For Riding Out Sales Slump
Hyundai Motor has issued "Three Day Full Refund" Card in the US market. If consumers are not satisfied with Hyundai cars, they will be given full refunds within three days. It's a new gambit after the introduction of a 10-year-old 100,000-mile warranty by Hyundai Motor in 1999 when the Korean automaker felt a sense of crisis due to a drop in sales.
On October 10 (local time), Hyundai Motor America (HMA) held a press conference in California, USA and announced its “ShopperAssurance” policy. Hyundai Motor significantly improved its sales process, taking into account recent changes in consumption patterns.
The new warranty program consists of transparent prices, convenient test drives, simplified purchase, and a 3-day money back guarantee. Hyundai will disclose all prices including discounts through its dealers' websites in order to slash consumer complaints which stemmed from different discounts among dealers.
In addition, Hyundai will provide customers with opportunities to test-drive cars at customers' desired locations and greatly reduce the time required for purchasing by having most of paperwork done online. The automaker took into consideration the fact that these days, consumers want to experience directly, and a simple consumption way.
In particular, the 3-day money back program is praised as a remarkable policy. If a consumer judges that he or she does not like a Hyundai car they purchased in three days, Hyundai will give him or her a full refund. But the refund is possible only if the car’s mileage is less than 300 miles (483 km).
Some brands have temporarily used refund policies but Hyundai became the first automaker to operate them on a regular basis. Hyundai plans to expand the program nationwide by early 2018 after implementing it in Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Houston first. Hyundai has more than 830 dealers across the United States. Hyundai's "three-day full refund" policy is a game changer to overcome its crisis in the US market. Before, Hyundai rode out a crisis by introducing a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty in 1999 when its sales were down and two-year, 24,000-mile warranties were common. Hyundai restored consumers’ trust in its quality and sales volume with the exceptional warranty program.
This year, Hyundai needs to make such a change. Hyundai's US sales in the January-September period of this year hit 517,174 units, down 12.9 percent from the same period of last year. Its market share fell from 4.5% to 4%.