Hyundai's aggressive marketing strategy appears to be giving it traction amid the turmoil in the US car market.
While total industry sales last month sank 37 per cent from a year earlier to the lowest level since December 1981, the South Korean carmaker posted a 14 per cent gain. Its market share grew from 2.7 per cent in December to 3.7 per cent, according to Autodata.
Among other manufacturers, only Subaru and Kia – a Hyundai affiliate – posted increases, though much smaller ones.
John Krafcik, acting chief executive of Hyundai Motor America, said in an interview that the solid performance reflected a strategy “to be big, go big and to be seen in big places”.
Hyundai has made several splashes. It attracted attention last month with an offer, known as Hyundai Assurance, that allows buyers to return their cars without penalty or loss of creditworthiness if they lose their job or declare personal bankruptcy within a year of purchase.
At last month's Detroit auto show, motoring writers voted the Genesis, Hyundai's first luxury sedan, North American car of the year.
Hyundai models have for the first time reached the top-10 rankings of Consumer Reports, the consumer publication. “We've had a remarkable run of third-party validation,” Mr Krafcik says.
While Detroit's ailing carmakers pulled out of advertising during last Sunday's Super Bowl, Hyundai aired several spots, including one that showed Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz executives apoplectic over the Genesis award.
Hyundai will be the only automotive advertiser during the Oscars this month.
, a car research site, reported that Hyundai's share of shoppers rose 7 per cent last month. Preliminary data show a further bump since the Super Bowl.
Brent Buhl, general manager of a Hyundai dealership in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, said: “We're doing a lot of advertising, more than in the past.” He also gave the carmaker credit for stepping up discounts and other incentives.
The value of Hyundai incentives has risen threefold over the past year to an average of $2,611 per vehicle in January, according to .
Much of the incentive spending has focused on the Sonata family car – sales of which almost doubled last month – and the Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle, both built in Alabama.
Mr Krafcik declined to comment on Hyundai America's profitability.
The parent company warned last month that 2009 would be tough but expressed confidence that Hyundai would fare better than many rivals because of its focus on smaller vehicles and the weakness of the Korean won.
參考譯文：
在動蕩的美國汽車市場上，韓國現(xiàn)代汽車(Hyundai)似乎正憑借大膽的營銷戰(zhàn)略獲得動力。
上個月，整個汽車行業(yè)銷量較去年同期下滑37%，至1981年12月以來最低水平，但現(xiàn)代汽車卻實現(xiàn)了14%的銷量增幅。根據(jù)Autodata的數(shù)據(jù)，現(xiàn)代的市場份額從去年12月的2.7%升至3.7%。
在其它汽車制造商中，只有斯巴魯(Subaru)和現(xiàn)代旗下的起亞(Kia)公布銷量實現(xiàn)增長，但增幅小得多。
現(xiàn)代汽車美國分公司(Hyundai Motor America)代理首席執(zhí)行官約翰?克拉富西克(John Krafcik)在一次采訪中表示，穩(wěn)健的表現(xiàn)反映了現(xiàn)代“做大、做強并在重要地方出現(xiàn)”的戰(zhàn)略。
現(xiàn)代曾引起多次轟動。上個月，該公司推出“現(xiàn)代汽車擔保計劃”(Hyundai Assurance)，吸引了人們的目光。該計劃的內(nèi)容是，如果購車者在購買現(xiàn)代汽車一年內(nèi)失業(yè)或宣布個人破產(chǎn)，可以退回汽車，無需繳付罰金，也不會損及信譽。
在上個月底特律汽車展上，汽車業(yè)記者投票評選現(xiàn)代首款豪華轎車勞恩斯(Genesis)為北美年度最佳汽車。
現(xiàn)代車型首次躋身《消費者報告》(Consumer Reports)十佳汽車排名?？死晃骺吮硎荆骸拔覀兊玫搅朔浅：玫牡谌秸J可?！?/SPAN>
境況不佳的底特律汽車制造商放棄了在上周日美國職業(yè)橄欖球總決賽超級碗(Super Bowl)賽事期間投放廣告，但現(xiàn)代卻投放了幾則廣告，其中一則廣告描繪了雷克薩斯(Lexus)、寶馬(BMW)和梅塞德斯-奔馳(Mercedes-Benz)高管對勞恩斯獲獎無比氣憤的樣子。
現(xiàn)代將成為本月奧斯卡(Oscar)頒獎典禮上唯一的汽車廣告商。
汽車搜索網(wǎng)站的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，上個月，現(xiàn)代的搜索比例上升7%。初步數(shù)據(jù)顯示，自超級碗賽事以來，這一數(shù)字繼續(xù)上升。
北卡羅萊納州伊麗莎白城(Elizabeth City)的一家現(xiàn)代汽車經(jīng)銷商的總經(jīng)理布倫特?布爾(Brent Buhl)表示：“我們投放了大量廣告，規(guī)模超過以往。”他還稱贊了現(xiàn)代汽車加大折扣力度及其它促銷舉措。
的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，過去一年，現(xiàn)代汽車優(yōu)惠總額增加3倍。今年1月，達到平均每輛車2611美元。
其中很大一部分促銷支出用于索納塔(Sonata)系列車型以及勝達(Santa Fe)多功能運動型汽車。這兩種車型都是在阿拉巴馬州生產(chǎn)的。上個月，索納塔的銷量幾乎翻了一番。
克拉富西克拒絕就現(xiàn)代汽車美國分公司的盈利能力置評。
上個月，現(xiàn)代汽車警告稱，2009年形勢嚴峻，但由于現(xiàn)代專注于較小型汽車，再加上韓元疲軟，現(xiàn)代的表現(xiàn)將超過許多競爭對手?，F(xiàn)代對此懷有信心。
（轉(zhuǎn)載）
