thousand sold in the entire nation. However, the 1000 cc compact vehicle market began to
display growth over twice its size from 1999 due to the new release of Hyundai’s Santro, and
started to supplant a large portion of Segment A’s market. Since then, India’s automobile market grew
larger in accordance with the developments in the nation’s economic status. Recently, the Indian
government prepared the Automo-tive Mission Plan 2010–2016 for the automotive industry. It
began to prepare standards for vehicles and road trafc safety. Along with systemized vehicle
inspection systems, it adjusted taxation policies for expanding automobile exports. In partic-ular, it
proceeded to take on the National Highway Develop-ment Project (NHDP) to expand the percentage
of paved roads from 47.4% and support new automobile technologies with an R&D center. Finally, it
applied the 2010 Euro IV Exhaust Stan-dardse to reduce air pollution in India as well as increase the
competitiveness of domestically-produced products. e“Euro” is the exhaust gas regulation introduced by
the EU in 1990. On 30 May 2007, the Council of Ministers ofcially authorized regulations that
further strengthen the standards for car and truck exhaust gases.S0218927515500029.indd 35
30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
36 ACRJ Approximately 60% of automobile purchasers in India were white collar workers in
their 20s and 30s. Vehicle use was being supported by the young generation, and the purpose of
vehicle purchases included increase in social status, commuting to work, and family. Due to the
promo-tion of automotive loans, vehicle purchases through monthly installment plans reached
approximately 80%. LOCALIZATION STRATEGY IN INDIADevelopment of the Customized People’s
CarHMI initially planned to produce approximately 50 thou-sand mid-size 5-door Accents during
the beginning phase of its entry into India’s market. However, as a result of market research,
HMI found that the sale of mid-size vehi-cles remained at 80 thousand, for a maximum value of
sales of 30 thousand, while compact vehicles had potential annual sales of 60–80 thousand units.
At the same time, Daewoo produced 110 thousand Cielos while targeting the mid-size vehicle
market in India. However, sales stopped at 20 thou-sand, which led HMI to revise its strategies.
Accordingly, HMI entered India’s market with the Atoz (called the Santro in India) rather than the
Accent. HMI threatened Maruti’s market share of 82%. During this time, Maruti enjoyed a seller’s
market: it continued selling the old 1980s models. Based on these conditions, HMI intended to
develop a “people’s car” to suit the climate and lifestyle of the Indian people. HMI applied new
technolo-gies and components instead of reusing domestic models. In the Indian car market where
compact cars under 1,000 cc occupied 70% (see Exhibit 6), HMI found its great strength in small
vehicle parts offered a cost-competitive advantage. The popularity of compact vehicles in India was
a result of tax policies. Compact vehicles included lengths under 4 m, engines under 1000 cc, or
under 1500 cc when diesel. Other vehicles were hit with a 10% special consump-tion tax. When
lengths or displacements were exceeded, the tax rose to 22%. Due to these increases, 78% of the
population S0218927515500029.indd 36 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 37 preferred compact vehicles. In
addition, it was easier for com-pacts to weave through India’s congested roads. Moreover, wealthy
people in India tended to buy several vehicles per household. To take advantage of such
conditions, HMI began adapting the Korean Atoz to suit India. The Indian people had not been
favorable towards the Atoz. Its rear view reminded them of an auto-rickshaw, the local taxi cab.f
HMI therefore went through an extensive process to improve the design to suit the preferences of
the Indian consumer. The functions of the vehicle were also adjusted in consideration of Indian
drivers’ habits. Factors such as lifestyle, climate and road conditions were considered. For Indians
who wear turbans, the height of the vehicle was increased. The body was also raised to avoid
damage from poor roads and heavy monsoon rains.g Indians tended to travel short distances at
low speeds while abruptly accelerating when cutting lanes. Accordingly, the power train was
modied and brakes were strengthened. The hot and humid weather of India placed a great load
on an engine’s cooling and air conditioning systems. To handle roads with poor drainage during
heavy rainfall, the vehicle’s water resistance was enhanced.h To deal with unregulated roads with
jaywalkers and sacred cows, the horn was made louder. The Indian people preferred manual trans-
missions and kept their air conditioners turned on 365 days a year. Therefore, HMI strengthened
these features. Finally, the car’s name was changed to Santro to indicate this was a completely
different vehicle.i In such a way, HMI considered the needs of the customers when introducing a
new model to gain their solid trust.8 To promote the new car, HMI recruited India’s best-loved
movie star, Shahrukh Khan, to capture the hearts of the people. At the time, the nation of Korea
and the brand f It is a passenger-carrying tricycle made by remodeling a motorcycle. gIndians call this
raised car the “tallboy.” h The ECU was elevated so it would not get damaged in rainstorms. A
waterproof ECU was developed so that the engine would keep running when the vehicle was
caught in water. i Santro is named after the French resort of Saint Tropez. It is a partial revision of the
Korean Atoz and the same as the Kia Visto released when Hyundai took over Kia.
S0218927515500029.indd 37 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
38 ACRJ name of Hyundai were unknown in India. Accordingly, with Shahrukh Khan as their
spokesperson, HMI released a 6-part advertisement for Santro. As a result, HMI succeeded in
xing the image of Hyundai into the minds of the Indian people. With full-scale marketing
through national road shows and customer service, word began to spread, and 6 months after its
initial release, Santro began to increase sales.9 Building the World That Moves as OneIn a corner of
HMI’s Chennai factory, there is a place where a great amount of sawdust is often seen. This is
the part of the factory that produces desks and chairs for public schools. This section was built inside
the HMI factory in 2006. Under the theme “World That Moves as One,” the Hyundai Motor
Foundation was established for social con-tributions to India. It contributed 100 rupees for each
vehicle sold by HMI. With this fund, various social programs were conducted, including the desk
and chair program to help stu-dents in under-developed regions. “I began working in India in 2003
and in 2004. I began my CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities to serve the social
responsibilities of the company. First I began looking around our factory for community
development. I decided to donate after vis-iting the public and private schools and saw that the
students were all sitting on the oor. CSR be seen as cultivating the self-initiative of Hyundai
Motor Company for localization of culture.”— Han-Woo Park, Head of Hyundai Motor India10
“The social contribution activities of Hyundai Motor Foundation are the ideal case that displays
how Hyundai and the community have been bound together by the regional citizens. It is rare to
nd other foreign corporations in India, or even India’s own large cor-porations, that conduct
long-term and systematic social contribu-tion activities like Hyundai Motor India. The activities of
Hyundai Motor India and Hyundai Motor Foundation are the ideal case that help Indian corporations
realize the importance of social contribu-tion activities.”— S. Ganapathy, Advisor to Hyundai
Motor Foundation S0218927515500029.indd 38 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 39 In addition, HMI provided
extensive opportunities for education to the neglected classes of people. Hyundai Motor Foundation
established and operated automotive training facilities in India’s major cities to provide
opportunities for young people to acquire skills as engineers and be recruited by HMI. The
company also supported internships and schol-arships by connecting with specic universities
based on industry-university collaboration. At the same time, HMI supported scholarships for 200
underprivileged students with excellent academic records by selecting them as Hyundai Trafc
Volunteers. They were commissioned by India’s trafc management institution (ROSES) to
receive education and become active in trafc safety campaigns and signal controls in busy
regions such as Delhi and Chennai. The roads of India had serious problems due to jaywalkers and
vehicles traveling on the wrong sides of the streets. To overcome such issues while enhancing the
growth of India’s education, HMI provided monthly scholar-ships of 1650 rupees 3 hours a day to
help reduce trafc acci-dents through trafc campaigns and establishing a “trafc order” culture
among the citizens. Building Trust with the Indian PeopleThe Indian state government objected to
Hyundai Motor Company’s highly automated production, since it offered few jobs. To overcome
this objection, Hyundai hired 3,700 local employees in the production line at the Chennai factory.
This was unlike the Ulsan and Asan factories in Korea, where 80– 90% of operations were
automated (see Exhibit 2). In general, HMI provided employment to over 5,000 Indians, making it a
signicant local employer. In addition to jobs, HMI were inuential to the culture of local Indian
