Hyundai Motor Tops Non-
Luxury Category in U.S. Survey

The latest IQS survey shows that the automaker placed third in overall rankings, including the luxury car segment

Hyundai Motor Co. has ranked among the top three automakers in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Initial Quality Study (IQS) for the first time in history of IQS. A survey of new car owners who took ownership last November and this past January by the U.S. renowned survey agency, J.D. Power and Associates shows that Hyundai obtained 102 points to place third in the overall IQS rankings following Porshe (91 points) and Lexus (92 points), which have led the luxury brands.
Hyundai's third place in the overall ranking among the surveyed 37 brands is up seven notches from the previous survey. It means that Hyundai ranked first in the general category; excluding the luxury segment Toyota, beating Toyota and Honda, which got 106 and 110 points, respectively.
Car owners are surveyed regarding problems they experienced after 90 days of ownership and performance is summarized utilizing problems-per 100 vehicles (PP100) designation. The study compares quality by manufacturer, assembly plant, vehicle model, and platform.
In particular, Hyundai Tucson placed first in the compact multi-activity vehicle (MAV) segment, outperforming Honda CR-V and Nissan Xterra. Avante XD ranked second in the compact segment, Hyundai Azera placed second in the large cars segment and Hyundai Tiburon took the No. 2 position in the compact sporty car segment. Meanwhile, Kia Rio /Rio Cinco tiled with Suzuki Aeria in the sub-compact car segment.
Hyundai Motor's top position in the non-luxury car category in the IQS survey is significant in history of Korea's car exports, as the Korean automaker has built up a platform for improving its brand value from the "value car"to the "premium car,"industrial analysts say. In reality, thanks to its achievements in the United States, Hyundai has been no longer rated as a "cheap car"but recognized as a "value car,"or quality car for a cheaper price below a "premium car."Suh Sung-moon, researcher at Korea Investment & Securities, said, "Hyundai Motor has placed top priority on quality, and has shifted its mainstay brand from Verna to Sonata and Grandeur as part of its efforts to make their models bigger and luxury ones."Hyundai Motor's top position in the non-luxury car category is expected to give a sharp rise in its brand recognition, he said. In particular, the latest IQS results for Hyundai Motor are likely to boost sales in the United States in consideration of American consumers'rational tendency, analysts say, adding that the survey outcome will influence would-be buyers who have doubts over quality despite cheaper prices.
Hyundai Verna has recently seen sales dropping due to lower prices of Japanese models. Hyundai models above the Avante class still have a competitive price edge over U.S. and Japanese counterparts in the U.S. market. As a result, such big-ticket models as Grandeur and Santa Fe will likely get a boost in U.S sales, analysts say. Hyundai Grandeur began to be put on the U.S. market as the brand "Azera"in earnest early this year.
A Hyundai Motor official said Hyundai Motor's rise to the top position is construed as the fact that the company's strenuous efforts to improve quality under the leadership of Chairman Chung Mong-koo has almost reached a matured stage. However, there is another stumbling block Hyundai Motor will have to overcome - how well it gets in the vehicle dependability study (VDS). VDS is a survey on car owners who have more than three years of ownership, a yardstick of setting prices for not only second-hand cars, but also new cars. Hyundai models'VDS are still below the industry's average, but showed the highest improvement among the surveyed models.
HYUNDAI's RISE IN WORLDWIDE SAELS. In May, Hyundai Motor's worldwide sales rose 6.3 percent over the previous month to 228,712 units. The January-May cumulative total reached 1,100,009 units, up 11.6 percent on a year-on-year basis.
Driven by a surge in the demand for commercial vehicles, May domestic sales rose 2.2 percent to 45,000 units while overseas sales which includes shipments form Hyundai's Korean factories and units sold by Hyundai's manufacturing subsidiaries in the United States, China, India and Turkey rose by 7.4 percent to 183,712 units over the previous month.
The company's sedans sales in the Korean market dropped by 15.1 percent month-on-month to 22,876 units but Sonata retained its crown as the nation's No. 1 selling car with ales of 10,664 units. Sales of SUVs and minivans posted a 32.8 percent increase to 8,088 units following a sluggish April. Sales of sedans, SUVs and passenger minivans declined by 6.2 percent month-on-month to 30,964 units. nw

Models pose before the new Avante that has been released recently.