In Celebration of Euro 2008

Automaker holds Eurofest in Basel for football fans, sets H1 sales record with nearly 1.5 mln cars

Hyundai Motor set a sales record during the first half of 2008 with domestic car sales of 318,756 and overseas sales of 1,162,396, a total of 1,481,152, up 14.2 percent over the same period last year, the automaker said.
The figure is the largest for the first half of any year in its history. The company attributed the record performance to hefty increases in sales of such models as the Genesis, the Sonata Transform, and the i30. Those models also did well in overseas car markets, particularly in India and China.
It is the first time that the automaker sold more than 1 million cars overseas and the first-half domestic sales was the largest in 23 years, the carmaker said.
The company said the record sales came as a big surprise because most other automakers suffered a setback in sales due to high oil prices and the ensuing economic slowdown in many countries, especially the United States, the world's largest car market.
The automaker said sales of its small and medium-sized cars like the Avante and the Verna did well in the U.S., up 55 percent and 23 percent, respectively. The Avante did well in China, too, selling over 10,000 cars every month this year, an increase of 47 percent year on year, while the i10 sedan sold very well in India, up 45.3 percent year on year.
U.S. Car Sales:
Hyundai Motor set a record for monthly sales of its cars in the U.S. in June, selling 50,033 cars. June was also the largest month for Kia Motors, its sister company, officials of the two automakers said. Kia and Hyundai pushed up their combined share of the U.S. car market to 6.6 percent, up 1.3 percent year on year, with combined sales totaling 78,325 cars in June.
According to Hyundai Motor America, the June sales were the largest ever for the automaker since landing in the U.S. car market 22 years ago in 1986. The figure is up 1.3 percent compared to the same period last year at 49,368 cars.
The automaker is especially appreciative of its record monthly sales because it came while the U.S. car market is going through a rough time due to high fuel prices and while sales of rival carmakers have been down. Hyundai Motor is very encouraged by the fact that its monthly sales increase continued for four consecutive months in June compared to the same period in the previous year.
Eurofest:
Hyundai Motor Company, the official automotive partner of Europe's greatest sporting event, hosted Hyundai Eurofest on June 6 in Basel, where an estimated 30,000 people celebrated the spirit of football and prepared for the kick off of the UEFA EURO 2008 games.
As one of the EUROTOP Partners for EURO 2008, Hyundai continues to be one of the most visible brands around football, the most popular sport in the world. Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest automaker, has been carrying out various global marketing programs since January to add to the excitement surrounding the games. The programs culminated in a grand finale, where thousands of football fans visited Hyundai's pavilion in the Fan Zone in Kaserne.
David Taylor, UEFA secretary general; Hanspeter Gass, member of the cantonal government of Basel; Ahn Kun-hee, president of Hyundai Motor Europe; and Choi Jae-kook, president of Hyundai Motor Company's Sales & Planning division, were among the VIPs who attended the official ceremony for Eurofest.
The highlight of the Hyundai Eurofest was the finale of the Goodwill Ball Road Show. This road show has been Hyundai's flagship for the global football program since its first introduction at UEFA EURO 2000.
Hyundai Motor in Russia:
Hyundai Motor will increase complete knock down (CKD) production at its Russian plant from the current 50,000 cars a year to 80,000 cars by next year. CKD plants finish half-assembled cars, sent from Korea. Russian production will jump further to 120,000 cars a year by 2009. As a result, the plant will produce about half as many cars as one full assembly plant.
Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Kim Dong-jin said recently the company will increase the production of its CKDs in Russia.
Hyundai's performance in Russia has been promising. As of April, it ranked second in sales among imported brands, behind GM's Chevrolet, with a 7 percent market share and high quality satisfaction.
"Hyundai Motor's new Russian plant, our sixth overseas production base, will strategically play a central role in Hyundai's expansion in the CIS nations and Eastern Europe,"said Suh Byung-kee, Hyundai Motor's vice chairman of Quality Assurance, at the ceremony. "We will produce the best products in order to become Russia's number one automaker." nw

Hyundai Motor executives including Ahn Kyung-hee, president of Hyundai Motor Europe and officials of Basel City in Switzerland, raise arms to wish for the success of Euro 2008.