When Hyundai launched their Shou Wang brand and also the first Shou Wang sedan the Chinese media went a little off the rails. Hyundai is likely the only company in the Chinese market that actually needs a sub brand, as the Korean brand goes further up market with increasingly improved products the bottom end of the market still needs to be taken care of as well, hence Shou Wang.

The first concept from Shou Wang, shown left, was a grand swooping design with attractive curves at each corner, it looked more like a future mid range luxury car than something that was going to be pushed into a sub brand to keep the main brand from being disenfranchised from its lower market customers.

However, concepts are concepts of course and the bitter truth of reality has hit home, the first Shou Wang to hit the streets will be the third generation Hyundai Elantra (pictured lower left) which has been given a makeover to make it look somewhat like the Shou Wang concept shown above, but somehow looks nothing like it at all.

The interesting thing about the Elantra-Shou Wang on the left is that it doesn’t have an engine, instead the traditional gasoline has been dumped in favor of an all electric drive system. This model will know be known as the BH7000 and has enough juice to power its 20Kw motor up to top speeds of 120kph with a total weight of 1440kg including batteries. This model has apparently already been cleared for production and should hit the production lines in the next few months.

Chinese commentators have been harsh on the introduction of sub brands by foreign manufacturers in the Chinese market as foreign car companies have basically recycled their old products with a new brand which hasn’t given the Chinese car industry any sort of technological advancement. However, Shou Wang’s production of a valid electric car might make other joint venture manufacturers sit up and pay attention.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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If any company needs a sub brand in China, its Hyundai. Does Honda need a sub brand to push its brand upwards? Nope. Does Nissan? Nope. Are Nissan and Honda aiming to make money via the easiest way possible? Yes.

Hyundai’s turn around over the past 18 months has come via a new vastly improved range of vehicles which out rank their previous generation vehicles by a thousand miles. The new IX35 SUV, Sonata, i30 hatch and sedan etc cannot be compared to the Elantra’s and Sonatas of a decade ago, but public opinion of car brands moves slower than glacial ice and it maybe five years to ten years before the phrase “I drive a Hyundai” changes in meaning from “This guy can’t afford a good car” to “This guy is smart with his money”, so the best way to push Hyundai’s up in the brand rankings is to put a brand below it, of course they have Kia but the two brands have separated their ways over the past few years with Kia going for the young trendy crowd and Hyundai going for the family/business crowd.

Shou Wang will be assembled by the Beiijng-Hyundai joint venture with the first model being based on the current Hyundai Elantra which will be replaced in mid 2012 with a new vehicle. Hyundai were one of the first car manufacturers in China to mull over the possibilities of developing a sub brand but GM beat them to the finish line with the Baojun brand. If Hyundai are aiming for success with the new Shou Wang brand they are going to have to pull out all the stops in the design language, if they think that merely changing the badge on an old Elantra to Shou Wang is going to be enough then they are in for a shock. Chinese automotive media have been overly critical of the Li Nian brand from Honda and gave Nissan a bashing in the media this week when the rather bland Venucia D50 sedan was launched – the obvious overtones of the old Nissan Tiida were enough to send the press into melt down with accusations of Nissan being overly eager to earn money rather than bring new cars.

When will see Shou Wang? Beijing-Hyundai are saying that it will come in the next two years, although it may come later if Shou Wang want to make a car and not badge engineer Shou Wang to an old Hyundai.

