Repeated Controversy
Hyundai Motor Company released the Aslan on Oct. 30. Not a few consumers, however, are dissatisfied with its fuel economy and design.
The Aslan is a very important model for Hyundai in that its domestic market share continuously dropped from 44.6 percent to 37.2 percent between April and last month of this year. The decline in market share can be attributed to the ongoing controversy over its reverse discrimination against domestic customers in warranty and price, exaggerated fuel efficiency, and water leakage in some models such as the Santa Fe.
Many people say that the front-wheel drive sedan, which shares the same platform with the Grandeur and provides a fuel economy of less than 10 km per liter, will fail to win over consumers who increasingly prefer high-fuel efficiency imported diesel models. Their consensus is that the Aslan is just slightly different in design from the Grandeur, although Hyundai explained it is a level above the Grandeur.
The new model comes with a 270-horsepower Lambda 2 V6 3.0 GDi engine or a 294-horsepower Lambda 2 V6 3.3 GDi engine, which are found in Hyundai’s Genesis and Kia Motors’ K7. The car is smaller than the Genesis, larger than the Grandeur, but only about 1 cm wider than the K7. “The Aslan is almost the same as the Grandeur when it comes to interior design,” said an industry insider, adding, “It looks like a slightly bigger Grandeur rather than a new car.”
The fuel economy is less than expected as well. Both of the 3,000 cc and 3,300 cc models drive 9.5 km on a liter of gasoline, which is similar to the 9.4 km per liter of the Genesis, yet much lower than the 11.3 km per liter of the Grandeur. “It seems that Hyundai has come up with the wrong solution this time, with more and more consumers putting fuel efficiency first in choosing a car,” another expert commented.
This is not the first time that the Hyundai Motor Group triggered controversy over gas mileage. “We will try to meet consumers’ demands and expectations with humility and communicate with them with open ears,” Hyundai Motor President Kim Choong-ho said at the launch ceremony, continuing, “At the same time, we will try harder to resolve the misunderstandings and rumors they have about us.” These remarks were related to the recent disputes over the fuel efficiency of the Santa Fe.
In August, the company decided to pay 400,000 won (US$369) to each of the 140,000 or so customers who bought the Santa Fe in Korea. The SUV released two years ago had been advertised to run 14.4 km on a liter of fuel, but the mileage was measured at 13.2 km per liter, out of the allowable tolerance, at an examination carried out by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in June this year. Hyundai refused to pay the damages at first, citing the result of the examination by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, but yielded in the end. Hyundai was required to pay 420 billion won (US$388.2 million) in the United States in 2012 as well due to the exaggerated gas mileage of 13 of its models, including the Santa Fe.