Topic: Hyundai overtakes Toyota as the best-selling Asian company in Europe

[Mitlov]

European car buyers have a favorite Asian automaker, and its name is no longer Toyota. Hyundai and Kia have tag-teamed to best the longtime Japanese automaker, with a four percent overall rise in total units through the first ten months of 2010. During that same period, Toyota-Lexus sales have fallen 17 percent, with Hyundai at 521,369 vehicles sold compared to 511,754 for Toyota.

Full story:

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/11/23/hyundai-kia-overtakes-toyota-as-biggest-asian-automaker-in-europ/

[Mike]

3.....2.......1......Shnak!

[Mitlov]

3.....2.......1......Shnak!

Yeah, I thought certain people here would be overjoyed

[G0dspd]

I think we need a bit of context here.  Can any European forum members give us their point of view on Toyota in Europe?  I don't think they have the numbers or the reputation of the NA division.

[Mitlov]

I think we need a bit of context here.  Can any European forum members give us their point of view on Toyota in Europe?  I don't think they have the numbers or the reputation of the NA division.

See Hazdaz's comments in the comment section:

Not surprisingly, AB missed some of the most important tidbits of data from that link.

Even when Toyota was the largest Asian brand in Europe, they only owned 5% of the EU market. That market share has dropped to about 4.4%, with Hyundai now controlling 4.5%.

Asian cars in general aren't popular on that side of the Atlantic.  "Best-selling Asian brand" certainly doesn't imply "best-selling brand" like it does over here.

[G0dspd]

Asian cars in general aren't popular on that side of the Atlantic.  "Best-selling Asian brand" certainly doesn't imply "best-selling brand" like it does over here.

That's what I thought.  This news will have more impact in NA because most people will assume that Toyota as the same position in the European automotive industry.

[rrocket]

Asian cars in general aren't popular on that side of the Atlantic.  "Best-selling Asian brand" certainly doesn't imply "best-selling brand" like it does over here.

That's what I thought.  This news will have more impact in NA because most people will assume that Toyota as the same position in the European automotive industry.

And the opposite is true here.  Korean cars don't make much of a dent in overall sales in NA.  IIRC, the Camry or Corolla alone sells more cars than all of Hyundai combined....

[Mitlov]

Asian cars in general aren't popular on that side of the Atlantic.  "Best-selling Asian brand" certainly doesn't imply "best-selling brand" like it does over here.

That's what I thought.  This news will have more impact in NA because most people will assume that Toyota as the same position in the European automotive industry.

And the opposite is true here.  Korean cars don't make much of a dent in overall sales in NA.  IIRC, the Camry or Corolla alone sells more cars than all of Hyundai combined....

Don't know about Canada, but as for the USA:

In 2009, Hyundai USA sold 435,064 cars.  http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyundai-motor-america-reports-december-and-full-year-2009-sales-80721017.html

In 2009, Toyota USA sold 1,770,149 cars.  http://www.toyota.com/about/news/corporate/2010/01/05-1-sales.html

[Shnak]

Asian cars in general aren't popular on that side of the Atlantic.  "Best-selling Asian brand" certainly doesn't imply "best-selling brand" like it does over here.

That's what I thought.  This news will have more impact in NA because most people will assume that Toyota as the same position in the European automotive industry.

And the opposite is true here.  Korean cars don't make much of a dent in overall sales in NA.  IIRC, the Camry or Corolla alone sells more cars than all of Hyundai combined....

That's almost true, but let's not forget that the Camry also makes up for more than half of their US car sales. As of September, they sold 250,000 Camrys for the year, for a total of 489,000 cars sold. In comparison, Hyundai has sold 313,000 cars for the same period, 149,000 of which were Sonatas. The difference happens when you compare ALL that is produced by Toyota vs all that is sold by Hyundai, even if including Kia. Toyota total is 1,300,000 vehicles vs Hyundai/Kia total is 678,000 vehicles. But still, Hyundai selling half as many as Toyota is nothing to sniff at! Look how long each has been selling cars in this market. Give it another 5-10 years and we'll see how things change.

[Scaerio]

I think we need a bit of context here.  Can any European forum members give us their point of view on Toyota in Europe?  I don't think they have the numbers or the reputation of the NA division.

Hyundai-Kia has been very aggressive in Eastern Europe.  In Serbia (a very small market, mind), for example, it is the number 5 maker, behind FIAT, Dacia, Skoda, and Opel.  Kia ranks 12.  Added together, they would take the number three spot, pushing Skoda to number four.  Hyundai has a plant that makes the i30 in the Czech Republic, and a plant that makes the Cee'd in Slovakia.

Consider these prices.  In Serbia, the cheapest i20 costs EUR 8690.00 and the cheapest Kia Soul costs EUR 11 990, while the cheapest Yaris starts at EUR 12 050.00.  The Hyundai i30 starts at EUR 10 790.00, and Kia's Pro Cee'd (the 3 door version of the Cee'd) starts at 10 990.00.  The Toyota Auris starts at EUR 15 500.00.  All Hyundai products come with a 5-year, 100 000km warranty.  Kia's Cee'd and Pro Cee'd have a 7-year, 100 000km warranty, while other Kias have a 3-year, 100 000kn warranty.  Toyota also offers 3- years, 100 000km.  Most other makers offer 2 years (EU minimum)/unlimited km or 3 years/100 000km.

In the UK, the i20 is about 1000 pounds cheaper than the Yaris, while the i30 undercuts the Auris by about 2000 pounds.

Toyotas are regarded as good cars, but are often considered boring (especially in the UK motoring press), and people believe that parts and service are expensive.  When I moved to Germany in 2001 and contemplated getting a used car, many people advised me to avoid the Japanese makes because of the high maintenance costs.