In 2000, Hyundai Automotive SA was started and Alan Ross was appointed as chief executive officer. Together, he and his team took on the enormous challenge of turning the brand around.
From the beginning the mission was clear: To establish the reputation of a brand, build its integrity, reliability and superior quality and be recognised for its style. However, this was not an easy feat, predominantly due to a large amount of unpaid taxes by the previous importer, and the fact that the brand was behind in terms of styling and design compared to competitors.
And how the brand has proved its critics wrong. In a relatively short space of time, Hyundai Automotive South Africa, under the leadership of Alan Ross and marketing director Stanley Anderson, has gone from being perceived as a low-cost, less desirable brand, to one that today stands for unconditional quality, outstanding fluidic aesthetics and is viewed as a serious contender in the ‘modern premium’ vehicle segment.
Testament to this is the fact that within the first year of its re-entry into the market, the company only sold 1900 cars, yet today Hyundai is averaging more than 50 000 vehicles annually. This is a brand that truly delivered beyond expectation.
The transition to this “modern premium” brand however, meant going beyond what customers expected, by developing various vehicles that catered to diverse lifestyles, while combining exceptional performance at an affordable price.
Alan Ross says when they took on the challenge to change brand perception in the local market, they knew what they had to accomplish and understood that it was not going to be easy. “But what the mind of a man can conceive and believe, the mind of a man can achieve,” says Ross.
It is this kind of thinking and leadership, combined with its inspiring vehicle line-up, that has led Hyundai Automotive South Africa’s success in the last decade. Case in point, the Hyundai Elantra 1.8 GLS was awarded the title of the SAGMJ and WesBank Car of the Year in 2012. This marked a significant win in the local market, as it was the first time a Korean car had been awarded the title in South Africa.
The brand slogan “New Thinking, New Possibilities” has captured the hearts of many and it is evident in the vehicle design and technology. Not only that, but Hyundai’s local sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup in 2010 was a strong move towards elevating its brand position in the market and set the benchmark for the brand’s success into the years that followed.
With strong sales already on their books, since the re-establishment of the brand in 2000, the success of the last few years is set to continue. “Globally, the demand for the Hyundai brand has increased year-on-year and the industry should keep an eye out for large local investments we will be making into the economy in the coming months,” pre-empts Anderson.
It just goes to show, there is no substitute for hard work and brand persistence. That being said, Hyundai’s local success indicates that there is no such phrase as ‘I can’t’, no matter how tough the challenge may seem at first.
For more information on Hyundai, visit
www.hyundai.co.za .