Hyundai-Kia joins Top 5 Automakers in the world

[treg50]

Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group joins the ranks of global top five automakers

2nd July 2008

The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group has entered the top five of the world’s largest automakers, moving from 11th place in 1999 to 5th place in 2007, out-selling rivals such as Honda, Nissan, PSA / Peugeot, Chrysler and Fiat.

With global sales of 3,961,629, Hyundai-Kia has shot up six places in just eight years, according to Automotive News' 2008 Global Data Book published yesterday.

"We are extremely proud of having achieved this goal in such a short period of time,” said Ik-Hwan Kim, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Kia Motors. “We have been stressing the value of our products over the last few years and our efforts have not gone unnoticed by the public or the industry, neither quantitatively or qualitatively.

“Kia will continue to focus on producing a new generation of quality vehicles with distinctive design to keep the momentum of our brand growing. As a top global automaker, we are set to move in new directions with continuous improvements in quality, design, eco-friendliness and brand innovation for years to come.”

The Group has seen remarkable growth since its foundation. It ranked as the world's eleventh largest automaker in 1999, the year Hyundai-Kia Chairman Mong-Koo Chung took over the helm as CEO. Since then, it has moved steadily up the rankings ladder as under Chairman Chung's leadership the Group accelerated the push to globalize operations by building new manufacturing plants in the United States, China, India, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Russia and Brazil.

2007 Global Sales Rankings

1. Toyota 9,366,000

2. GM 8,902,252

3. Volkswagen 6,191,618,

4. Ford 5,964,000

5. Hyundai-Kia 3,961,629

6. Honda 3,831,000

7. Nissan 3,675,574

8. PSA/Peugeot 3,428,400

9. Chrysler 2,676,268

10. Fiat 2,620,864

http://www.autoindustry.co.uk/news/02-07-08_1

[Destinova403]

cool but really not that surprising

[Weapon_R]

Good cars at a great price...who woulda thought that was a good formula for success?

[tm.88]

yea but the bmw has more cup holders.....

[Eleanor]

I really hope these guys shed their previous image, and it looks like their starting to :thumbsup:

[max_boost]

Originally posted by tm.88
yea but the bmw has more cup holders.....

:werd:

[Tomaz]

Originally posted by tm.88
yea but the bmw has more cup holders.....

Buy a Kia, we have cupholders. Buy a jag, be prepared to have coffee-dick on the way into work.

[dimi]

WOOO! I miss my old Accent

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by tm.88
yea but the bmw has more cup holders..... Have you seen the cupholders on all the new models? They sprout of the middle of the dash as if it were some Crappy Tire accessory.

[bobby_lu]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
Have you seen the cupholders on all the new models? They sprout of the middle of the dash as if it were some Crappy Tire accessory.


:werd: BMW cupholders ftl....ahem *e39*

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by tm.88
yea but the bmw has more cup holders.....

It was the Land Rover LR3..but anyway

Hyundai are making some ok cars now. Nothing that blows me away, but some good stuff. The Sonata is pretty much on par with the Accord and Camry.

[heavyD]

Pretty amazing achievment considering how poor their initial products were.

[spikerS]

most people just look at the price tag, and see hey, it is a cheap car, and not pay so much attention as to what they are getting. While i still feel that Kia is still a crap vehicle, for the price, and what they were 6-7 years ago, they have improved alot.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by tm.88
yea but the bmw has more cup holders.....

Haha, I find that most German cars, including BMW, have the worst cup holders ever. I would never put a drink in something hovering above my center console.

[hampstor]

That's huge for Hyundai - they've made some amazing improvements in the last few decades!

Compare the the Hyundai Pony to the Hyundai Scoupe to the current Hyundai Accent :rofl:

[analbumcover]

so kia and hyundai are the same things... interesting.

my mom has a fully loaded 07 accent and she likes it, although she was experiencing some difficulties with how the car drives and hyundai turned her away saying they are all like that :dunno: ... didnt know automatics rev to 4000rpm while driving 50km/h

[heavyD]

Originally posted by analbumcover
so kia and hyundai are the same things... interesting.

my mom has a fully loaded 07 accent and she likes it, although she was experiencing some difficulties with how the car drives and hyundai turned her away saying they are all like that :dunno: ... didnt know automatics rev to 4000rpm while driving 50km/h

Ha Ha. A guy at work had a Kia Sorrento and he kept wearing tires out and the and the dealer said that it was normal. Needless to say he got rid of the car.

