Hyundai NA Marketing Guy: 90% of Genesis Sales From Other Brands

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Don’t ya just love marketing guys who trot-out terms like UIO (units in operation, i.e. sold cars) and say things like “We have seen both positive and neutral perceptions grow, and negatives decrease. So we have moved lots of negative perceptions to neutral”? Neither do I. Of course, I’m sure Hyundai Motor America’s VP/Marketing Joel Ewanick is, like most of God’s children, a lovable human being. And if you’re talking to Marketing Daily (MD), what’s a UIO between friends (sounds like something Morris Day would sing about to me)? But I digest. And here’s some interesting factoids from the Ewanick’s Q&A. “We know that 40% of those buying Genesis have traded in vehicles like Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, and Porsche. We know what their income levels are, and we are finding that people are gravitating from luxury or near-luxury cars to Hyundai.” MD reminds us that “since the sedan version of Genesis went on sale in July, the company has sold 5,127 of the cars, including 1,151 of them last month.” That’s far short of Hyundai’s targets, but a pretty good showing in a market so down it has to reach up to tie its shoes. Anyway, about that Super Bowl ad…

“In the first part of the year, we’ll be on big stages–some of it NFL football, including the playoffs, and some with the Academy Awards, with a lot of overlap. [Such events] give us an opportunity to state our case and show that this is another Hyundai. If [consumers] aren’t forced to reconsider us, they won’t.”

Hang on; I’ll get my Glock. Meanwhile, here’s the UIO bit:

“Units in operation (UIO) is one way to get there [sales]: if people see our vehicles on the street, the more they see them, the more they get comfortable with the brand, and marketing needs to parallel that. The other school of thought is boosting marketing to propel the brand ahead of UIO. We are doing both: pushing marketing into bigger places while consumers are seeing new marketing products show up on streets.”

So, if the point is for people to see Hyundais on the street, why are they designed to mimic other brands’ cars? I guess you need a marketing degree to understand that sort of thinking.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Jerry weber Jerry weber on Jan 01, 2009

    I call the genesis a smashing success. Look, they sold their 5000 units in one half of a year out of worn out lackluster showrooms in a crashing economy.They also had no "deals" on these puppies. This has got to be the quintessinal argument for "it's the product stupid". For those that live in their cars hundreds of hours per year (all of us), this product is at least the 1990 lexus ls400. And to do it without a super structure of an entire dealer network ala lexus is breathtaking. What a year to not have opened several hundred new car agencies in the US. I predict this car sells itself and helps sell the lesser Hyundais like the Azera. The final benefit, they can get the later model American franchise stores as they become empty across the country. (at pennies on the dollar).

  • Lokki Lokki on Jan 01, 2009

    I like the car, but I think that we have to wait a couple of years before we can declare success or failure for Hyundai. The success of their entry into the luxury market depends on the dealers and the service departments now. Any new car will have some problems that the engineers and road testers didn't find.... ask Mercedes. Acura also had them with the intial Acura Integras (I have personal knowledge). It doesn't matter that things go wrong or break. What matters is how the dealers and the service departments take care of those problems. If there's a problem now and again, and you can jst drop the car, get an equivalent level car as a loaner, and be on your way, it's no big deal. If you have to go and stand in line, argue to get a loaner, and then wait two weeks for parts from the motherland while schlepping around in a Kia Rondo et al, then it starts to get annoying. If that happens more than a couple times, it's a deal breaker. Happened to my friend who leased a VW Tourag. When the lease was over it was back to Lexus. That I think is the test. They can capture buyers, but can they keep them? Only time will answer that question. When they get second-time buyers, then Hyundai will have truely launched in the luxury market. If you want a historical example - let's look at the Rover Sterling. Exactly the same car as an Acura Legend but with English leather. How could it fail? It had very strong intial sales too.

  • Slavuta Inflation creation act... 2 thoughts1, Are you saying Biden admin goes on the Trump's MAGA program?2, Protectionism rephrased: "Act incentivizes automakers to source materials from free-trade-compliant countries and build EVs in North America"Question: can non-free-trade country be a member of WTO?
  • EBFlex China can F right off.
  • MrIcky And tbh, this is why I don't mind a little subsidization of our battery industry. If the American or at least free trade companies don't get some sort of good start, they'll never be able to float long enough to become competitive.
  • SCE to AUX Does the WTO have any teeth? Seems like countries just flail it at each other like a soft rubber stick for internal political purposes.
  • Peter You know we’ve entered the age of self driving vehicles When KIAs go from being stolen to rolling away by themselves.
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