citizens. A tropical monsoon climate, an agri-culturally-oriented traditional society, a caste system,
Hin-duism and the remnants of English colonialism combined to produce a people who were soft-
hearted, submissive and gentle. Such characteristics appeared in displays of giving in to authority
but also in work places due to lack of loyalty S0218927515500029.indd 39 30/7/2015 5:01:11
PM
40 ACRJ towards the company and lack of desire to achieve a goal. It also appeared in
tendencies of being irresponsible due to fatalistic attitudes. During HMI’s startup, Indians
displayed low physical strength and high rates of absenteeism. There were also examples of
exclusive attitudes due to strong status awareness (see Exhibit 7).HMI therefore focused on personnel
management to give employees a sense of ownership. For production workers, the highest level of
education was restricted to technical high school graduates. For general administrative workers,
young university graduates were recruited. HMI’s greatest competitive advantage was in selecting
manpower from among the mild and gentle southern Indians. Workers at the HMI factory enjoyed
higher wages than other Indians. Such wages and the new relations within the factory neutral-ized
the traditional caste system. Differences in religion and status were still respected in important
matters such as mar-riage, but they had no signicance within the walls of the factory. Instead, a
new ranking was formed according to the evaluation standards of the company.11 By applying the
cognitive structure of locals that cling to the caste system, HMI revised the method of managing
human resources. By maintaining high payroll standards, it managed local employees through in-
depth site management and education in consideration of local sentiment. In partic-ular, positions
in each eld were designated so that Koreans and Indians would share in the work. In the long-
term, there were plans for all work to be performed by locals.j Along with those mentioned, HMI
strove to take preventative mea-sures for resolving labor-management relations and collabo-rating
with the supplier to share success. “It was not easy to work and live with unfamiliar employees in
an unfamiliar place. At times I faced messy situations. One of the funniest episodes was the
dining-out culture of Indians. In Korea, employees tended to grow closer together while dining
out, but in India they said they felt further apart after dining together. The caste system and
religious differences were probably the main jKorean resident employees have roles as coordinators
rather than in production. S0218927515500029.indd 40 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 41 reasons. In these situations, the
Sudra and Vaisya class never sit together, and since the Hindu and Islam have great differences
in food cultures, they felt it was too difcult to associate.”— Yang-Soo Kim, former head of
Hyundai Motor India Although such situations seemed unfamiliar at rst, Kim rememberd the
efforts to understand and adapt to their customs. To show that he was no different from the Indian
employees, he ate Indian food in the Indian way and strove to understand the religious differences
and focused on staying neutral. It was undeniable that the key to Hyundai’s success in India was
due to such humanistic efforts. Meanwhile, the Japanese auto companies faced great difculties in
India. In particular, Toyota’s joint corpora-tion, Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) suffered from
compli-cations due to local labor unrest. Although Toyota Motors was famous for zero strikes in
Japan, these strikes were con-tinuous since its entry into India’s market. The employees at
Karnataka in central India went on strike the day after 3 employees were red. Of the 2,350
personnel of TKM, approximately 1,550 were members of the labor union. These people destroyed
CCTVs inside the factory and threw rocks at passing cars. TKM’s union struck due to conicts
over wages as well as emotional issues such as deling the Indian ag. Honda Motor’s base in
India also went on strike over wages, causing damage of 57 million dollars. When TKM acted
aggressively by dismissing 3,500 workers, the union members blocked the road from Gurgaon and
staged a violent protest. In 2011, HMI ofcially established the United Union of Hyundai
Employees (UUHE). As the initial labor union of HMI, the organization strove to build
cooperative and rational labor-management relations. As a result, there were no conicts with
labor. However, there did appear to be movements from an unrecognized organization, Hyundai
Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU), which was attempting to shake down the ofcial labor
union and the company. Therefore, the ofcial union attempted to improve relations with HMIEU.
S0218927515500029.indd 41 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
42 ACRJ STANDARDIZATION STRATEGY IN INDIASpeed Battle, Speed Management As
competition grew more intense, Hyundai Motors began to battle for survival. The main battleeld
moved from the massive markets of the US and Europe to the emerging markets of China, India
and Russia. The “speed manage-ment” of Hyundai in India and China was extraordinary. The term
“Hyundai Speed” became a watchword of how Hyundai Motor Company did business.“HMI completed
the 2nd factory within 10 years after the completion of the 1st factory in 1998. It constructed a solid
foothold from which to grow into the major automotive company equipped with a produc-tion capacity
for 600 thousand vehicles. Specially, completion of the second factory in India held great signicance
in that Hyundai Motor Company solidied their position in India quickly while preparing the foothold
for cultivating as the production base of global compact cars.” — Mong-Ku Chung, CEO of Hyundai-
Kia Motors, Congratulatory Address for the Second Factory in IndiaOn 2 February 2008, HMI cut
the ribbon to its second factory in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in Southern India. In atten-dance were
President Mong-Ku Chung of Hyundai-Kia Motors and major gures of India’s government
including Prime Minister M. Karunanidhi, along with 1,200 employees. With a total of one billion
dollars invested, the second factory was able to manufacture 300 thousand vehicles annually. Built
on approximately 176 thousand m² of land, it would be the exclusive factory for the i10, the
compact car released in India. HMI planned to produce and sell 125 thousand i10s in both
domestic and foreign regions, for an annual total of 250 thousand vehicles. As the next generation
compact car of Hyundai Motors, the i10 would be produced in India to be exported to 90
countries in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East as well as Central and South America. In other
words, with the construction of the second factory, HMI expanded its foreign as well as domestic
sales of compact cars. In such ways, HMI came to possess the annual production capacity of 600
thousand vehicles in India. S0218927515500029.indd 42 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 43 Since 2004, Hyundai has made its
Indian factory the main base of global production and cultivated it as the advanced base for third
world exports. As an emerging market of immense potential alongside China, Russia and Brazil,
the nation of India developed at great speed. With pursuit of the FTA, its strategic signicance
increased to make it the economic leader in the third world. Therefore, Hyundai Motors decided to
use the Indian factory as the export base for emerging nations and executed plans increase
inventory for factory operations. This soon led to maximum sales and protability. In accordance
with headquarters’ global strategy, India became the axis in building a global production system for
Hyundai. In 2010, it served as outpost for successfully entering the “Global Top 5.”With the
construction of Hyundai Motor Company’s second factory in India, the number of accompanying
sub-contractors increased from 16 companies to 43, with Sejong Industrial Corporation and Hanil
Tube. With this, HMI was able to secure both a stable parts supply and quality com-petitiveness
at 90 percent of the local rate. At the same time, the subcontractors gained opportunities to
expand to foreign regions and nd opportunities to advance in combined operations. In addition
to the second factory, HMI established a research institute within the Chennai district in 2009.
With over one thousand technical personnel, the Hyundai Mobis R&D Center, along with the
research institution in Beijing, became the key to supporting foreign production of Hyundai
automobiles. The R&D center took full responsibility for developing engines and transmissions to
be installed on Hyundai’s vehicles for Southeast Asia and Europe. Hyundai established these local
R&D centers in India and China to secure independent technology quickly which was demanded by
the host nations at the time of giving permission to construct the local factories. HMI rapidly
succeeded in acquiring the image of a national corporation that contributes towards the economy
of India. It was the Number One exporter of automobiles, responsible for over 65% of India’s
entire automotive exports. Continuing its growth since entering India’s market, HMI
S0218927515500029.indd 43 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
44 ACRJ set a new record in March 2006, with one million vehicles (domestic/export) produced
and sold — the shortest time in India’s automotive history. This record was broken in September
