Hyundai aiming high – Fleet Voice
Wednesday 31 August 2011. Fleet Voice Column.
Managing directors of car companies have a tendency to be, well, just a little bit too corporate.
Ask them a question and you’ll receive the message they want to put across rather than a proper answer. It’s a technique we see and hear on daily news bulletins from all and sundry. Tony Whitehorn, Managing Director of Hyundai UK, is not most car company MDs.
Ask Whitehorn a question and you’re more than likely to be treated to an almost evangelical level of enthusiasm. What holds Whitehorn back from being the Deep South pastor zealot of the British car industry is, quite simply, he talks a whole lot of sense.
Not only does Whitehorn break out the common sense on a regular basis, and this is not something you will find with all successful auto industry high-ups, he has the figures to prove his points.
For starters, Hyundai now has a 3.5% share of the UK market.
“Before the recession and the Scrappage Scheme, Hyundai was doing well but was not a major player,” admits Tony. “Sure, the Scrappage Scheme worked in our favour and we sold a lot of small cars, especially i10, i20 and i30 models, but we cannot base a future on that.
“Hyundai is where it is now in the UK because we are building and selling cars people want to own, whether that’s retail or fleet customers.”
The latest car from Hyundai, the i40 Estate that will be followed early in 2012 by the saloon model, is a prime candidate for fleet users. Whitehorn remains typically realistic about expectations for this car and says: “We expect to sell around 6,000 i40s in a full year.
“That figure is nowhere near the volume of the Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Insignia, but Hyundai has to grow steadily and we also have to be mindful of our retail customers who have brought us to this stage.
“However, fleet is a major consideration for the i40 and we expect 70% of sales to go into the business market, be that larger fleets or smaller operations using a PCP or lease deal.”
Long-standing
That 6,000-per-year figure for the i40 seems very modest given the new car’s very keen pricing, good looks, fine drive, excellent space and a low emissions model that beats most small hatches, never mind the competition from the larger sector it resides in. A look at Peugeot’s modest sales hopes for the 508 shows it also wants to sell 6,000 of this model per annum in the UK, yet it is already heading toward sales of 10,000.
The Hyundai i40 should have no trouble matching the Peugeot’s sales, particularly as Hyundai is finessing its 165-strong dealer network.
Again, more straight talking from Whitehorn on this subject: “Most of our dealers are long-standing partners and we appreciate their support as Hyundai has grown.
“Some have dropped off and we have had to let go of a tiny number, but we have also recruited some superb new dealers that will help improve our presence and that all-important perception among customers.”
It’s a strategy that is paying off and was recently rewarded by consumer champions Which? who awarded Hyundai its Best Car Manufacturer gong for 2011. In Which?’s survey, owners ranked Hyundai at a very high 82% for reliability and 84% for satisfaction.
To achieve a higher satisfaction score than reliability tells us Hyundai dealers are delivering customer service way beyond what most car owners experience. This was reflected in the comments of Which?’s judges, who remarked: “To win this award, not only must a company offer outstanding products or services, it must also deliver exceptional value and a great customer experience. This is especially important at a time when consumers are really feeling the pinch.”
With approval like that from customers and recognition from Which?, Whitehorn could be forgiven for taking a pew on his laurels for a wee while. However, that’s not his style and he says: “With every new model, Hyundai has to take a big step forward, whether that is in styling, quality or engineering.
“It happened with the i30 that set us on our current path, then the i10 and i20 that took us into markets where we compete head-on with some of the best cars in the world.
“The ix35 then made another big step for Hyundai in design and desirability. Here’s a capable crossover and family car yet demand outstrips supply. It shows we’re on the right track, and it does residual values a power of good too.”
Ambitious
Even more tellingly, Whitehorn has another nugget of information at his finger tips about the ix35: “With the launch of the i40 and the all-new i30 to be revealed at the Frankfurt motor show, plus the revised i10 earlier this year, the ix35 is now the oldest model in the Hyundai line-up in the UK.
“With product development moving forward at this rate, Hyundai is evolving fast and it’s my job to make sure our business and customers grow together. At present, Hyundai UK sells 65,000 cars per year in the UK, but in five years’ time, I want that to be 100,000 cars for a 5% market share.”
This is an ambitious goal, particularly given the parlous state of the UK economy and car sales, but Whitehorn has that evangelical glint in his peepers again as he explains why he thinks this is realistic: “Car buyers, be they retail or fleet, have come to know Hyundai for value, reliability and excellent warranty cover. Now they are discovering the cars are stylish and good to drive.
“We might not be up there yet with the very best, but Hyundai is gaining very quickly as we can see with the i40.”
Whitehorn also reckons there’s another key reason why Hyundai, and South Korean firms in general, are taking sales from more established players: “In most companies, when the staff is charged with a difficult task, most people see the problems.
“With Hyundai, we are expected to find solutions, no matter how challenging the task. It’s an invigorating environment to work in and why Hyundai is enjoying rapid yet sustainable growth in the UK.”
Time spent with Tony Whitehorn has the same effect on those around him and you come away believing Hyundai is capable of anything. Even in the cold light of the day after, it’s hard not to think he has a point. His straight talking is not a ploy to hook in those too inured to corporate spin and jargon, it’s how Whitehorn is and what he believes.
It may make him more of an evangelist than most of his opposite numbers in suits at other car companies, but with Whitehorn his faith would seem to be far from misplaced. Have a test drive in a Hyundai i40 and see the light.
Alisdair Suttie
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