Hyundai aims to pass Mercedes-Benz
German carmaker 8th in Europe, a notch above Korean firm
By Kim Tae-gyu
Hyundai Motor Group, Korea’s foremost automaker, hopes to chalk up double-digit sales growth in the European market this year despite the lingering financial woes in the region.
In time with Chairman Chung Mong-koo’s visit to the firm’s European factories, the Seoul-based outfit announced its sales goal for 2011 of 698,000 vehicles, up 12.4 percent from last year.
This means the group composed of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors would edge past Daimler Group, the No. 8 player in Europe with such brands as Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach, for the first time there. Hyundai is one notch behind Daimler.
``During the first eight months of 2011, Hyundai and Kia combined to sell 445,000 vehicles in Europe, the best performance among Asian companies and just 1,000 shy of those of Daimler Group,’’ a Hyundai official said.
``In consideration of the fact that Hyundai has outperformed Daimler in monthly sales of late, we expect that we will top Daimler for the full 2011.’’
According to data from the ACEA, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, Hyundai Motor Group carved out more than 5 percent of the European market for three consecutive months since June. It had 5 percent for June and July each and a record-high 5.8 percent last month.
In contrast, Daimler remained ahead of Hyundai with a market share of 5.3 percent and 5.7 percent in June and July, respectively, but the figure slumped to 5 percent in August, 0.8 percentage point lower than Hyundai.
The Korean automaker also widened the gap with its Asian competitor Toyota Motor, which sold merely 368,000 cars in Europe during the January-August period.
``At a time when the European market shrank, Hyundai and Kia were able to become the top Asian brands ahead of Japanese rivals thanks to their hard-working employees,’’ Chung said in a statement.
``Based on our innovative and proactive marketing activities, we were the only global player that grew during the financial crisis in 2008. We are confident we will be a genuine international top-tier outfit by overcoming current economic difficulties.’’
Chung added that the Hyundai i40 and the new Kia Pride are products to meet the specific needs of the European motorists. ``We need to keep adopting aggressive marketing with tailor-made models.’’
The tycoon visited Hyundai Motor plants in the Czech Republic and the sales office in Frankfurt.
The 73-year-old also met Ekkehard Schulz, the former CEO and Chairman of ThyssenKrupp, a large global German technology conglomerate, Wednesday to talk about cooperation between the two groups.
After his retirement earlier this year, Schulz was appointed to the Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp, which has hundreds of affiliates across the world in such industries as steel, automobiles, elevators and material trading.