of 2007, with 1.5 million vehicles produced and sold. All these achievements were linked with
the speed management of CEO Mong-Ku Chung.12 Quality Management, Produced on SiteThe image
of Hyundai Motor Company changed beyond recognition in the last 1 to 2 years. It was actually
a vertical climb for the company and not just in quantity of sales. In recent times, the favorable
reviews increased. One could say that the “green light” was lit to become the world’s auto-mobile
maker. Such rewards for Hyundai Motor Company were based on the quality management which
was vital for the company to build the “car worth its price” rather than a “cheap car.” This
strategy of CEO Mong-Ku Chung reached its mark. Increases in quality led to increases in sales
as well as increases in brand image. Ultimately, a virtuous cycle was formed to make mutual
increases. As President Toshiyuki Shiga of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association stated,
“I believe that the fast development of Hyundai Motor Company was the victory of quality.
Hyundai Motors quickly enhanced their quality.”Along with Kia Motors, Hyundai Motor Company
strove to construct production systems for 5 million vehicles in domestic and foreign regions (3
million domestic, 2 million foreign) and enter the Global Top 5. Such ambitious goals were no
longer dreams. Hyundai reached beyond the BRICs to move towards Europe and US, the home of
automobiles, to be led by “global management” and pushed by “quality and brand management” in
moving closer to their goal. This increase of Hyundai Motors was also due to thor-ough on-site
management of CEO Mong-Koo Chung. The evaluation that his on-site management, taken after
the late honorable president Ju-Young Chung, built the Hyundai S0218927515500029.indd 44
30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 45 Motors of today. Needless to say,
Chung was famous for engaging on-site management in both domestic and foreign business sites.
When he was in Korea, he visited production sites and front lines of business 2 to 3 times a week
to inspect conditions and order improvements. He also paid great atten-tion to foreign site
management as well. Chung made over 13 foreign business trips a year and traveled to the US,
Turkey, the Czech Republic, Russia and China to handle matters with his own hands. India was a
foreign market to which Chung expressed particular attachment. It had the only factory among the
six foreign factories (Exhibit 8) that made steady prots. While starting his global on-site
management every year, he chose India as his rst destination. During his visit to the Chennai
factory and the construction site of the R&D center, CEO Mong-Ku Chung told the following to
Hyun-Soon Lee, the head of R&D and the local employees: Since India’s market is rising as the most
ferocious bat-tleeld of the automotive industry, do not loosen your tension! India is our outpost
and we have to secure tech-nologies that can shut out our competitors. Ultimately, it is battle for
quality!The quality management style of Hyundai’s CEO Mong-Ku Chung merged into the
management of India’s market. Ultimately, it brought extraordinary results in the automotive
industry that can only be described as being “more intense than a car race.” THE FUTURE OF
HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIAThe total number of vehicles exported by HMI exceeded 1 million on
March 22nd 2010.13 This was a rst for the Indian automotive industry. With the advantages of
low distribu-tion and labor costs (see Exhibits 9, 10, 11), HMI consistently played the role of
outpost for export of compact cars such as the Santro, i10 and i20. In 2009, sales increased by
14.4% over the previous year with 289,846 domestic vehicles and 277,000 exports, occupying
66% of India’s entire automotive exportation.S0218927515500029.indd 45 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
46 ACRJ Moreover, the exports of foreign factories began to surpass the domestic factories.k
Vehicles from factories in India, China, the US and Turkey recorded consistent increases since the
beginning of operations at the Chinese factory in 2003. In particular HMI’s exports as a share of
overall sales rose from 35% in 2004 to 49.9% in 2008, 48.2% in 2009 and 66% in 2010. At
present, vehicles were being exported to 110 different nations in Europe, Africa and South
America. Since 2010, there were plans to export the i20 to 10 nations, including Australia.14
“Achieving 1 million vehicles in exportation served as a signicant milestone and pride to the
global management of Hyundai Motor. We had plans to consistently expand the exporting regions to
strengthen our status as the exporting base of mid-size and compact cars.” — Han-Woo Park, Head of
Hyundai Motor India Commemorative Ceremony for Achievement of 1 Million Vehicles in
Exports15However, there were problems with expansion of edu-cational facilities due to unstable
politics. The nation of India was especially unsuitable for stable markets because the system was
greatly inuenced by the government. In other words, there was always uncertainty. Recently, India
abruptly removed the gasoline subsidy as an energy reform policy but decided to maintain diesel
subsidies. Although the action seemed designed to promote the growth of Tata, the Indian
company that makes diesel engines, the Indian government claimed that the removal was to
diversify energy by reducing gasoline vehicle use. These days, India’s Big 3 automotive brands of
Maruti-Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata further intensied competi-tion by releasing new compact mid-
size vehicles, which are the most popular units in the Indian market. Meanwhile, Toyota and
Honda chose a top-down strategy with mid/kHyundai Motor’s annual production capacity of
overseas factories is forecast to increase from 2 million in 2011 to 2.5 million in 2013 (900
thousand in China, 600 thousand in India, 300 thousand in the US and Czech Republic, 150
thousand in Russia, 100 thousand in Turkey), to be substantially greater than its domestic
factories.S0218927515500029.indd 46 30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY IN THE INDIAN MARKET 47 luxury sedan selections to occupy
the premium position in the Indian market. Also, Volkswagen became partners with India’s
number one producer, Maruti-Suzuki, to promote strong changes for compact cars and diesel
engines. In addi-tion to all this, the 1st place ranking of Maruti-Suzuki was threatened by battles
with advanced corporations including GM, Ford and Fiat. Maruti-Suzuki had a 50% market share
in 2010, which declined to 43% by June 2011. With the intro-duction of Chinese automotive
corporations, the automotive industry in India were dubbed the Warring States Period (see Exhibit
12).16On 13 October 2011, HMI revealed its new compact car, the EON, to an audience of 700
VIPs at the Dreams of Kingdom in Gurgaon near New Delhi.17 In his opening speech, Seung-
Tak Kim, the chairman of overseas operations, stated that “applied with cutting-edge technology,
EON was created by the hard work of one thousand technicians per-forming for the past four
years.” He added that “EON was created with considerations for the demands of Indian con-
sumers and anticipated to captivate our customer’s hearts.” With an engine displacement of 800
cc, EON was targeted towards young people in urban districts, householders in rural districts, and
new customers buying cars for the rst time after riding motorcycles.l EON was developed after
investing $2 billion for the purpose of overtaking India’s best seller, Maruti-Suzuki’s Alto. Thus
there were no plans to sell it anywhere else but India. During this night, Hyundai also announced
that HMI would release 10–15 new and modied vehicles to the Indian market.18 From the
recently released compact EON to the luxury SUV Santa Fe, there were plans to face the new
vehicles of competitors by developing models to win the hearts and minds of Indian consumers in
various ranges. Moreover, HMI planned to produce new vehicles using diesel engines due to the
price differences caused by India’s increase in gasoline prices. In accordance with the energy
policies of the Indian government, the production of l EON is expected to have a price between 270
to 372 thousand rupees, depending on options. 95% of the parts have been obtained from local
regions to increase procure-ment by 10% over i10 and lower the production costs by using low-priced
parts with simplied functions for air conditioning and sound. S0218927515500029.indd 47
30/7/2015 5:01:11 PM
48 ACRJ new cars using LP and CN gas were also under consider-ation. However, problems that
remain unresolved included sustaining the growth of existing brands, cultivation of luxury brands,
securing future competitiveness, and resolving labor and management issues.19The global
automotive market survived the worst situations in India’s automotive market, a situation akin to
standing on the edge of a knife. With the entry of Volk-swagen-Suzuki and the aggressive rise
of the Chinese auto-motive industry, the apprehensions of HMI’s Han-Woo Park deepened. Should
HMI continue focusing on compact cars or introduce mid-size to premium and luxury sedans?
Should it follow the headquarters’ strategies and have the Indian factory serve as the outpost for
global compact cars, or should it focus on satisfying the domestic market? In a situation of fierce
ompetition where only survival or extinction exists, Han-Woo Park sat in the Hyundai pavilionm,
lost in thought, wondering about the future of Hyundai Motor India and where it will be headed.

