The Vice President and Head of Africa and Middle East Operations, Hyundai Motor Company, Mr. Jin Kim  has given reasons behind Hyndai’s entry into the sub-compact Sport Utility Vehicle segment, with the all new Creta.

The Hyundai vice president who spoke to Vanguard Motoring shortly after a test-drive of the sub compact SUV at Trou Aux Bische Resort and Spa in Mauritius stated that Hyundai wanted to tap from the  growing  sub-compact  SUV market with the all new Creta which is economical, affordable, dependable and comfortable, with class leading qualities in its segment.

“We are tapping into the growing sub-compact SUV market to give customers affordable SUV with class leading qualities,” he said. Although, the vice president noted that there were few competitors in this segment for now, he disclosedthat their coming would expand demand base as the Creta would increase Hyundai market share in  its segment.

According to him, the Creta is a unique product, targetted at certain markets like Africa, the Middle East, India and China. He expressed satisfaction with the performance of the car in India and China where it was launched earlier in the year, adding that within the first few months of its launch in the market, it became the most sought after sub-compact SUVs in the market.

Aggressive Promotion

Mr. Kiin further noted that  the huge success of the Creta in the markets where it was earlier introduced would not deter them from aggresively promoting the car in other markets. “Our strategy to push the Creta is to focus on communication with the customers, after experience to the customers (active test-drive) for them to feel the performance, comfort and class-leading features of the car,” he said.

The Hyundai vice president further noted that their goal was to become the first choice to new car buyers in Africa by equipping their vehicles with more features and offering excellent service backing to their numerous customers across the world.

On what Hyundai intends to bring to the motoring world in the near future, he promised them to expect world-Class and excellent  products from Hyundai including fine tuned and refined products, high performance cars, pickups and luxury sedans from Hyundai Genesis product live.

Already, he said six new models and variants have been lined up from Genesis which will compete in the luxury vehicle segment. For this, he said Genesis would create its own customer base, especially for customers who want to stand out. “We will create our customer base especially for customers who want to express themselves with Genesis. We want to take a different approach by  making cars according to customers demands,” he stated.

Kim further noted that customers satisfaction remains the priority of Hyundai Motor Company as they would ensure high quality in their car production all over the world. To this end, he said service network expansion is being carried out to serve the customers better at every point where Hyundai operates.

Meanwhile, Mr. Jinho Ki, who is in charge of Hyundai vehicle business in Nigeria and West Africa was full of praises  for Hyundai Nigeria for their commitment to Hyundai’s business. He also commended the Federal Government’s auto policy saying “the policy was implemented because of Nigeria and we are happy about  it.”

Though, he said that their performance in Nigeria dropped this year due to the Federal Government’s auto policy, He expects business to pick up shortly as the new plant in Nigeria has started producing cars. According to him, in 2014, Hyundai grew 30 percent when compared to 2013, when about 7000 Hyundai models were shipped to Nigeria.

“This year has been a little tough but the  good thing is that production lines for Hyundai Accent, Elantra, Tucson, Grand I 10 are now in place in Nigeria,” he remarked. Adding that the new Creta would help boost Hyundai’s market share in Nigeria, given its many attributes.

He expressed satisfaction with the quality of vehicles being rolled out from the Hyundai plant in Nigeria, which are made for Nigerian road condition. Considering the road condition in Nigeria, Mr. Ki explained that the Creta SUV would be a perfect car for their customers who desire cars with good road clearance and overall performance for their everyday use.

 

Source: Vanguard Nigeria