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Irvine’s Kia debuts first American-made car

November 16th, 2009, 6:11 pm by Matt Degen

Irvine-based Kia Motors America has officially built its first car in America.

Kia announced that a white 2011 Sorento crossover was the first vehicle to roll off the line at Kia’s new manufacturing plant in Georgia today.

The West Point plant, called Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, cost $1 billion to make and sits on 2,259 acres.

The site employs 2,500 workers, and Kia says it has created an additional 7,500 jobs in the region when including suppliers.

At full capacity, the plant is expected to produce 300,000 cars annually.

Kia Motors America is a unit of the Korean automaker that is also part of Hyundai.

While other automakers have had a terrible sales year, Kia has continued to grow. The automaker has seen 14 years of consecutive market share increases in the U.S., and recently recorded its best sales quarter ever, thanks in part to selling its smaller, fuel-efficient cars under the “Cash for Clunkers” program.

Through September of this year, Kia sales were up 79.6 percent in Orange County and up 4.6 percent in the U.S., according to data from AutoCount.

Through October of this year, Kia has sold 261,060 vehicle sales nationwide, a 7.2 percent increase from last year.

“The start of production for our first manufacturing facility in the United States further demonstrates our commitment to growth in North America and we are proud to be adding 2,500 jobs to the local economy” B.M. Ahn, group president and CEO, Kia Motors America and KMMG, said in a statement.

In related news:

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Hyundai named Marketer of Year by Advertising Age

November 10th, 2009, 2:08 pm by Matt Degen
Hyundai Genesis Coupe

Hyundai's Genesis Coupe

Remember back at the beginning of this year when Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America launched its unprecedented “Assurance” program that allowed car buyers who lost their job to return their Hyundai?

Turns out that creative approach to selling cars in what would turn out to be the worst year in decades for auto sales helped Hyundai earn the Marketer of the Year award by Advertising Age.

The Korean car maker that has been reporting record auto sales this year “won handily” in a reader poll, beating out mega companies such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Amazon, Advertising Age said.

In its report, Advertising Age writes this about Hyundai’s effort and Super Bowl ads:

Hyundai — an automaker not historically known for fearless marketing, began in earnest a frontal assault on a recession that was not dampening consumer enthusiasm but drowning it. But while its Assurance Program received heavy support, it wasn’t the sole route of advance. Hyundai also took an upmarket route, with its very successful efforts to push the Genesis, its entry into the premium-car market that was also pushed during the Super Bowl as well as during the game’s female-skewing equivalent, the Academy Awards, where the carmaker bought an eye-popping nine spots.

The article goes on to state how the Assurance program and Hyundai’s continued efforts on improving quality have helped the brand immensely.

Read Ad Age’s full article on Hyundai.

(Also see: “Hyundai’s new heights,” in which we sat down with CEO John F. Krafcik.)

Earlier this year, Hyundai’s Genesis luxury sedan was named the North American Car of the Year.

In other Hyundai news, the automaker’s Genesis Coupe, which debuted earlier this year (see our review of the Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track), today was named by Popular Mechanics as its “Most fun to drive” vehicle.

More on Hyundai:

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Hyundai, Kia see major sales gains in October

November 3rd, 2009, 2:58 pm by Matt Degen

kia-soul-exclaim

Hyundai and Kia, the Korean automakers with their respective U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley and Irvine, are reporting big sales gains for the month of October and positive sales year to date.

Hyundai Motor America announced October sales of 31,005 vehicles, a 49 percent increase vs. October 2008. Year to date, sales were up 4 percent, with 373,222 vehicles sold in the U.S.

Kia Motors America is experiencing similar success in what for most other automakers has been the worst sales year in decades. Kia today announced October sales of 22,490 cars, a 45.3 percent increase from last October. Year to date, Kia has sold 261,060 sales, up 7.2 percent from the period last year. Among Kia’s popular cars is the Soul (pictured above at Kia’s Irvine HQ, where it was designed) which was introduced this year and signaled a new design-focus approach by the automaker.

Other sales news has fostered a spark of hope that the worst of the automotive sales slump is over.

General Motors’ U.S. sales rose for the first time in 21 months, up 5 percent. The Detroit giant that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year reported October sales of 176,632. Year to date, sales are off 34 percent.

Ford reported a 3 percent gain, with 136,583 vehicles sold in October. Year to date, Ford is off 21 percent.

Chrysler, meanwhile, reported a 30 percent sales decline in October, with 65,803 cars sold. Year to date, Chrysler, which also filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, is off 39 percent.

Nissan reported an October boost of 6 percent with 60,115 cars sold (it is off 24 percent year to date), while Toyota saw a 3.5 percent decline for the month with sales of 152,165 (year to date Toyota is off 26 percent).

As a whole,  U.S. light-vehicle sales declined less than 1 percent in October, Automotive News reported.

Also see:

Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • Sales figures • • | 7 Comments »

Hyundai continues to gain momentum, is now No. 6 in U.S.