Dr anitha (2013) in this study the researcher objective was to identify the product strategyand brand
building strategies of hundai in this study the researched has used primarysource method of data
collection the data was collected on the basis of personal interviewusing the structured questionnaire
the analysis data was done by using descriptiveanalysis the finding the study was that the respondents
were of the opinion that hundai isbenefiting the customers with global .standards but not with all
modeld

DR.MURLIDHAR A.LOKHANDE*; MR.VISHAL.S.RANA**(2013)in this study theresearch objective was To

focus on historical growth of Hyundai Motors India LimitedToevaluate the performance of Hyundai
Motors India Limited with respect to Export,Sales,Production, Profit after tax. With a prime objective to
fulfill the needs of diversifiedcustomers, the company has been continuously offering variety of its brand
with innovativefeatures to Indian customers. Since inception, Hyundai Motors India Limited
hasdominated the automobile market with the reputation of being the fastest growingautomobile
manufa to apply for real life situation. cturer in India. Presently, HyundaiMotor is considered as the
largest exporter of automobiles to European countries. Theobject of this paper is to evaluate the
performance of Hyundai Motors India Limited withrespect to Domestic Sales, Export, Profit after
tax,Production
Arvind Mallik D.M and Aqib Javeed Khan,( 2018) Hyundai, Brand Positioning,ConsumerBehavior,
Automobile, Promotional Activities To sustain in this competitiveenvironment, we need to differentiate
our products from the competitors for doing thatwehave to understand the customer very well. This
project is based on the survey, which willbe done intheShimoga city. We will take almost all aspects &
suggestions from customers,which arerelated to branding and brand positioning. The market survey
report will helpthe entire organizationby making them to realize the importance and impact of
brandpositioning. The data will be collected by the help of questionnaire. This gives us anopportunity to
apply our classroom learning to apply for real life situation.

