Hyundai Seeks U.S. Elantra Sales Boost With Coupe, Hatchback
February 08, 2012, 2:20 PM ESTBy Alan Ohnsman
Feb. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, is unveiling two additional versions of its Elantra compact to grab a bigger share of the U.S. small-car market from competitors including Honda Motor Co.
Hyundai is showing the 2013 Coupe and five-door GT hatchback today at the Chicago Auto Show. The two-door version of the Elantra goes on sale early this year, and the Elantra GT will arrive this summer in the U.S., Hyundai said in a statement. Price and sales goals for the cars, built at Seoul- based Hyundai’s Ulsan, South Korea, plant, won’t be announced today, said Jim Trainor, a company spokesman.
Both models target drivers who want a sportier ride and handling, Hyundai said. The GT, based on Hyundai’s European i30, “is the latest example of how Hyundai is redefining the compact car and setting new standards in automotive design, efficiency and functionality,” Mike O’Brien, U.S. vice president of product planning, said in a statement.
Hyundai has been among the fastest-growing carmakers in the U.S., aided by improved styling, more fuel-efficient engines and more standard features than competing Honda and Toyota Motor Corp. models. After rising 61 percent since 2008, Hyundai’s U.S. deliveries may expand at a slower pace this year because of tight plant capacity and a push to further boost quality, U.S. sales chief John Krafcik has said.
‘Headroom’ to Grow
Elantra sales grew 41 percent last year to 186,361 vehicles, the first full year the latest version of the compact was sold in the U.S. It was named North American Car of the Year last month at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
The company may have some “headroom” to boost U.S. Elantra sales this year, Krafcik said in an interview in Las Vegas on Feb. 3, without elaborating.
Sales of Honda’s Civic, redesigned last year to mixed reviews, dropped 15 percent in 2011. Production of the car plunged after natural disasters in Japan and Thailand cut parts supplies to Honda’s North American plants. Civic sales rebounded 50 percent in January.
--Editors: Terje Langeland, Young-Sam Cho
To contact the reporter on this story: Alan Ohnsman in Los Angeles at aohnsman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jamie Butters at jbutters@bloomberg.net
