Hyundai Dropping Job-Loss Protection

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Now that the economy is recovering and Hyundai has a new generation of more upscale offerings on its dealers’ lots, the automaker’s job-loss-protection program is going away, reports Automotive News [sub]. The one-year protection will be available on Hyundais purchased through the end of this month, but as sales boss Dave Zuchowski puts it

We actually see the elimination of the job-loss program as a sign of a recovering economy and we had never anticipated that this would be an enduring program. We welcome the day when it’s really no longer as relevant in the showroom or as required in the marketplace.

The job-loss-protection element of Hyundai’s Assurance program was widely lauded back in the gloomy days of early 2009 as the perfect recession-era marketing gimmick. Financial uncertainty was rampant, job loss was common, and guaranteeing a repo-free experience in case you lost your job was a good way to keep people buying, and indeed, the recession years were good to Hyundai. The program even garnered so much attention that Hyundai’s erstwhile marketing boss, Joel Ewanick, received AdAge’s “Marketer of the Year” award, even though Assurance’s job-loss-protection scheme was simply a rebadge of Walkaway, an existing insurance option.

And ultimately, it seems that the program was probably better at getting media attention than actually protecting huge numbers of laid-off Hyundai buyers, as the number of consumers actually returning their vehicles under the program were low (350 as of this week), and Hyundai’s recent sales momentum actually dates back to the introduction of its 10-year, 100k mile warranty.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Rod Panhard Rod Panhard on Mar 30, 2011

    It was a marketing campaign, just like the coupons for detergent on your countertop. Those expire. So do offers from Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, GM, etc.

  • Steven02 Steven02 on Mar 30, 2011

    With what just happened in Japan, more people around the world could get layedoff depending on the industry. While the economy is showing signs of recovery, I am not sure that this is the best time because problems could be coming back very soon. I think this is the wrong time to make this move. Wait till the fallout from the tsunami is realized, then make a decision.

    • See 1 previous
    • Steven02 Steven02 on Mar 30, 2011

      I wasn't talking about selling cars in Japan. I was talking about the tsumani in Japan will hurt economies everywhere with different parts shortages for different items, from iPads to cars. This could cause layoffs in the US and other parts of the world where Hyundai does sell cars.

  • Canuck129 Canuck129 on Mar 30, 2011

    Of course they are getting rid of this policy, they can't make money from it anymore, it has lost its value. It was never about "helping people" in the first place. I was terribly mislead by those warm and fuzzy TV ads.

  • I_godzuki I_godzuki on Mar 31, 2011
    These matter zero when you make most cars in the US and A. The volume leaders Sonata and Elantra are both produced in Alabama. Sure some parts are sourced from overseas, but not a much different geographic mix than a USA built Japanese car such as Accord. vbofw That's not really true, is it? Overall, Hyundai actually exports more cars worldwide proportionately than Toyota, Nissan or Honda. Just because they make Sonatas and Elantras in the US, they still benefit from a weaker won overall just as the stronger yen really hurt the Japanese (how many Lexus are made in the U.S.?) Take a look at what happened to Hyundai's stock price since September 2008 when Lehman collapsed, the won plunged and the yen surged.
    • Bd2 Bd2 on Mar 31, 2011

      Don't know if that really holds true today. Hyundai now builds more vehicles in its overseas plants than it does in Korea and the bulk of its US sales (the Sonata, Elantra and Santa Fe) are built in the US. Also, Lexus models aren't built in the US (altho, one is built in Canada) primarily b/c Toyota wanted to be able to keep a better eye on quality (same reason why Toyota isn't building Lexus models in China). It would be beneficial for Toyota to build Lexus models in the US, but Lexus models can get away with higher prices due to being built in Japan, unlike many of Toyota's mainstream offerings.

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