Dr. Anitha Thimmaiah(2013), in this study the research To identify the product strategiesand brand
building strategies of Hyundai automobile companies. The data for this researchhas been collected
through the personal interview method by using the structuredquestionnaire. The various managers of
the Hyundai Company were contacted and therequired information for this research was collected.it
should create primary demand forthe product, in growth stage it has to retain the market share and
likewise different strategieshave to be framed during the maturity and decline stage.

Mohan Raj (2018) the research objective was made to study the brand preference ofcustomers with
regard to Hyundai. This study makes an attempt to find out the brand that i successful in the market
place able to convince the users about the used models ofHyundai car. The questionnaire was prepared
through the inputs taken from the pastresearches and also from the feedbacks of the pilot study. Thus
the validated finalquestionnaire was used to collect data from 105 respondents. The researchers have
adoptedconvenient sampling technique to gather the data. The data are analyzed using the
simplepercentage analysis and weighted average methods. The result of this study reveals thatlevels of
satisfaction and the overall performance of the Hyundai were good andsatisfaction there is a no
significant relationship between occupation and amount of moneyspent to purchase the Hyundai
cars.Hyung Je Jo University of UlsanCollege of SocialScience South

Korea (2018) This research aims to compare the human resource management (HRM) ofToyota Motor
Company and Hyundai Motor Company, focusing on their overseasplants.TMC and HMC have separately
developed their HRM in the different institutionalconditions of the home country and the host country
Even though Toyota overseas planthas tried to upgrade the skill level of the local

production workers, that is functional flexibility, the performances of the overseasplanthave not
reached those of the domestic plant.On the other hand, Hyundai has tried toincrease the numerical
flexibility of the overseas plant with the preemptive labormanagement. The performances of the
overseas plant have already overtaken those of thedomestic plant within the short period.This research
shows the “converging divergences” of HRM in the globalizing indusial There is no “one best way”,
while there is a converging trendtoward“flexibility.”