Also noticed that Honda has surpassed Nissan which is quite an accomplishment considering they don't have the line of pickup trucks.

[Inzane]

Honda and Nissan are the only two brands on that list I'd actually buy from.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Inzane
Honda and Nissan are the only two brands on that list I'd actually buy from.

Nissan would be at the bottom of the list for me with Chrysler and Ford.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by heavyD
Nissan would be at the bottom of the list for me with Chrysler and Ford.

Different strokes I guess. I currently own 3 Nissans and they've all been great. I'm contemplating a 4th purchase next year (Infiniti G35, if I don't go for a 3-series).
:dunno:


PS - And you're actually ranking GM above Ford & Chrysler?

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Inzane


Different strokes I guess. I currently own 3 Nissans and they've all been great. I'm contemplating a 4th purchase next year (Infiniti G35, if I don't go for a 3-series).
:dunno:


PS - And you're actually ranking GM above Ford & Chrysler?

I would buy a GM over Ford and Chrysler based off what I have seen of their new products. I've known too many people with bad Nissans to ever consider one. For example a guy at work right now is having issues with major water leaking into his interior and it's already fried a computer and they have replaced the windshield twice and still not fixed and this is on a one year old Frontier.

[Graham_A_M]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Haha, I find that most German cars, including BMW, have the worst cup holders ever. I would never put a drink in something hovering above my center console.
:werd: Both mine are broken. factory defect. :rolleyes:
They need to be greased regularily or they will bind and break with excessive force. Only problem on the cars interior (or the car for that matter) that I can think of.
:dunno:

[hampstor]

Originally posted by Inzane


PS - And you're actually ranking GM above Ford & Chrysler?

I would also put GM above Ford, Chrysler and Nissan. We've owned 4 Nissan's and the Titan is the last of any of the newer Nissan's i'd buy.

[mark4091]

^ Titans are garbage, Tundra's are pretty bad aswell, although Tacoma's are the best small truck.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by hampstor
I would also put GM above Ford, Chrysler and Nissan.

GM above Nissan?? :eek:

No...... fucking....... way. :thumbsdow

[Gibson]

Older Nissans(10 years or so) were much better then the current ones. The late 90's Altima, Sentra, and Maxima was a great lineup of cars. Those darn French people went in and screwed with Nissan.

As mentioned above, I have more respect for GM products then Ford or Chrysler stuff.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Inzane


GM above Nissan?? :eek:

No...... fucking....... way. :thumbsdow

What I drive: 93 300ZXTT, 01 Sentra SE, 05 Altima 3.5SE


Ok there Nismo..

[Ihatetowait]

I did a new hyundai SUV (unsure what it was) for a stereo the other day. Quality heater controls, panels fit nicely, overall very impressed from older stuff.

On another note, Chrysler is shit.

Always has been, always will be.

[gpomp]

Originally posted by Inzane


GM above Nissan?? :eek:

No...... fucking....... way. :thumbsdow honda above all that junk. ok

[black13]

Never new Honda was so low on that chart! Expected more from them.

And still wouldn't buy a Hyundai-Kia just based on resale value which only comes with good brand recognition over a long period of time. Same with GM for that matter.

[redline]

Originally posted by mark4091
^ Titans are garbage, Tundra's are pretty bad aswell, although Tacoma's are the best small truck.

My titan has been flawless i know the 04 had some issues but the newer ones are great.

I have owned 3 nissans and they all have been trouble free.

The new Titan is going to be a dodge truck with a nissan badge so my next truck will be a tundra forsure.

but every car maker has lemons it is just personal opinion and luck of the draw on what you get...

[mark4091]

Originally posted by redline


My titan has been flawless i know the 04 had some issues but the newer ones are great.

I have owned 3 nissans and they all have been trouble free.

The new Titan is going to be a dodge truck with a nissan badge so my next truck will be a tundra forsure.

but every car maker has lemons it is just personal opinion and luck of the draw on what you get...


Yeah, it is true to each individual vehicle, but Toyota just doesin't make the new Tundra for truck purposes, as far as trucks go GM and Ford have them beat.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=VEau14K0m-0

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zRfE_XAk2mE

I do take back my comment about Nissan trucks though I don't have any information my opinion was biased.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
What I drive: 93 300ZXTT, 01 Sentra SE, 05 Altima 3.5SE


Ok there Nismo..

