Hyundai Motor Group recently has emerged as one of the
top-performing new vehicle manufacturers in the US. New-vehicle
registration data from S&P Global Mobility through the first
eight months of this year (see table below) indicate Hyundai Motor
now ranks as the No. 3 OEM in the US, based on retail corporate
market share. The combined Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands now
surpass perennial powerhouses Ford Motor Company, Stellantis Corp.,
and American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Hyundai Motor’s performance has been driven by (at least) three
strengths, including the freshness and timeliness of its three U.S.
product portfolios, the robust brand loyalties of Kia and Hyundai
owners, and high manufacturer loyalty across all three brands.
Product Portfolios
As illustrated in the table below, every Hyundai-branded
in-market model except the discontinued Accent has been either
launched or re-designed since mid-2019. Similarly, every Kia model
except Rio and Forte has been introduced or re-designed since early
2019. Genesis’s portfolio is equally fresh, with just the G70
languishing in its present form since the end of 2018. (As cars,
Accent, Rio, Forte, and G70 compete in a much smaller – and
declining – part of the market when compared to crossovers.)
Just as important as the freshness of Hyundai Motor’s product
offerings, though, is the relevance of its products. Both the
Hyundai and Kia brands offer entries in every one of the core CUV
segments, from three-row midsize utility down to sub-compact
utility (neither Hyundai nor Kia participates in the full size
utility segment, but this category accounts for just 2.3% of the
retail market August 2022 CYTD). Lastly, the three-row Palisade and
Telluride crossovers, introduced in the 2020 model year, for the
first time offer serious competition in one of the largest
segments, and both products have already received freshenings in
2022.
Genesis, launched in August 2016, still lags major luxury brands
in the breadth of its portfolio, and initially was hampered by an
all-car lineup, but it now offers three crossovers in the heart of
the luxury market.
Lastly, Hyundai Motor has demonstrated its competitiveness by
its speedy entry into the US EV market. With the Hyundai Ioniq 5
launch last December and the Kia EV6 arrival two months later, the
corporation now offers two competitive EVs, more than several of
its larger competitors. Furthermore, the Ioniq 5 and EV6 now rank
#6 and #7, respectively, among all EVs (based on August 2022 CYTD
retail registrations); if the four Teslas are removed, the Hyundai
Motor Group products rank second and third, trailing only the
Mustang Mach-E.
Brand Loyalty
Hyundai Motor’s impressive retail share partly comes from both
Hyundai’s and Kia’s ability to retain existing owners. As shown
below, these two brands currently rank No. 5 and No. 6 among the 19
mainstream brands in brand loyalty. Hyundai Motor is the only
manufacturer to place two brands in the top 10 on this metric.
Both brands have retained such high percentages of their owners
despite not offering any full-size pickups, midsize pickups, or,
until recently, any compact pickups (these three pickup segments
account for 17% of the retail industry (August 2022 CYTD).
Genesis’ brand loyalty has not been as substantial as that of
its stablemates, but part of that is due to the brand’s newness to
market. With seven-month brand loyalty of 35.3%, Genesis ranks No.
12 among the fifteen luxury brands for which we have sufficient
data. Until recently Genesis loyalty was curtailed by a lack of
crossovers, but the recent additions of the GV60, GV70, and GV80
should improve Genesis owners’ likelihood of acquiring another
one.
Manufacturer Loyalty
S&P Global Mobility registration data indicate that all
three Hyundai Motor brands have one metric working in their favor:
even when owners defect from any of these brands, they have a
strong propensity to stay within the Group. As illustrated below,
the Hyundai and Kia brands rank #3 and #5, respectively, among all
19 mainstream brands based on their likelihood to remain loyal to
the corporation – surpassed only by three GM brands. And, Genesis
ranks No. 4 in the luxury space on this metric, trailing only
Tesla, Cadillac and Lincoln.
While the three Hyundai Group brands have made enormous
progress, it is noteworthy that the Group still lacks that
“stand-out” category leader that becomes a household name, a la
Camry, Accord, F Series. Nevertheless, the Group has grown from a
second- or third-tier player ten years ago into a top OEM based on
several key metrics, a feat deserving a lot of praise in an
industry with over 20 OEMs, 40 brands and three hundred models.
—————————————————————————————–
This automotive insight is part of our monthly Top
10 Trends Industry Report.The Report findings are
taken from new and used registration and loyalty data.
The September report is now available, incorporating July 2022
CFI and LAT data. To download the report, please click below.
This article was published by S&P Global Mobility and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.