Branko rakita (2017). the research objective was Auto industry, Hyundai-Kia,internationalization,
global economic crisis, competitive strategies, The research methodologyis based on an individual case
study of the late follower in automotive industry. The datapresented in the official annual reports,
presentations given to investors and sustainabilityreports delivered by Hyundai Motor Company, Kia
Motors, Toyota Motor Company andVolkswagen were used. The data released by individual auto
companies are combined withthe data released by professional associations and specializedthe findings
of this research,although the nature of the data did not permit statistical interference. Despite
thislimitation, the research yielded some very interesting results different from the findings ofprevious
studies and theoretical models.

Murlidhar Ananda Lokhande uly (2015). the research objective was A Study ofConsumer Preferences &
Attitude towards Passenger cars of MarutiSuzuki & HyundaiMotors in Marathwada Region of
Maharashtrahelp of structured questionnaire. The studyreveals that the preferred Maruti cars on
parameters like fuel efficiency, after sales service,resale value, availability of spare parts whereas in view
of Hyundai customers theypreferred vehicles on parameters like comfort & convenience, exterior,
technology etc. Thestudy concludes that proper customer care strategy plays vital role in satisfying
&delighting the customer

Academic Journal of Economic Studies (2016) the research objective was A Study of Hyundai’s Customer
Satisfaction Analysis in Azerbaijan Market the survey. In addition to these, NPS level of Hyundai has
been computed. Those figures help the authors to measure the real population’s satisfaction level. The
results of the analysis claim that ultimateamount of customers are dissatisfied with car’s quality.
Furthermore most of drivers’ satisfaction level of services which Hyundai provides is satisfactory

DR Arvind Mallik (2018) in this study the research objective was A STUDY ON BRANDPOSITIONING OF
HYUNDAI SUV WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO HYUNDAISANTA FE To sustain in this competitive
environment, we need to differentiate ourproducts from the competitors for doing that we have to
understand the customer verywell. This project is based on the survey, which will be done in the
Shimoga city. We willtake almost all aspects & suggestions from customers, which are related to
branding andbrand positioning. The market survey report will help the entire organization by
makingthem to realize the importance and impact of brand positioning. The data will be collectedby the
help of questionnaire. This gives us an opportunity to apply our classroom learningto apply for real life
situation.

Subhadip Roy (2005) in his article “An overview of brand valuation” identified that the need for brand
valuation, the source of the brand value and the different methods of brandvaluation practiced in the
market place. The author suggested that it should be kept inmind that for most of the companies the
major assets is the brand, and so whatevermeasure is taken up for assessing the brand value, care
should be taken to see that itactually preserves the brand value of the success.\

David Vinjamuri (2005) in his article “What s in a name? Brand comes to the nonprofitworld” Identified
that explores how to brand a nonprofit organization. The author suggested that into two dimensions.
First to understand the costs and the time involved inbranding. Secondly it was important to choose
your guides carefully
Chin-FengLin (2002) in his article “Segmenting customer brand preference: demographicor
psychographic identified that the utilizing multiple segmentation variables” to identify smaller, better,
defined target sub-markets for enhancing business competitive advantages.The author suggested that
the relation between consumer brand preference and thecharacteristics of a submarket is the key for
marketers to develop effective sub-market strategies.

Pandey A C and Mithilesh Kumar Pandey (2013) in his article “Impact of life style onbrand preference of
buying behavior” identified that the life style of the buying changes due to some of the factors such as
age, income, education, social class and some otherfactors. And also observed in changing the life style
of the consumers are price, place,attributes, advertisement, favorite programs attributes preferred by
the consumers, Theauthor suggested that to taken into the account the needs of not only urban
consumers lifestyle but look the change in rural consumers life style, because consumers is
basicfoundation of every business. Ms.

Roshni P Sawant (2012) in her article” Impact of advertising on brand awareness andconsumer
preference (with special reference to men’s wear)” identified that if theconsumers experience
dissonance or discomforts owing to their purchase decision, thenadvertisement reduce this feeling of
discomforts provided information on the productattributes and it was an impact of the advertisements
of rival brands. The author suggestedthat the advertising is presented in an inspired and efficient
manner it creates an perpetualnotion on the consumers mind about brands and more consumer to be
drawn into theirfield of influence and advertising in dubitable plays a momentous role in their pursuits.

Ashutosh Nigam (2011) in his article “Impact of brand equity on customer purchase decision :empirical
investigation with special reference to Hatch back car owners in central Haryana” identified that the
light on various factors of brand equity marketers much focusonto attract and retain their prospective
and existing customers. The author suggested that strong brand equity allows the companies to retain
customer’s better, service their needs more effectively and increasing profit

Business

In 1998, after a shake-up in the Korean auto industry caused by overambitious expansion and the Asian
financial crisis, Hyundai acquired rival0020Kia Motors. In 2000, the company established a strategic
alliance with DaimlerChrysler and severed its partnership with the Hyundai Group. In 2001, the Daimler-
Hyundai Truck Corporation was formed. In 2004, however, DaimlerChrysler divested its interest in the
company by selling its 10.5 percents take for $900 million.

Hyundai has invested in manufacturing plants in the North America, China, India, and Turkey as well as
research and development centers in Europe, North America, and Japan.

