Following the footsteps of carmakers who have ultra-low budget models for emerging markets – the best example so far is Renault with the Renault/Dacia Logan – Hyundai wants to develop a new ultra-cheap car that will cost less than US$10,000.
On the other end of the pricerange, it is rumoured that Hyundai is developing a premium brand for it to sell it’s more high-end rear-wheel-drive V8 cars that are still under development. Hyundai will use a common rear wheel drive platform (presented as the Hyundai Genesis) for these luxury vehicles, and most will likely carry one of Hyundai’s Tau V8 engines.
It will be interesting to see how cheap Hyundai can go for it’s budget car, considering one of Hyundai’s main sales pitches are is it’s lower price already. It would also be equally interesting to see how the market will accept a premium Korean, as even now despite Lexus proving itself worthy of being an equal to BMW and Mercedes Benz, there are still many critics of Lexus.
Even in our local market, many are surprised that the Hyundai Azera is offered here, because it is sold at a price that no one would dream of paying for a Korean car.
I still remember something a friend of mine said, “I will never buy an LS460, because I know somewhere underneath all of that glam and gadgets is Camry DNA.”
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hai.. normally budget car for asia and high-end car for euro.. waht a irony..
whatever, still the good news for who are not afford for expensive car!
I wonder if Hyundai capable of making quality & reliable budget cars. Even the cheapest accent looks unpleasant inside and out.
I've seen Azeras on the road. So there are people buying them despite almost all of us writing them off, me included.
In other markets, a hyundai looks cheap because IT IS CHEAP. I remember the Accent starting at something around 11k USD, with the 1.5L, the little sister Kia Rio starts at 8k USD. With that sort of buying power we had then, thats almost a disposable good. (I dont know what the article is about, but the group already has a sub-10k USD car)
Lexus had the same problem when they launched. Now they are doing well. This sorts of things take time, and snob appeal will even take longer.
I would love to see the Genesis go head to head with the E class and GS400. No matter how Hyundai wants to be the premium brand, they will still play the "I am still giving you better value" game against the bigger players.
attempt ultra budget? since when did hyundai did not make them?
Their Picanto/Atos is already one of the cheapest. Would be interesting how low can they go. Perhaps they can adopt what Toyota/Peugeot/Citreon did with the Aygo to minimise cost of production. But sadly, no matter how ultra budget they go, they would have to go thru ultratax imposed in Malaysia.
Hyundai being a premium brand? Good luck to them. Lexus took quite a while to be where they are now. If they want to go premium, Hyundai would need to focus more on quality assembly and part durability.
not interested……..
I still remember something a friend of mine said, “I will never buy an LS460, because I know somewhere underneath all of that glam and gadgets is Camry DNA.â€
>> the last thing you said is very true paul. I think in a way, despite all the money spent to get lexus to where they are today (something I'm sure that hyundai could do given time), money can't buy you heritage.
But then again, Heritage doen't get you very far if you have no quality or not have a strong business model.
Some people call it heritage, I call it snob appeal. To some people it doen't matter if the engineering is good, its the brand that counts.
i want a sub 10K (RM!) car with a V8 because even i'm poor, i must not be late for my punch.
also, i wanna flappy pedal gear, because my legs cannot change gear too fast.
if u are willing, please put in a turbo because i think, every day i wake up very late and with bigger turbo, i can catch up with the traffic.
can aaa master hyundai?
if can sell overhere is better. it is a new hyundai accent in south korea. i hv tested drive it the 1.6l cvvt, which bought by friend in singapore as hyundai verna. powerful for a small car like toyota vios. infact preferred this than vios interms of interior.
Usually the 1st launch of a new car model is a labrat but it will gradually improved after recieving numerous feedbacks. Thats normal.
"….I still remember something a friend of mine said, “I will never buy an LS460, because I know somewhere underneath all of that glam and gadgets is Camry DNA.â€
Such a generalized and simpleton comment (by your friend). The only Lexus vehicle that shares any sort of DNA or components with a Camry is the Lexus ES sedan.
I echo 4G63T DSM. Hyundai have been selling sub-US$10,000 cars for as long as… when they started in the US, as far as I remember. So what's the deal? Sub-5,000 would be cracking the price point but not 10,000. Maybe someone in Perodua should ship some Kancils over and proudly proclaim them as the cheapest car in the US?
Then again, being Americans, they might mistake Kancils as gas powered golf carts!!!
Go get a copy of Lexus: The relentless pursuit.
It tells how Lexus started off from scratch and how they are now well respected, BOTH in the field of sales and engineering.
Paul, your friend's statement is absolutely wrong. Toyota and Lexus build cars by sharing parts down the order. True, parts sharing is very common you will not find Camry parts in a Lexus. If there are similarities, it's because these parts were earlier conceived for Lexus and other high end Toyota models first, and then transferred down the line to cheaper models. When the parts are certified fit for even the most expensive cars in their catalog, then it saves them the trouble of having to produce and test new parts for Toyota's lower models.
