JEDDAH, 3 October 2006 — Hyundai Motor Co.’s Sonata captured one of Popular Mechanics’ inaugural ‘Automotive Excellence’ awards, winning the safety category. The award was announced in the October issue of Popular Mechanics. With a readership in excess of nine million, the monthly is one of the largest and most trusted magazines published in the United States.
The all-new Sonata sets a new standard for safety equipment with six standard airbags (dual front, front seat-mounted side-impact and front and rear passenger side curtain airbags), standard active front head restraints, standard ABS and, for the first time in the midsize sedan segment, standard Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with Traction Control.
“The Sonata truly merits the Popular Mechanics’ Automotive Excellence Award for safety because it offers a full complement of both active and passive safety features as standard equipment in every model,” said Popular Mechanics’ Automotive Editor Don Chaikin. “By expanding the universe of automotive safety from the luxury end of the market to the very affordable, every-man end, the Sonata has broken new ground and crushed what amounted to very real market barriers.”
Popular Mechanics’ editorial staff selected Sonata after driving hundreds of thousands of miles in well over 100 different new cars, trucks and SUVs.
“We’re especially honored that Sonata was chosen by Popular Mechanics’ editors as embodying excellence in safety,” said Bob Cosmai, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America. “The all-new Sonata celebrates Hyundai’s commitment to lead the auto industry in the standard application of the most effective safety technologies,” he added.
“The positive reaction from consumers and the automotive press to Sonata’s segment-leading safety equipment has been rewarding,” said John Krafcik, vice president, Product Development and Strategic Planning, Hyundai Motor America.
“Winning the Popular Mechanics’ Automotive Excellence Award for safety is further validation that Hyundai’s leadership in standardizing the industry’s most effective safety technologies — like Electronic Stability Control and side impact air curtains — will continue to resonate in the market.”
The midsize Sonata is the best-selling sedan in the Hyundai product line, and the first 2006 model rolled off the production line in March at Hyundai’s all-new manufacturing plant in Montgomery, Alabama. The all-new Sonata was designed specifically to meet the needs of the American consumer and is the product of three years of intensive collaborative development at Hyundai’s global R&D operations, including those in Michigan and California.
Hyundai Brand Value Surpasses Several Renowned Competitors
Arab News
Hyundai Motor Co. has emerged as one of the world’s leading brands ranking 75th overall, according to the 2006 Best Global Brands survey jointly conducted by Interbrand, a leading consultancy in branding and BusinessWeek, the New York-based global media organization.
The 17 percent y-o-y appreciation in the value of the Hyundai brand earned the Korean automaker the title of fastest growing automotive brand and a place among the top five biggest gainers in brand value. Last year, in its debut appearance on the Best Global Brands list, Hyundai ranked 84th.
With a brand value estimated at $4.1 billion, the power of the Hyundai brand on a global basis now surpasses several competitors.
“This survey tells us what many people already know — That Hyundai is a fast-rising star,” said Hyundai’s Vice President for Brand Strategy Brandon Yea. “Our brand management is supported by continuous improvement in the quality of our products,” he added.
Public perceptions of the Hyundai brand have been transformed as a result of dramatic improvements in the quality of Hyundai vehicles. In turn, this has fueled a steady increase in sales and confidence in the brand among both customers and dealers.
Hyundai’s pursuit of a better balance between quantitative and qualitative growth has made brand management a top priority. Brand management issues now influence decision-making in styling, marketing and communications as well as at the retail and after-sales service levels.
Interbrand (www.interbrand.com), the leading brand consultancy and authors of the annual ranking of “The Best Global Brands” in partnership with BusinessWeek was founded in 1974. Interbrand has offices in over 30 cities in more than 20 countries around the globe and clients from among the most respected businesses.
BusinessWeek is a leading global business media organization, which was founded in 1929 and is published by the McGraw-Hill Companies, BusinessWeek has more than 4.7 million readers each week in 140 countries. Local language editions include Chinese, Russian, and Bahasa Indonesian.
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, which in 2005 sold 3.7 million vehicles, to ranked as the world’s sixth largest automotive manufacturer and includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Hyundai Motor Co., employing over 68,000 people worldwide, posted $26.1 billion in sales in 2004 (on a non-consolidated basis). Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor Co. and its products is available at http://www.hyundai-motor.com
Hyundai is the highest ranked non-premium nameplate in the 2006 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) and ranked third among all nameplates, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates. Hyundai owners had fewer problems with their vehicles than any other non-premium car or truck brand, the study noted.
In addition to Hyundai’s strong overall showing, the Hyundai Tucson earned the trophy for the highest initial quality in the compact multiactivity vehicle (MAV) segment.
Hyundai ranks among the top three nameplates in the study for the first time in the history of IQS, according to the 2006 Initial Quality Study issued by J.D. Power and Associates. Highlights include a top ranking for the Hyundai Tucson in the compact MAV segment, and top three segment performances for the redesigned Sonata and all-new Azera, as well as the Elantra and Tiburon.