In 2004, Hyundai Motor Company had $57.2 billion in sales in South Korea making it the country’s
second largest corporation, or chaebol. Worldwide sales in 2005 reached2, 533,695 units, an 11 percent
increase over the previous year. Hyundai has set as its 2006targetworldwidesales of 2.7 million units
(excluding exports of CKD kits).

Hyundai motor vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5,000dealershipsandshowrooms.After a
recent survey of global automotive sales by Automotive News, Hyundai is now the sixth largest
automaker in the world, surpassing Nissan, Honda, and many other major brands, selling 3,715,096 units
in 2005.

Hyundai Motor Company’s brand power continues to rise as it was ranked 72nd in the 2007Best Global
Brands by Interbrand and BusinessWeek survey. brand value estimated at $4.5 billion. Public perception
of the Hyundai brand has been transformed as a result of dramaticimprovements in the quality of
Hyundai vehicles.

Hyundai America Technical Center completed construction of its Hyundai/Kia provingground inCalifornia
City, Californiain 2004. The 4,300-acre (17 km²) facility is located intheMojave Desertand features a 6.4-
mile (10.3 km) oval track, a Vehicle Dynamics Area,a vehicle-handling course inside the oval track, a
paved hill road, and several specialsurface roads. A 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) complex featuring
offices and indoor testing areas is located on the premises as well. The facility was built at a cost of $50
million. Anaerial view can be found here.

Hyundai completed an assembly plant just outsideMontgomery, Alabamain 2004, with agrand opening
on May 20, 2005, at a cost of $1.1 billion. It is Hyundai’s second attempt at producing cars in North
America(The Hyundai AutoCanadaInc. plant inQuebeccloseddown in 1993). At full capacity, the plant
will employ 2,000 workers. Currently, the plantassembles theHyundai Sonataand theHyundai Santa Fe.
In 2003, According toConsumer Reports, Hyundai’s reliability rankings tiedHonda’s.

In 2005, Hyundai allowed Ed Voyles Hyundai inSmyrna, Georgiato become the first "deaf friendly"
dealership in the entire world. The staff in this dealership are able toaccommodate deaf customers with
the use of American Sign Languageand videoconferencing phones.

In 2006 JD Power and associates quality ranking, overall the Hyundai brand ranked 3rd, just
behindPorscheandLexus, and beating long time rivalToyota. The brand overall isranked much higher
than the average industry and resale value continues to improve; acomparable 2003Hyundai
Sonatasedan ranks just $2200 below similarly equippedHonda Accord, according toKelley Blue Book
Pricing 2006.

In 2006, Hyundai’s minivanEntourageearned a five-star safety rating – the highest honor the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration bestows – for all seating positions infrontal and side-impact
crashes. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also rates“Good” – its highest rating – in front, side
and rear impacts. TheIIHS(Insurance Institutefor Highway Safety, US), in fact, has christened the
2006Hyundai EntourageandKia Sedonaa “Gold Top Safety Pick,” making the safest minivan ever
tested.In 2006, Hyundai was awarded 'Top-rated 2006 Ideal Vehicle' byAutopacific, Marketingresearch
and consultancy firm for the automobile industry. In 2007, Hyundai’s midsizeSUVSanta Feearns 2007
TOP SAFETY PICK award byIIHS.
In 2007 at the New York International Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled its V8 rear-driveluxury sedan
calledConcept Genesisto be slotted above the Azera in the Hyundai line-up.This concept will make its
American debut in mid 2008.

In 2007 at the Los Angeles International Auto Show, Hyundai unveiled its second rear-drive concept car,
this car, calledConcept Genesis Coupe, will be Hyundai’s first sports car due to make its debut in early
2009.

In 2008,Hyundai Santa FeandHyundai Elantraawarded 2008 Consumer Reports "top pick" which was
among the top 10 vehicles for 2008 unveiled in the magazine's issue. Themagazine's annual ratings,
based on road tests and predicted safety and reliability areconsidered highly influential among
consumers.

In 2008, at the North American International Auto Show, the production version of theluxury &
performance-oriented Hyundai Genesis sedan made its debut, dealerships willhave the Genesis as soon
as Summer 2008.

2009, Hyundai has announced the five-door hatchback variant of theElantra compact sedanwill carry the
name Elantra Touring when it goes on sale in the spring as a 2009 model.

MODEL LINE UP

• Equus/Centennial(joint project of Hyundai andMitsubishi)

•Click/Getz

Accent

Tiburon/Coupé/Tuscani

Elantra

Matrix/Lavita

•
Sonata

Grandeur (joint project of Hyundai andMitsubishi)

Grandeur XG/XG300/XG350

Grandeur/Azera

Dynasty

P a g e 1 1

Hyundai Santamo(RebadgedMitsubishi Chariot) (Originally produced byHyundai Precision Industry)

i30

i10

Genesis

Genesis Coupe

Hyundai Azera

SUVs and Vans

•

HD1000 (Minibus/Porter)

Entourage(Similar to theKia Sedona)

Hyundai Galloper (RebadgedMitsubishi Pajero) (Originally produced byHyundai Precision Industry)

Grace(1st generation was a rebadgedMitsubishi Delica)

Hyundai H-100Grace/Porter

Porter (1st generation was a rebadgedMitsubishi Delica)

Santa Fe

Trajet

H-1/Satellite/Starex/Libero/H-200

Terracan

Tucson

Veracruz

•
Hyundai Starex
 About Hyundai Motors
 
Hyundai Motor Company or popularly known as Hyundai is a South Korea-
based multinational company that deals in the manufacturing of automobiles.
Founded in the mid 20th century by Chung Ju-Yung, the company has its
headquarters in Seoul, South Korea with Chung Eui-sun as the chairperson
and Eon Tae-ha and Jae Hoon-chang as the CEO and president.
Hyundai Motors has its roots in countries like Turkey, South Korea, China,
North America, India, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Brazil. Hyundai sells
its vehicles in 190+ countries through 6,000 dealerships and showrooms.
Hyundai presently has eight research facilities in Korea and four foreign
centers, including the Hyundai America Technical Center in Ann Arbor,
Michigan, and the Hyundai California Design Center in Fountain Valley,
California. Hyundai’s automotive technology centers employ about 4,100
researchers and operate on 5% of the current revenue budget.
 
