Staying Strong
The Hyundai Motor Group is winning over an increasing number of Russian consumers by not surrendering to the depreciation of the ruble that has caused many automakers to withdraw from the country.
The Hyundai Motor Group won four awards at this year’s Car of the Year in Russia. Held on April 23, the awards ceremony was based on the result of a survey in which more than a million local consumers participated. Hyundai Motor Company’s Genesis and Solaris won the awards along with Kia Motors’ Cee’d. The Solaris won an award for the fourth consecutive year. In addition, Hyundai Motor Russia was selected as local consumers’ most favorite popularly-priced car brand for two years in a row.
According to the European Business Association, the group sold 26,022 cars in the Russian market last month to record a market share of 18.6 percent, and posted a market share of 19.8 percent for the first quarter of 2015, increasing the figure by close to 5.9 percentage points from a year ago and outperforming AvtoVAZ by nearly 2.0 percentage points. AvtoVAZ is the largest Russian carmaker.
Its excellent performance can be attributed to market-friendly business strategies. Recently, GM shut down its manufacturing facilities located in St. Petersburg, and Volkswagen decided to cut back on production in Russia. PSA, Mitsubishi, and the Renault-Nissan Alliance are moving in the same direction, too.
On the contrary, the Hyundai Motor Group is planning on no factory shutdowns, production cuts, or staff reductions. Rather, it is going to focus more on those models produced in Russia in a bid to cope with the forex risk. At present, the group manufactures the Solaris and the New Rio in St. Petersburg, where it has about 2,500 employees.