Behind The Wheel

LATEST FROM OUR BLOGS

» More

- Investors Bet on a New Year's Rally For eBay

MORE HEADLINES

» Markets | Economy | Companies

- Mortgage Demand Slips as Rates Hold Near Lows

BEHIND THE WHEEL VIDEO

» More

Maria's Market Message 24 Nov 2009
CNBC's Sue Herera sits in for Maria Bartiromo to discuss the day's top business and financial stories, and look ahead to tomorrow's Closing Bell.

GM's Saab Story

24 Nov 2009

It's back to the drawing board for GM after a Swedish company pulled out at the last minute of a deal to buy the Saab unit. Insight with Erich Merkle, independent automotive consultant and CNBC's Phil LeBeau.

GM's Saab Deal Is Off 24 Nov 2009
General Motors' Saab deal is off, reports CNBC's Phil LeBeau.

BMW Signed as Olympic Partner

20 Nov 2009

BMW has been chosen as the official automotive partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics games. Ian Robertson, board member of BMW Group, spoke to CNBC about the sponsorship.

Economic Roundtable 19 Nov 2009
CNBC's Steve Liesman and Larry Lindsey, of the Lindsey Group, share their economic insight.

RSS FEED

» Help

Subscribe to this RSS feed
Stay up to date with Behind The Wheel.

CNBC ON DIGG

Hyundai's Hunger Leading to Big Bites

Published: Tuesday, 29 Sep 2009 | 9:52 AM ET

Text Size

By: Phil LeBeau

"They are on the prowl, and they're not gonna stop."

It was the strongest statement my friend, a long time auto industry veteran made during a recent meeting we had to discuss who's up, who's down, and who we should be watching closest. His assessment, hands down, was Hyundai. When he said Hyundai is coming strong, I have to admit I wasn't surprised. But the Koreans are just getting started.

Hyundai
Hyundai is picking up market share here in the U.S. thanks to a potent combination of much better product (both in terms of quality and styling) and savvy marketing. A company that was once dismissed as weak imitator of the Japanese automakers is now taking it to the folks from Toyota, Nissan, and Honda.

And it shows now sign of slowing down.

So far this year, Hyundai is down 0.3% while its competitors are all down more than 20%. It's picked up 1.2% market share and now has 4.4% in the U.S. According to AutoData. In the auto business, gaining 1.2% share, even off a low base, is astounding. For comparison, the other major automakers growing this year are: Ford (up 0.8%), Volkswagen (up 0.6%) and Honda (up 0.3%), and BMW, Mercedes, and Mazda all up a tenth of a percent.

What impressed my friend, who has worked with many automakers over the last 20 years, is the fact Hyundai is hungry for more. And it will likely stay on a roll since it has yet to enter or has a limited presence in many segments. Stealing a page out of the Toyota playbook, Hyundai will be aggressive with the product and the promotion.

CNBC.com Special Report: Vintage Cars: Wheels of Fortune or Road To Ruin?

On that last point, Hyundai's job guarantee promotion turned out to be a huge winner because it generated traffic and worked to change perceptions about the automaker. Look for more unique programs like that.

As my friend said that day, "Hyundai is not slowing down, you watch.” We will.