CROSSOVER CARS 2015 FULL

Hyundai, meanwhile, will roll out its own sibling entries. 'It's not an easy market, the pickup market in the U.S.,' he conceded. sales were down 1.3 percent to 452,042 vehicles through September in a market up 0.5 percent.Īfter those launches, Kia will consider other light-truck entries, Park added, and maybe a small pickup, though he said Kia has no plans for one now. Those additions should push Kia's sales into positive territory in 2019, Park said. It will be exported from South Korea to the U.S., Park said. The smaller crossover will be based on the SP Concept shown at India's Auto Expo in March. The Telluride will be made at Kia's plant in West Point, Ga., Park said. A new compact crossover will follow in the second half of the year, Park said. Kia is adding the Telluride three-row crossover at the top of its lineup next spring. Park said Kia also urgently needs to boost its crossover ratio. Lee said he wants Hyundai's ratio of trucks to be around 60 percent, but he said that could take three years to achieve. volume.īy comparison, light trucks as a whole make up 69 percent of total U.S. Kia's four-nameplate utility line - the Niro hybrid crossover, Sedona minivan and Sorento and Sportage crossovers - contributed just 41 percent of the brand's U.S. sales volume through September, including Genesis, which has no crossovers. They accounted for just 45 percent of Hyundai's U.S. lineup: the Kona, Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers. Hyundai has three utility vehicle nameplates in its U.S. CEO Han-Woo Park said at the Hyundai Motor Group corporate complex here, where the Kia and Hyundai towers stand side by side.īoth companies, with their car-heavy portfolios, are out of step with U.S. market to rebound soon,' Kia Motors Corp. Slowing overall demand, increased consideration of used vehicles, rising gasoline prices and higher interest rates all pose challenges for a new full-size crossover, he said.īut Hyundai and Kia can't hope to compete if they don't play. And it's also a matter of brand image and recognition.' 'The conditions aren't as favorable for the next five years. 'It's good Hyundai and Kia are moving in that direction, but they missed out on the bonanza,' said Karl Brauer, executive publisher for Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. And that's not counting the premium Genesis brand, which won't have its first light truck until around 2020. Lee conceded it may take three years to reach his goals for crossovers. And it will be harder for both to book big gains as the new-vehicle sales boom subsides. Hyundai and Kia will be battling lower brand awareness in the utility segments, thanks partly to their late start. Still unknown is when the payoffs will come and how big they will be. That growth is expected to keep clipping along for at least the next five years, he said. When the SUV market grows, we will be able to match that growth.' We are trying to increase our adaptability. CEO Wonhee Lee said at his company's global headquarters here. 'Our strategy is to launch more SUVs,' Hyundai Motor Co. And in Hyundai's case, it may mean pioneering new ground with a compact pickup that could put the company ahead of the next big trend. The plan requires overhauling North American production. sales increases next year, even as overall demand slides.

In separate interviews last week with Automotive News, the global CEOs of Hyundai and Kia mapped out their comeback routes, pledging that the new products will boost profitability and help the brands deliver modest U.S.

CROSSOVER CARS 2015 FULL

By the end of next year, both brands will be fielding full crossover lineups - from subcompacts to full-size family movers - and executives see them leading to upswings in volume. Those are the mantras guiding South Korea's big auto brands as they scurry to align their product lineups and production capacity with surging demand for utility vehicles and try to get a head start on what could be the next truck frontier.Īfter years in the wilderness, Hyundai and Kia have reached a crossover crossroads.

Crossover cars 2015