Text: Frank, Pictures: Ash.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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When a car maker chooses its auto show girls, it doesn’t go for the bikini girls and breasty beasts that are favored in America and beyond, instead they try to sell a lifestyle, which is why you see way more men in suits and girls in gowns rather than bare skin. For a country that took the idea of KTV to extremes, China is quite conservative when it comes to auto show flesh. Not the Koreans though, they studied Japan and brought out a better product, hence Hyundai’s use of Korean booth babes to lighten up the show. These shots were difficult to get due to the massive amount of photographers and amateur photographers that were fighting to get the money shot, of course the booth babe in question was all too eager to play up to the cameras. What car is she sitting on? I don’t think anybody really noticed in the frenzy, but it is the Hyundai Veloster, now priced in China from 140,000rmb to just shy of 200,000rmb.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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An economic brand from an economic brand does not make sense in most mature auto markets, but Hyundai are pushing themselves more upmarket and will likely want to use some of their older technology to boost sales.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The market for foreign hybrids in China is certainly a tough one, with Toyota and Honda both finding hard sell markets that are not entirely interested in the technology behind the car, most Chinese consumers appear to be interested in price only. Hopefully the Sonata will be priced competitively with the Prius and Civic hybrids if it is to stand a chance.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Sonata was designed in Hyundai’s American design center and is known as the YF in overseas markets, the Sonata has been on the market in South Korea since early 2009 and in early 2010 for the US market. 2.0L and 2.4L direct injection engines are expected to be used for the Chinese market as with the American market editions.

Of course, there has to be drawback to a car that is high specc’d but low priced – this generation of Sonata will be slightly smaller than the popular Honda Accord and Toyota Camry – the vehicles which it is targeting as its major competition in China.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Beijing Hyundai Motor Co sold 700,000 cars in 2010, whilst Dongfeng-Kia sold 330,000 units, the remaining sales were made up of imported Hyundai and Kia models which are sold via a different dealership network. Hyundai Motor Co now trails behind Volkswagen Group in the worlds largest auto market, but the gap is expected to be shortened in 2011 with a revamped Hyundai and Kia line up.

Hyundai now has a 9% market share after being in the Chinese market for just 9 years.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Hyundai Accent is a popular economy car in China and is trying to stay competitive for 2011 onwards. The face lift model has received a redone front end and also a new set of lights at the rear, this is the first update the car has received since its 2008 update.

The Accent retails for around 80,000rmb to 100,000rmb in China and comes with a 1.4L engine only mated to a mixture of 5 speed or 4 speed auto. A 1.6L option is offered as a top model.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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On the power front the Verna will get the same power plants as the sedan which will be a 1.4L 107bhp 135Nm, whilst the 1.6L will be a 123bhp 155Nm engine, a 5 speed gearbox and also a 4 speed automatic gearbox will be taking care of cog swapping duties.

The Verna sedan has already gained praise from the automotive media and also from consumers. The Verna hatchback is likely to be just as popular, if not more when it launches. Spy pictures of the Verna hatchback have already been leaked to the internet.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The new factory will have a combined production capacity of 400,000 new cars and 400,000 new engines per year and will bring Hyundai’s production capacity to one million cars per year in China alone. Mr Xu Heyi, the board chairman of both Beijing Hyundai and Beijing Auto Group gave a rousing speech in which he claimed that Hyundai will rise to the top of Chinese built cars and quickly establish itself as a top tier manufacturer in China.

Beijing Hyundai’s rapid growth in the past few years as largely been thanks to its succesfull small car and SUV line up, the third factory will no doubt go further to satisfy the demand for Hyundai vehicles. The third factory will be the most advanced in Hyundai’s factory and the largest overseas factory outside of South Korea. The new plant will be fully online by 2012.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Between 2011 and 2015 Hyundai are planning to launch 12 new models in the Chinese market,which will give their dealers a portfolio of 20 cars to sell.

Hyundai are planning to build the i30, ix35, Verna and Sonata YF at the new factory, whilst the first factory produces the Elantra, Tucson, Sonata MoInca and Accent, the second factory produces the newer Elantra Yuedong and the Sonata LingXiang varient.

Hyundai previously had joint venture with Hawtai and JAC, but these ventures appeared to have ended as of 2009 with the IPR going over to their respective partners who have developed them into their own self developed vehicles.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The hathchback Verna will continue to use the 1.4 and 1.6 engines from the sedan version of the Verna.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The older Azera, though sold in China in not many numbers, could catch up with this design update. The Chinese market welcomes big sedans with generous rear seat comfort. We see no reason why the new Azera could turn the tables for Hyundai in the large sedan market in China, although it will be in a strong market that is shared by Nissan’s Teana, Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord.

