Quality is the watchword, as Hyundai unveils
future strategy to dealers

Offenbach, 6th April 2009

Hyundai Motor Europe last week staged a large-scale conference for more than 1,200 distributors and dealers in Prague, Czech Republic. The attendees were introduced to Hyundai’s future product and marketing strategies, which bring together the twin themes of ‘quality’ and ‘moving the brand further upmarket’.

The conference audience heard how Hyundai will continue its ‘brand shift’ through ongoing marketing actions and new product development. The latest showroom identity was also presented.

During the two-day event, delegates were given a tour of the Nošovice production facility – Hyundai’s first European plant – and saw first-hand the i30 quality assessment process. They were invited to test drive pre-production examples of the new i30 Blue, which will be the company’s first road car to feature stop-start technology and the first to be introduced under Hyundai’s new Blue DriveTM eco-initiative.

After the event, Allan Rushforth, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Europe, said, “Europe continues to grow in significance for Hyundai and it will be the most important territory for the company over the next five years. This is clearly demonstrated by the creation of our European manufacturing base, where we are building our first model under the Blue Drive banner – the i30 Blue. Our future success in Europe will be led by models like i30, which was designed to satisfy the tastes of European consumers and is now built in Europe to the highest production standards.

“We recently undertook research which revealed that 25 per cent of all customers new to Hyundai were attracted by our high-quality, high-value messaging,” Mr. Rushforth continued. “These characteristics are reflected in our ‘True Quality Matters’ slogan, which is central to our efforts to move Hyundai upmarket in Europe. We want customers and prospects to consider Hyundai to be a refined and stylish brand, and we are investing significantly to make it a success.”

Feedback from the dealers and distributors has indicated that the content of the two-day program was well received and motivational. Strong sales performance – ahead of the negative market trend – has put Hyundai representatives in a healthy position in 2009. The news of exciting and innovative products further boosted their confidence and is expected to sustain momentum for the future.