Hondadriver, i seriously don't think money is the factor behind achieving such great heights. Hyundai need not just the money but the proper management, culture and people to make things right. Honda and Nissan invested quite a lot into their Acura and Infiniti range of cars, but look where they are now. Even the showroom administration operations are so concise and precise that you rarely feel the difference when visiting Lexae showrooms in other countries.
we can talk all we want in a forum, but you can't change market perception so easily. i think you guys look at that simple comment to simplistically.
you guys discount Paul's friend's comments too easily. If you were working in Lexus's marketing dept. you would be very worried, because you have probably lost a potential customer, why? coz he thinks its a camry. Isn't that a serious problem?
if 1 enthusiast knows that a lexus shares no underpinnings with a camry technically, the 9 people out there rich enough to buy it couldnt care less, beacuse they think so, and probably end up buying a bmw, or mercedes.. heritage might be snob appeal, but to the rich, isn't snob appeal important?
but then again, heritage doesn't only mean snob appeal. like the Honda Type R's, thats motorsports heritage, and nothing to do with snob appeal. likewise the EVO, and Subaru. These cars sell, just on their motorsports heritage alone. In fact, probably 8 out of 10 of their buyers are not even fast drivers.
another good example is alfa. We are all probably saying now.. wah.. lousy car, expensive to maintain, always break down.. BUT, alfa still has a strong following, and a rock solid heritage. People buy the cars because of this heritage. Because of this heritage, they are willing to overlook quality issues, lack of resale value, expensive maintenance…etc.
Having the "best" product in the world doesn't always gurantee you success.
to build a brand, you still need money. its ok with small niche products, but if you want to make it big with a worldwide consumer product, you will need money. and kington, you do agree with me that you need money, as you mentioned acura, etc. but it must be money thats spent well of course.
with money, comes proper management. with proper management(hopefully), comes good strategies..etc. etc,
alamak, off tangent already. but yes, i still stick to what i said about money.
wahlaueh…
not bad if Hyundai still can go for ultra-budget, really solute them!
In boleh land this is seen to be a big dream only.
Paul, any updates on current launch Altis that heard in the advertisement?
so, the market grows up for hyundai worldwide? are these models coming to Malaysia? If so, then the P1 and P2 need to do something quickly. These hyundai cheap cars must be much much more better than the saga and the new Viva. If not, we'll see alot of hyundais on road everywhere. How bout the quality and safety? these aspects cannot be compromised altough cheap models are produced (with cheap parts?).maybe it will be put aside to save the cost. How about maintainance?
Bout Lexus, for its Harrier model, it is the same model with Toyota. I cant see any difference except the manufacturer's logo. Maybe for class and prestige, people will go for Lexus's Harrier than Toyota's.
the size of this car is actually similar to vios or city. i have driven and is it nice also. my friend bought it in singapore as hyundai verna about S$30k as i remembered. have no problem for 2 years since he bought it. he has shown me the catalogue of two models 1.4l and 1.6l, both with cvvt. interior is nice and quality is good too. engine is powerful enough for 1.6l as i tested. i believe it will be somewhere 60k to 70k in malaysia if there is.
Absolutely agree wit hondadriver. LIke what Top Gear always said, "You can never, ever consider yourself a true petrolhead until you've owned an Alfa. They're not cars for POSERS, they're cars for the CONOISSIEURS."
i'm from Singapore, and the Atos is not imported, though the Getz is available w/ the 1.1L engine. i've also realised that the Accent/Verna, together w/ other "budget" cars like the Vios, City & Aveo has been getting fatter and fatter thru' each generation, nt to mention their engine capacity, which are at 1.4L – 1.6L. Perhaps what Hyundai means by a ultra-budget car means a sedan w/ the 1.1L engine? Or even a new sub-litre engine… to take advantage of the downgrading trend due to rising oil prices….
It'll be interesting…. Hyundai quality + ultra-budget pricing = Geely filing for bankruptcy??
eezarm: Slight correction, Toyota Harrier & Lexus RX. But I believe the difference would be the trim, colour options and perhaps the way it is assembled. Another shared platform/model would be Toyota Altezza and Lexus IS.
Another note is that in order for Hyundai to penetrate in ASEAN market, it has to have an assembly hub in ASEAN. Thats why it is hard for Hyundai to compete with Toyota in this region. In Singapore a Hyundai Verna is more expensive than VIOS because Verna is a CBU Korea and doesn't enjoy the ASEAN assembled tax rates like Vios. The only local assemble of Hyundai in ASEAN is in Malaysia which is not as cost competitive as Thailand, the detriot of the east.
BrakeFader: To further make a distinction between platform sharing and badge re-engineering. The former significantly shares vehicle underpinnings while the latter simply rebadges a vehicle with very minor content changes due to regional marketing-led directives.
Vehicles categorized in the "Platform sharing" bucket in the case of Toyota-Lexus would be the following:
Toyota Sequioa Lexus LX SUVs
Toyota Camry Lexus ES SUVs
Toyota Mark X Lexus GS SUVs
Vehicles categorized in a the "Badge Reengineering" bucket:
Toyota Altezza Lexus IS
Toyota Harrier Lexus RX SUVs
emmm…….sorry,.i don't like this car..
To BrakeFader: Yup..thanks the additional info bout the Harrier and RX. Totally forgot bout that one. :)
RodimusOne: Spot on with the details.
Hyundai has clearly moved on…making huge strides; but some minds are still stuck in the 1980s LOL :)