Hey smartass, let me break it down for you.

93 300ZXTT > C4 Vette, and anything else GM had at the time
01 Sentra SE > all GM compact cars at that time
05 Altima 3.5SE > all GM family sedans at that time

[rc2002]

Nissan reliability = :thumbsdow . Of all the cars my parents have owned, the most expensive car to maintain has been the Nissan Maxima. Failing MAF sensors and coil packs are expensive fixes and are quite common.

Nissan just doesn't make a quality product.

As for Hyundai and Kia, they might've joined the top 5 but I doubt it's because of North America. South Korea is probably the single biggest market - when I was there 99.9% of cars on the road were either Hyundai or Kia.

[Inzane]

Why are we focused on reliabilty solely anyway? This OP was based on sales figures. Sales figures are the result of a combination of reliability, vehicle selection, customer service, brand loyalty, brand recognition, pricing/incentives, quality, marketing etc. (and more factors that I probably haven't listed).

And ongoing disagreements on reliability notwithstanding I still maintain what I said before, I would not buy from any of those brands listed on that top 10, except for Honda and Nissan.

I would also buy from other brands not on that list: Mazda, BMW, Mercedes, Lotus, Acura & Infiniti (yeah, there's Honda & Nissan again)... to name a few.

[blownz]

Originally posted by richardchan2002
As for Hyundai and Kia, they might've joined the top 5 but I doubt it's because of North America. South Korea is probably the single biggest market - when I was there 99.9% of cars on the road were either Hyundai or Kia.

I totally agree with this. Them being in the top 5 does not mean by means they are one of the 'top 5' automakers, just like it doesn't mean that for the other ones.

Hyundai/Kia are still a low end and below average car builder with what they currently have for sale. Now they are definitely getting much better (Sonata) and the yet to be released stuff looks even better (Genesis), but currently, they are still below average regardless what the sales charts may indicate.

[dino_martini]

GM is making a slow, but good turn around. Some good cars are coming out, Chevy Silverado, Chevrolet Malibu, Saturn Aura, Saturn Astra, Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia/Buick Enclave, Cadillac CTS, Pontiac Vibe (Its really a Toyota Matrix :dunno: ). GM could probably use a good small car, and Saturn isnt really hugely known, and the Astra is an unknown as well. I hear the new Cobalt is coming soon, and if they can do a good job on it like they did with the Malibu, I think GM will do ok. It will just take time to shift peoples image about what GM is.

Once Toyota hit #1, their quality started to slip. And this isnt just a GM fan boy talking here. I've sat in the new Corolla, new Camry, new Tundra and none of the interiors were really that great in my opinion. They are not bad cars, because people wouldn't buy them if they were bad. So Toyota has something right I guess.

It takes a while to sell enough cars to make it to #1

[Inzane]

Originally posted by dino_martini
They are not bad cars, because people wouldn't buy them if they were bad.

Right. They're not bad, just boring. That's my main complaint with Toyota lately. There is absolutely nothing in their line-up that appeals to me at the moment that doesn't inspire yawning.

There is no way I would choose to buy a Camry or Corolla in their current renditions, relative to their competition. And the Yaris and Prius... ? :rofl: I'd have to be gay to find appeal in either of those.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by dino_martini
Once Toyota hit #1, their quality started to slip. And this isnt just a GM fan boy talking here. I've sat in the new Corolla, new Camry, new Tundra and none of the interiors were really that great in my opinion.

I can say after driving a new RAV4 in Minnesota for a couple of days that I was really dissapointed in the interior and ride quality. I will say that it's not just Toyota as the new Civics have terribly cheap interiors, my brother's 2006 A3 Quattro S-line has a cheaper interior than his old 1999 A4 Quattro. It seems the industry in general is going towards hard plastic interiors.

[dino_martini]

Originally posted by Inzane


Right. They're not bad, just boring. That's my main complaint with Toyota lately. There is absolutely nothing in their line-up that appeals to me at the moment that doesn't inspire yawning.

There is no way I would choose to buy a Camry or Corolla in their current renditions, relative to their competition. And the Yaris and Prius... ? :rofl: I'd have to be gay to find appeal in either of those.

Yeah, Toyota makes alot of boring stuff. The Camry is really just a white good. But I mean, they have Lexus who is sort of trying to be exciting. The IS-F is here, and the LF-A is probably coming.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by heavyD
my brother's 2006 A3 Quattro S-line has a cheaper interior than his old 1999 A4 Quattro. It seems the industry in general is going towards hard plastic interiors.

