Beijing Hyundai has ambitious plans for Chinese market

Gasgoo.com (Shanghai January 17) - Beijing Hyundai is planning to release one new model in China this year, as well as update three others, the West China City Daily reported today. The news came from an recent interview the paper had with Xue Haozhi, Beijing Hyundai's brand and advertising director, who also mentioned that the joint venture will also expand its dealership network this year. An excerpt of the interview follows:

West China City Daily: "What is Beijing Hyundai's sales target for the year? What changes will the joint venture be making to its product lineup?"

Xue Haozhi (pictured above): "Several of Beijing Hyundai's models will be undergoing a design update in 2013. The Tucson and ix35 SUVs, [as well as the] Elantra Yuedong, will receive exterior design upgrades. In addition, a brand new midsize model placed between the Elantra Langdong and eighth generation Sonata will be released, bringing Beijing Hyundai's total product line up to 12 vehicles. Beijing Hyundai's sales target has been set to one million vehicles. This is our largest production capacity target so far."

West China City Daily: "How of the sales of the recently released new Santa Fe (pictured below) been? Will it influence the sales of Hyundai's other SUVs?"

Mr. Xue: "As Beijing Hyundai's first turbocharged, full size SUV, the new Santa Fe will take up a prominent place in [the joint venture]'s product lineup. The Santa Fe has managed to bring in over 7,000 orders to date. Furthermore, not only have the ix35's sales not decreased since the Santa Fe's debut in December, they have actually managed to reach a new monthly high of 15,000 units. Therefore, [we can say that] the Santa Fe's product placement has been successful. Its most important goal is to help expand Beijing Hyundai's SUV lineup by giving our consumers a new SUV to select from."

West China City Daily: "Will Beijing Hyundai's dealership network grow this year? How many dealerships will be added to the Sichuan area?"

Mr. Xue: "Currently, Beijing Hyundai possesses approximately 670 dealerships and 130 satellite outlets. That number is scheduled to expand by 100 this year, so that there will be a total of 900 sales outlets [in the country]. A portion of these dealerships will be located in third- and fourth-tier cities. Seven new dealerships will be added in Sichuan, with the total number of dealerships in Chengdu increasing from eight outlets to 11. Following the expansion of the sales network, [Hyundai's] brand image will also increase, which will also bring in a number of new consumers."

West China City Daily: "As far as the aftermarket sales service is concerned, what measures will Beijing Hyundai be taking?"

Mr. Xue: "One thing that I can say for sure, Beijing Hyundai is paying more and more attention to the development of the automobile aftermarket. [Furthermore], Beijing Hyundai is aware of the popularization of uncertified repair service centers aimed at owners of economy-class models. However, with the advancement of automobile technology, we believe this situation will become less prevalent in the future. For example, the eight generation Sonata and other models possess a unique electronic system that needs to be serviced at specialized [Hyundai] centers."