Hyundai Enjoys Fruits of Big Deal

Hyundai Motor Co. is enjoying the benefits stemming from the big deals performed in the Korean automobile manufacturing sector which saw Samsung and Kia Motors essentially bow out of competition. Samsung's fledgling car industry will be taken over by Daewoo and Kia will be swallowed by Hyundai. These moves along with a series of strikes have had an impact on consumers who are shying away from the companies' models because of the uncertainty surrounding their future.
This month, Hyundai's sales of its EF Sonata model increased so rapidly that it sold out its stock. The EF Sonata's sales grew by 50 percent to 9,299 models sold in December compared to that in November. The sales of the Grandeur XG model also rose to 2,530 this month.
A source at Hyundai said, 'Sales of the Grandeur from January to September only reached 200 a month, but in December alone they reached the 2,300 to 2,400 level.'
He continued, 'This increase stems from a slight recovery in domestic consumption and the fact that former Samsung and Kia buyers are now interested in Hyundai.'
Lee Bang Ju, the president of Hyundai Motor Co. said, 'Hyundai's sales were sluggish not reaching more than nine trillion won stemming from the poor economic situation and strikes by autoworkers, but 1999 will see increases of 20 percent and total sales of 11 trillion won.' Hyundai lost more than 1.2 billion won in the first half of this year alone.