Engine options are likely to be a V6 and 4 cylinder models for the Chinese market.

Picture from Steering News.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The i-series of cars have also improved, the recently launched ix35 SUV has so far had a strong showing sales at 4,399 in April and 5,458 sales in May, coupled with sales of the original Tucson SUV Beijing Hyundai’s SUV sales have broken the 10,000 units per month sales barrier in July.

Beijing-Hyundai also recently launched the Verna mini car, which has so far received a positive response in its first year on the market. Beijing set its 2010 sales goal at 670,000 vehicles, a 17.54% increase over 2009’s sales goal of 570,000 vehicles, in the first half of 2010 Beijing Hyundai achieved 49% of its sales goal. Beijing Hyundai is planning to start work on a third factory to keep up with local demand for the Hyundai range of cars.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Hyundai motors is aiming to boost sales to 670,000 vehicles sold in 2010, which is an increase of 100,000 vehicles over their 2009 end of year sales. Hyundai sold 437,000 vehicles in the first 8 months of 2010, which shows that they are on their way to achieving their goal.

Hyundai are planning to spend $800 million USD on the third factory, and it would be completed over the course of 2011 with an eventual production capacity of 300,000 units.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Hyundai Verna

The Verna will launch with the choice of a 1.3L and a 1.6L engine with the usual option of manual and automatic gearboxes, the actual price has not yet been announced but it is expected to range from from 70,000rmb to 110,000rmb when launched on Monday.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Hyundai currently have a joint venture with Beijing Automotive works (BAW) which has seen some major growth in the last 18 months as Hyundai surge in the sales alongside its partner Kia.

The i40 will be sold alongside the last generation Sonata which will be sold as an entry level mid sized car, whilst the i40 is going to make an attempt at taking on the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord in the 200,000rmb and rising sector with a 2.0l and 2.4l engines mated to 5 speed manuals and six speed autos.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Korea’s top automaker, Hyundai, along with its joint venture partner Beijing Automotive have successfully increased their sales by 83% in China this year, which resulted in their market share jumping from 8.1% to 9.9%. Hyundai’s subsidiary, Kia also saw sales rise by 55% in the first 10 months of the year. Sales for both Hyundai and Kia stood at 570,000 and 230,000 respectively.

Hyundai currently operates two factories in China both with a production capacity of 300,000 cars per year, Kia operates two factories with Dongfeng Yueda Kia which have a combined production rate of 430,000 vehicles per year.

2010 will see the introduction of new Hyundai SUV’s and also the Kia Soul compact hatch, which will no doubt improve their 2010 sales no end.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Beijing Auto’s September sales surged 108 percent from the same month last year to121,340 vehicles. In the nine-month period it sold 913,878 vehicles, up 48.6 percent from a year earlier. Beijing Auto’s top man Mr. Xu He Yi believes that Beijing Auto can pull off the 2010 bumper sales goal, he has raised Beijing Auto’s sales goal to 1.5 million vehicles in 2010, which will be extended to an impressive 2 million vehicles by 2011.

Sales revenue for 2010 has been set at 150 billion RMB, (or 22 billion USD), 2011 sales revenue has been set at 240 billion RMB in sales revenue.

Beijing Auto currently has two major joint ventures in China, one with Mercedes and the other with Hyundai. The Beijing Hyundai JV has proven to be a very successful JV, Beijing Hyundai currently has an 9.7% market share, which is double the 4% Chang’an Ford currently have.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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By July 2009 Beijing-Hyundai, the JV between Hyundai and Beijing Auto Works had already sold more cars from January to July 2009 than they did in the whole of 2008. Beijing-Hyundai saw sales of 43813 cars from Jan to July this year, of which the Elantra accounted for 13014 sales and the newer Elantra Rui Dong accounted for sales of 20522.

Beijing-Hyundai’s impressive turn around has mostly been due to the launch of the Elantra Rui Dong and strong advertising in the PRC. Over the coming months Hyundai is expected to launch new models such as the Hyundai i10 into the Chinese market.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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SEOUL, July 14 (Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), South Korea’s top carmaker, on Tuesday said it has raised its 2009 target for sales in China for a second time because of stimulus measures by the Chinese government to boost demand and as the company plans to launch new models.