October 20th, 2009, 4:47 pm by Matt Degen

Hyundai Genesis sedan

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Group, whose U.S. headquarters are in Fountain Valley, has been on a tear this year — an impressive feat considering the year’s slumping sales.

According to an article posted today on the CNN Money Web site titled “Hyundai: The Newest Auto Power,” the automaker, when including its Kia brand, has done something in the U.S. this year that no other car manufacturer has: report sales growth.

The article states:

U.S. sales for General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler Group, as well as Japan’s Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan, are all down between 25% to 50% from a year ago. But combined U.S. sales for the Hyundai and Kia brands are up 2.6%.

As a result, the two brands have picked up 2.2 percentage points of market share during the first nine months of 2009. Hyundai and Kia now combine for 7.4% of the U.S. auto market.

That puts Hyundai Motor Group just ahead of Nissan as the sixth-largest automaker in terms of U.S. auto sales. And the Korean automaker is rapidly closing in on Chrysler, which now has just a 9.2% share of the U.S. market.

(Read the entire article on CNN’s site)

For those who follow this blog and auto-industry news, Hyundai’s success should come as no surprise. Both in Orange County and across the nation, Hyundai and Kia posted record sales earlier this year under the Cash for Clunkers program.

(See: Two O.C.-based automakers see record sales in August)

Hyundai, which like Kia also has a design studio in Orange County, is also making significant efforts in the quality of the vehicles it is producing.

(See our interview earlier this year with Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik)

In addition to producing smaller, fuel-efficient cars, Hyundai is now aiming to compete with luxury automakers such as Mercedes-Benz with its Genesis sedan, pictured at top. Next year it will up the ante even more when it brings Equus luxury liner to the U.S.

More on Hyundai:

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Homegrown Nuvis concept paves way for Hyundai

October 14th, 2009, 1:41 pm by Matt Degen

By their very nature, concept cars are meant to stand out from the crowd. So when a concept car stands out among others of its kind, that really says something. Such was the case earlier this year, when Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America introduced the Nuvis concept at the New York auto show in April.

Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

The vehicle, with its gull-wing doors, illuminated interior, hybrid power train and crossover stylings, immediately had automobile blogs aflutter – and a-Twitter. Now, the vehicle, which was designed in Orange County at Hyundai’s Irvine studio, will make its West Coast debut back where it all took shape. As it has at past exhibits, the Nuvis will likely stand out among even the other concepts when it takes its place in the Anaheim Convention Center as this year’s Orange County auto show.

John Krsteski, design manager at Hyundai and head of the Nuvis project, describes the vehicle as “a new look at that whole SUV segment.”

“We wanted to try to create a vehicle that blends the attributes of a car-like feel with a more upright, truck-like stance,” he said. “It blends the best of both worlds.”

One of the most striking features about the Nuvis – and the first trait most car aficionados notice – are its gull-wing doors, a characteristic made famous by the Mercedes-Benz 300SL coupes of the 1950s (see a perfect example at right from the recent Concours d’Elegance in Dana Point).

“As designers we all love and get excited emotionally when we see gull wing doors on any vehicle,” Krsteski said. “The (Mercedes) is obviously a timeless one. The most dramatic invitation to a space is the way the gull-wing opens up. It’s like an invitation into to the car.”

Krsteski and his team began working on the one-off car in 2008, with Fountain Valley-based Gaffoglio Metalcrafters creating the actual model.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Green trends • New cars • O.C. Auto Show • Uncategorized • | 1 Comment »

Two O.C.-based automakers see record sales month

September 1st, 2009, 12:01 pm by Matt Degen
Hyundai Genesis sedan

Hyundai Genesis sedan

In a day in which several automakers are reporting positive monthly sales reports due to a boost from the government’s Cash for Clunkers program, two of Orange County’s own are reporting their best months ever.

Both Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America and Irvine-based Kia Motors America sold their most cars ever on a monthly basis.

Hyundai reported August sales of 60,467 vehicles, while Kia sold 40,198. Both Korean automakers benefited from Cash for Clunker sales because they make smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

“August was a shot in the arm for the industry, and a great month for Hyundai and our dealers, with all-time sales records for the Hyundai brand, Elantra and Genesis,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.

(See a recent interview with Krafcik regarding Hyundai’s future and role in Orange County.)

On Kia’s side, Alex Fedorak, director of public relations, said, “Everybody had great expectations,” for the month.

More unknown is what’s ahead, now that the popular Cash for Clunkers program has ended.

“I think September represents a big unknown for everyone,” Fedorak said.

(Also see: More like “Clash for Clunkers” at local Kia Dealer.)

Meanwhile, Irvine-based Mazda announced its best sales month of the year with 26,542 vehicles sold, as did Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America with 6,813 sales.

Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp. saw another sales decline, falling 5 percent vs. last August with 5,749 vehicles sold.

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Posted in: Dealers, deals and for sale • Uncategorized • • | 1 Comment »

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