Wow, that's really saying something if even Audi is getting criticized for their interiors. They're normally touted among industry best.

[heavyD]

Originally posted by Inzane


Wow, that's really saying something if even Audi is getting criticized for their interiors. They're normally touted among industry best.

It's not bad but the dash and doors are hard plastic where the old A4 had materials soft to the touch. It still looks pretty, it just doesn't have the high quality feel of the old interiors.

[Destinova403]

^^ the frightening part is that the Big 2.5 are starting to move in the other way and improving the quality of their interiors

toyota seems to be in a similar position that GM was in 20 years ago...
but who knows whats going to happen.

my family has ALWAYS owned chryslers so im really cheering for that company to turn it around... although i kinda think they wont.

GM has a lot of really nice stuff in the pipe-line or in Europe thats going to be on its way to North America... (see Opel Insignia) and even when the Volt is released it should do WONDERS to their public image and give the marketing department the best gift theyve ever had. Ford is in the same boat with the Euro Focus and the Fiesta on the way. so as long as those two can hold out through this recession/downturn they should be golden... that and the Astra wont be hampered by production problems when thee importing isnt screwed by the low dollar (they are made in belgium so GM cant meet demand for the car)

the Koreans just keep building larger followings and better quality and Toyota seems to be hitting a sort of wall... in terms of quality vs quantity.

hell even chrysler has some good products on the way.

this is an interesting turning point in the auto market.

[gpomp]

isn't the A3 just a rebadged Golf?

[heavyD]

Originally posted by gpomp
isn't the A3 just a rebadged Golf?

It's not a re-badged golf but the Golf, Jetta, TT, Beetle, A3 I believe are all based off the same platform as well as a bunch of european only vehicles.

[gpomp]

hmm. i was looking at the R32 from the states, maybe i should just look at the A3 instead.

[AG_Styles]

... it's North American Toyota's that have cheap interiors, and look really bland.

Check out their line up in Asia. Toyota's minivans have lazyboy reclining seats in the rears. Check out the Vellfire, MarkX and Crown. Toyota is up there in sales due to the prevalance of their product on the Asian market. Around 90% of their line up is not sold in North America.

With Honda, around 50ish% of their product isn't sold in North America. Check out the newly released Honda Freed. Was released back in April of this year. Very nice compact car. Or even the Honda RS-R.

With Nissan, around 70ish%. Check out the Nissan Cima. Was priced at least $30,000 above the R35. Even beats out the entire BMW 7-series line.

These cars aren't being sold here for many reasons. Such as regulations in favor of promoting Big 3 sales in the NA market, the assumption that North Americans prefer bigger and more plain cars, so called bumper safety regulations such as those that we have here in Canada, etc...

[Destinova403]

Originally posted by AG_Styles
... it's North American Toyota's that have cheap interiors, and look really bland.

Check out their line up in Asia. Toyota's minivans have lazyboy reclining seats in the rears. Check out the Vellfire, MarkX and Crown. Toyota is up there in sales due to the prevalance of their product on the Asian market. Around 90% of their line up is not sold in North America.

With Honda, around 50ish% of their product isn't sold in North America. Check out the newly released Honda Freed. Was released back in April of this year. Very nice compact car. Or even the Honda RS-R.

With Nissan, around 70ish%. Check out the Nissan Cima. Was priced at least $30,000 above the R35. Even beats out the entire BMW 7-series line.

These cars aren't being sold here for many reasons. Such as regulations in favor of promoting Big 3 sales in the NA market, the assumption that North Americans prefer bigger and more plain cars, so called bumper safety regulations such as those that we have here in Canada, etc...

*sigh*... ignorance is bliss

the safety regulations in canada and the US are exactly the same as Europe. also it isnt just the imports that offer a lot of product outside of N/A... see Holden, Euro Ford, Opel... etc. which all have amazing lineups which are just beginning to be offered in North America.

also... Honda only sells Acura in N/A so that entire lineup is only for here. same with MOST of Lexus. (they started selling them in japan recently).

Toyota's biggest market is North America... they dont sell very well in Europe and are under heavy competition in Asia from the Chinese offerings and the korean offerings, same with Honda... so they need to have very competitive offerings... but i think its fair to say that most of those offerings are bland too. (i really dont like Toyota... )

basically... they offer different vehicles for different markets based on sales trends and statistics. everyone does it.