Hyundai, the world’s No.5 carmaker along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), said in a statement that its Chinese unit aimed to sell 450,000 cars this year, 12.5 percent higher than its previous target.

In April, an executive of Beijing Hyundai said the company had lifted its sales target in China for this year to 400,000 units from 360,000, compared with 294,506 in 2008.

“The unit has posted brisk sales so far this year following China’s measures to bolster car demand. Our new models will help us achieve higher sales there,” a company official told Reuters by telephone, asking not to be identified as he was not authorised to speak to the press.

“Hyundai is expected to beat the new target easily as Hyundai has been a major beneficiary of Beijing’s stimulus measures with the Elantra compact car. Hyundai is adding another model, the i30, to take advantage of the steps,” said Mihael Sohn, an auto analyst at Woori Investment & Securities.

Beijing Hyundai, a 50-50 joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings, sold 257,003 cars in the first half of this year, up 56 percent from a year earlier, according to Hyundai.

Beijing Hyundai plans to launch a China-exclusive model of the Sonata mid-sized sedan and the i30 hatchback in the second half of the year.

Hyundai shares ended down 0.53 percent at 74,400 won, on Tuesday, underperforming a 0.54 percent gain in the broader market

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Rohens Coupe starts at a rather cheap 190,000rmb for the base 2.0 Turbo manual model, price are as follows:

2.0T Manual 190,000rmb
2.0T Automatic 220,000rmb
2.0T Luxury Automatic 250,000rmb
3.8 Luxury Automatic 300,900rmb
3.8 Flagship 320,500rmb

The low pricing, which is on par with the Hyundai Coupe means that Hyundai could continue with its strangle hold on the ‘low priced’ coupe segment which Chinese manufacturers such as Brilliance have tried to crack but failed.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Genesis is Hyundais first shot at the upmarket luxury sedan segment in China, and they’re not coming empty handed. The Genesis will be sold in China with either a 3.3l engine, or a 3.8l engine (Chinese reports say a V6 engine). The Genesis has actually been renamed for the Chinese market, it is to be called the Rohen within the borders of the PRC, although the Chinese media refer to the Genesis as the ‘Lao En Si’ (劳恩斯)

Pricing of the Genesis/Rohen has yet to be announced, but with the sales tax on big engines just increasing, we can bet that this motor will be more than 280,000rmb, possibly upto 350,000rmb range.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Elantra was not the only model that received a makeover for the Chinese market, the Hyundai Sonata also received an update for the Chinese market.

Beijing Hyundai have received 5.1 billion RMB in funding for research and development from Hyundai in Korea, which will lead to Beijing Hyundai developing more and more cars for the Chinese marketplace.  Apparently, all of the intellectual property for the Chinese designed Elantra and Sonata belong to Beijing Hyundai, and if Hyundai wish to introduce these designs to the global market, then Hyundai must pay Beijing Hyundai a licensing fee for each car sold.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The i30 is expected to go into production in Beijing in the second half of 2008, and may well go some way in turning around Hyundai’s rather dismal sales performance in 2007 and 2008. This car may just well be the injection of style and performance that Hyundai needs the most in China, although, the new Elantra is doing quite a good job of revitalizing Beijing Hyundai by itself, the i30 is only going to strengthen their position.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The exterior has had a minor face lift, but the biggest change appears to be a vastly improved design.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Sales have been going down hard and fast for Beijing Hyundai over the past few years, this year they were forced to lower their sales forecast amid intense pressure from other brands that have newer, nicer looking models. BMW and Mercedes have seen their sales double in the past year, hence Hyundai’s decision to enter the luxury segment.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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HYUNDAI Motor Co, South Korea’s largest car maker, has cut vehicle prices by as much as 13 percent in China and curtailed its sales target after introducing new models.

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co, the company’s Chinese venture, cut prices for its Accent subcompact, Avante compact and Sonata sedans by seven percent to 13 percent from September 1, Seoul-based Hyundai Motor said yesterday.

