韓国の「現代自動車」いよいよ進出！

Hyundai succeeds to Mazda's glory: Sales up 60%; sport-utility due
September 21, 2000
BY CHRIS KNAP
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

[begin excerpts]

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- This was to be the comeback year for Mazda, the
Ford-controlled Japanese brand. With a redesigned minivan and a new
sport-utility vehicle, Mazda was finally going to make up for 14 years
of lagging sales.

Instead, it's Korea's Hyundai that's putting huge footprints on Asian
auto sales records. Sales through August are up 60 percent, to 170,620,
just below Mazda, whom Hyundai has never outsold in the two brands'
U.S. history. Mazda is up a scant 4.4 percent to 175,136.

"Hyundai has been trending up. Mazda is still in the midst of" finding
itself, says Gordon Wangers of Automotive Marketing Consultants Inc. of
Vista, Calif. "I think Hyundai may well beat Mazda for the year."

This summer both brands rolled out shiny new sport-utility vehicles,
both designed at their Orange County, Calif., design centers and aimed
squarely at Southern California buyers.

A quick look at the stats makes it appear that Hyundai and Mazda have
been sneaking into each other's studios:

- Both new sport-utilities are based on a midsize car platform. That's
the strategy that made the Camry-based Lexus RX-300 so successful.

- Both offer a V6 with substantial power, negating a common criticism
leveled against Honda and Toyota's small sport-utilities.

- Both will be available for less than $20,000.

Hyundai executives are counting on their Santa Fe to finally make the
Korean brand something to which people aspire.

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