(also please note that GM's China Marketshare is 12.7 percent... and has grown by 33 percent this last year.)

only place i feel really shafted is by Honda... which offers the Euro Civic and the Euro Accord, both of which are much better than the North American offerings... (the accord available as the TSX)

and please note that the belief that North Americans like bigger cars is based on reality.

until VERY recently, small cars and hatchbacks sold VERY poorly in North America... and that a lot of the imports... in fact id argue that most of them are now made in North America and enjoy the same tax breaks that the Big 3 do.

if they ever offered those small cars in north america... kai cars i think they are called. fat americans wouldnt fit... a couple yuppies would buy them and then they would sit on dealers lots. look whats happening with the SMART car. initial sales were through the roof... and now they are dropping fast.

EDIT: if you wanna see something REALLY nice... look at the Buicks that they are offering in China... in China Buick competes with MB and BMW

[redline]

Originally posted by gpomp
hmm. i was looking at the R32 from the states, maybe i should just look at the A3 instead.

I am looking at the same thing

R32 fully loaded 35000 US
A3 Fully loaded is about 43,000 US/ 53,000CDN

The audi has way more features and nicer interior and four doors

But only the VR6 a3 is AWD the 2.0T is FWD

[blownz]

Originally posted by AG_Styles
... it's North American Toyota's that have cheap interiors, and look really bland.

Check out their line up in Asia. Toyota's minivans have lazyboy reclining seats in the rears. Check out the Vellfire, MarkX and Crown. Toyota is up there in sales due to the prevalance of their product on the Asian market. Around 90% of their line up is not sold in North America.

With Honda, around 50ish% of their product isn't sold in North America. Check out the newly released Honda Freed. Was released back in April of this year. Very nice compact car. Or even the Honda RS-R.

With Nissan, around 70ish%. Check out the Nissan Cima. Was priced at least $30,000 above the R35. Even beats out the entire BMW 7-series line.

These cars aren't being sold here for many reasons. Such as regulations in favor of promoting Big 3 sales in the NA market, the assumption that North Americans prefer bigger and more plain cars, so called bumper safety regulations such as those that we have here in Canada, etc...


Wasn't the Cima sold here as the Infiniti Q45? I don't really think it beat 'the entire BMW 7-series line'....

And the US doesn't do nearly as much as Japan does regarding keeping the competition out...

[gpomp]

Originally posted by redline


I am looking at the same thing

R32 fully loaded 35000 US
A3 Fully loaded is about 43,000 US/ 53,000CDN

The audi has way more features and nicer interior and four doors

But only the VR6 a3 is AWD the 2.0T is FWD well i'm looking at the R32 so it'll have to be AWD and VR6. if i wanted 2.0T and FWD i'll just buy a used 06 GTI for $20k...

however, i did see some 08 R32's w/ nav going for $28-29k down south with between 5-10k miles on them. that's less than what a GTI would cost from VW.ca

[AG_Styles]

Originally posted by Destinova403

also... Honda only sells Acura in N/A so that entire lineup is only for here.

Toyota's biggest market is North America... they dont sell very well in Europe and are under heavy competition in Asia from the Chinese offerings and the korean offerings, same with Honda... so they need to have very competitive offerings... but i think its fair to say that most of those offerings are bland too. (i really dont like Toyota... )

until VERY recently, small cars and hatchbacks sold VERY poorly in North America...


first, the entire Acura lineup is sold in Asia with the exceptions of the MDX and RDX. the RL = the legend, the tsx = accord, csx = civic. Now they don't have a use for the 3.5TL (previously known as Honda Saber) with the existance of the Inspire, which is also just the V6 North American Accord.

second, the offerings that Toyota has outside North America is anything but bland. I'm not a Toyota fan either, but their line up greatly impressed me with styling and just sheer quantity. Mind you, these aren't small cars either. They're on par in size with the USDM Camry and Corolla.

third, small cars and hatchbacks sold very well during the late 80's and early 90's.

[redline]

Originally posted by gpomp
well i'm looking at the R32 so it'll have to be AWD and VR6. if i wanted 2.0T and FWD i'll just buy a used 06 GTI for $20k...

however, i did see some 08 R32's w/ nav going for $28-29k down south with between 5-10k miles on them. that's less than what a GTI would cost from VW.ca

That is pretty good, i just started out looking at new ones for a price comparision, and then start expanding my search.