Quick Stats about Hyundai
Founder Chung Ju-Yung
Year Founded 1967
Origin Seoul, South Korea
No. of Employees 9500
Company Type Public
Market Cap $33.309 Billion (2020)
Annual Revenue $23.649 Billion (2020)
Net Income/ Profit $96 Billion (2020)
 
Products of Hyundai
These are the products manufactured and sold by Hyundai:
 Sedans 
 SUVs 
 Trucks 
 Buses
 
Competitors of Hyundai
There are many organizations focusing on motors. Following are Hyundai
major competitors:
 Toyota Motor Corporation
 Volkswagen
 GM Motors
 Ford Motors
 Nissan
 
Now that we are familiar with the basics of the company, let’s dive straight into
the SWOT Analysis of Hyundai. 
 
SWOT Analysis of Hyundai
 

 
1. Strengths of Hyundai
Strengths are internal factors that the company has upper control over. These
elements are managed by the company and it is what keeps them strong and
prominent in the market. Following are Hyundai’s strengths – 
 
 Advanced marketing – Hyundai hires celebrities as brand ambassadors to
represent their brand globally. Therefore influencing the tastes and
preferences of the customers and making the brand more approachable and
user-friendly. Hence increasing the sales and proving itself to be successful in
their marketing activities. 
 High sales volume – Being the world’s 6th largest car-maker, Hyundai
produces and sells its automobiles in a huge proportion which implies its
strong market position in the global market. Although due to the Covid-19
pandemic, the sales dropped with a little different but still did better than its
competition.
 Brand value – According to Interbrand, Hyundai’s brand value in the financial
year 2020 was $14,295 million dollars, up 1% from the previous year. Factors
such as product innovation, safety, sustainability, product line, and a global
network of distributors have helped the company sustain its brand image and
value.
 Global presence – Hyundai operates in 190+ countries across the globe. It
does a great job in handling the supply chain across the globe and reaches its
target customers through 6000 dealers worldwide and therefore earns high
revenues, adding to its sales.
 Strong business model – Hyundai has a strong business model and its
ability was proved during the Covid-19 pandemic. While a large number of
automobile brands had a tough time struggling with pandemics in terms of
sales and revenue, Hyundai emerged relatively unscathed. 
 CSR – Companies need to fulfill their responsibility towards society and the
environment. Hyundai Motors is a socially responsible organization, and the
company has taken many initiatives for the betterment of society and the
environment. It comprises donations of benches to the government schools,
expanding forest covers in Tamil Nadu, promotion of eco-friendly products,
and more.
 
 2. Weaknesses of Hyundai
Second, in line with the SWOT analysis of Hyundai, are its weaknesses.
These also are internal factors that are relatively in control by the company.
Following are Hyundai’s weaknesses – 
 
 Fuel engine ads – The advertising of the fuel engines of the company takes
place in a few regions only and claims to be an accountable organization
when it comes to the environment. Thus sending a perplexed, unclear, and
dual image of the company to its customers.
 Lower Market Share – Maintaining its market share globally is a difficult task
for Hyundai. The automobile industry is among one of the most profitable
industries. With an increase in the total number of competitors, there has been
a decline in Hyundai’s market share. Increasing competitors and their growth
is giving the company a tough fight.
 
3. Opportunities of Hyundai
Opportunities are external elements that pose advantageously to the company
if they recognize and use them to their potential. Hyundai’s opportunities are
as follows – 
 
 Growing and developing markets – The ever-growing fast economy and the
new trends in consumer behavior bring various new opportunities with time.
Developing nations of Asia, Europe, and Latin America have huge growth
potential. Therefore the company should keep doing the research and
development of its products and push their products in developing markets.
Hence ensure their growth with the market growth
 Electric cars – Hyundai has gained a reputation with their electric and hybrid
cars. This is also a great opportunity for them. The company should try
making these available at lower costs and increase their production for the
same so that Hyundai utilizes this opportunity to its fullest.
  
 
  
4. Threats of Hyundai
Last, under the segment of the SWOT analysis of Hyundai, we have the
threats. These are external factors that the company has no control over.
Following are threats of Hyundai – 
 
 Substitute – Hyundai Motors does offer its vehicles at a lower cost as
compared to that of the competitors’ brands, but many people still depend on
public transportations like busses, trains, etc. instead of owning the vehicle.
Hence, the use of such substitute modes of transportation is the biggest threat
to the company’s growth.
 Competitors – Toyota, Honda, Tesla, BMW, Ford, and many other
companies give Hyundai tough competition. The increasing growth rate of the
competitors results in a reduction of Hyundai’s market share. Hence a threat
for the company.
 Government policies – Being having an international presence, the company
tends to follow the policies of various countries and governments.  The
unending fear of any sudden change in the policies and the environment thus
remains constant.