January 23, 2025

Didcot Gateway

Building Cars, People First

‘I was cynical about Hyundai’s aim to be the world’s 2nd biggest carmaker, not now’

Being a journalist signifies you have a healthy dose of developed-in cynicism. So I’ll acknowledge to turning up at the launch of the new Genesis GV80 and G80 styles not anticipating them to be really serious top quality car contenders.

How completely wrong I was. Both equally autos are severely amazing and – straight out of the box – really serious contenders from really serious rivals.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, having viewed how the Hyundai Motor Team has remodeled by itself and its models (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis) in excess of the earlier handful of several years. I have been blessed sufficient to devote some time in Korea, exactly where I have always been struck by Hyundai’s eagerness to listen, study and respond – quick.

I recall being questioned to feed back again my ideas on top quality in a new products to Kia engineers some several years back. Two times later they offered their designs to me on how they’d be addressing my responses – starting off on production autos in just a handful of months’ time. Wow!

When Hyundai and Kia products and solutions have been strengthening at a fee of knots recently (and the Hyundai Tucson I have obtained at the moment has been explained by my spouse as just one of the finest autos I have ever had!), we’ve been massively impressed by the brand name extensions: Hyundai’s sizzling N styles, the Hyundai Ioniq five and now Genesis.

Hyundai Motor Team is acting shrewdly and sensibly, whether or not which is its expense in corporations like Rimac, Arrival and Canoo, or picking out companions like Ineos to operate with on hydrogen electrical power – it all helps make feeling.

On yet another trip to Korea, I was proven a chart of the world’s greatest car makers and informed how Hyundai Motor Team was aiming for the quantity two slot. And sure, I was cynical about that at the time, also. Not now.

By concentrating on what shoppers actually want – good-on the lookout, good-driving, successful, very affordable, substantial-top quality autos – Hyundai Motor Team is exhibiting other car makers the way forward proper now. And there is much more to come. 

Verify out our critique on the new delicate-hybrid Hyundai Tucson…