Hyundai's China Woes Worsened by Epidemic

Automaker Hyundai's sales found in China will most likely fall below 500,000 cars this year, less than half of its heyday just four years back.

Hyundai said Mon that sales in China from January to October plummeted 32 percent on-year to 341,600 cars.

The Korean car huge have been hit hard by China's unofficial boycott since 2017, compounded this season by the coronavirus epidemic. Sales peaked at 1.14 million cars in 2016 but have been falling since.

Adding the sales of affiliate Kia in China, the total body plunged 27 percent to 527,550 over the same period. For the whole year, it is expected to stay below 650,000, only third of 2016's revenue.

Since Hyundai and Kia can produce 2.1 million cars a year in China, their typical factory operating rate stands at only 30 percent. Due to this fact, their rank on the market there's fallen from third in 2006 to an unhealthy ninth this year.

Market watchers believe China's unofficial boycott continues, and Hyundai and Kia's wishy-washy online marketing strategy there has given hometown rivals with more affordable cars an advantage.

Japanese rivals also have succeeded on branding themselves as superior cars and much better performance. Honda presently ranks third in the Chinese market, up from 5th in 2016, while Toyota possesses risen from seventh to 4th over the four years.

Hyundai is trying to turn things around next time by rolling out new designs. It currently launched a Chinese type of the Sonata mid-sized sedan and different Elantra small (Avante in Korea). After that year it will roll out a fresh Tucson SUV and a Chinese-only mid-sized sedan referred to as Mingtu together with electric and hydrogen-powered automobiles. It will target the high-end marketplace with the Genesis manufacturer.