Hyundai Motor slashed its annual sales target in the world’s second-biggest auto market by 16 percent to 260,000 units, reported Bloomberg News.

Hyundai Motor is joining General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and other car makers in China in cutting vehicle prices.

At least 30 new or revamped models were introduced in China in the first half, forcing the auto makers to cut prices and ease financing requirements to maintain sales.

Hyundai Motor’s sales in China dropped 18 percent to 128,587 in the first seven months of this year, compared with 157,135 a year earlier, according to the company’s Website. It had previously aimed to sell 310,000 units this year in China.

It is now the 10th-largest car maker in China, slipping from fifth place last year. Hyundai Motor is building a second US$1-billion factory in China to double its capacity to 600,000 vehicles per year by 2008 after opening its first Beijing plant in 2002.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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Beijing Hyundai have come from behind, to being one of the market leaders in China. Before on China Car Times we talked about how the ‘QQ Killing’ Hyundai Getz is coming to China. Hyundai plan to have the car in production as early as January 2008, in addition, Beijing Hyundai also plan to produce the Hyundai Coupe in China to keep it competitive with up and coming Chinese coupes such as the MGTF, Brilliance Coupe etc etc. Currently the Hyundai Coupe is made in Korea and imported into China making it much more expensive. China Car Times believes we are on the verge of the Chinese autosports revolution at this rate, all we need is for MG to make the MG7 coupe, and we’re set.

Hyundai have also mentioned they will bring a third car to China early next year, but we at China Car Times are currently unsure as to what that car is. Could it be a self developed model for the Chinese market?

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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HYUNDAI Motor Corp may miss its sales target in China for a second straight year due to a lack of new models and the popularity of Chinese-made, price-competitive models.

Beijing Hyundai Motor Corp, a joint venture between South Korea’s biggest auto maker and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding, saw first half-year sales drop 23 percent to 91,864 vehicles year on year, the Union of National Passenger Car Market Information said yesterday. The sales account for 30 percent of its whole-year target of 310,000 and caused the group to drop from fifth to ninth on the list of top 10 best-sellers in the same period.

It sold 290,000 vehicles last year, an increase of 24 percent from 2005, but outside its target of 300,000 units.

Zhang Xin, an auto analyst from Guotai Jun’an Securities Co Ltd, said a lack of new models and competitive local cars, like Chery and Geely, are not helping the Hyundai cause.

Sun Zhenjie, a spokesman of Beijing Hyundai, attributed the dilemma to a limited production capacity that prevents it from adding models.

“We are undergoing a restructuring in both our product line-ups and costs this year,” said Sun. “But so far there is no plan to change our sales target.”

Beijing Hyundai sold Sonata, Elantra and Accent cars in China with an annual capacity of 300,000 units.

The car maker is constructing a second plant in China able to make 300,000 units annually. It also plans to locally produce the coupe sports car and a revamped Elantra in the plant, expected to start operation in the first quarter of next year.

Last month, Beijing Hyundai also lowered the price by up to 10,000 yuan (US$1,321) on the complete product mix.

“The price cut is not a wise move for Beijing Hyundai because it will also eat into its profits when its Chinese parent Beijing Auto is preparing for a public listing,” said Zhang.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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The Hyundai Getz is Hyundais smallest car to date and comes with the choice of 1.1, 1.4 and 1.6 economy engines. The Getz is already selling well around the world.

Making the Getz in China is a smart move into a lucrative market, this year the sales of super minis like the QQ, Getz, etc have already over taken the number of larger passenger vehicles in China. It is a market that can only get bigger, especially with the number of new drivers that wish to buy something small, fashionable and more importantly, cheap, before progressing onto bigger vehicles.

Ash

Ash came to China at 18 on a whim and never left. Some 10 years later he collected a degree and a family along the way and now focuses his time on watching the Chinese car industry develop. He has witnessed the market change from being minor backyard market in to the world's biggest and most important market for all car manufacturers. You can contact or connect with him via Linkedin by clicking the 'Website' link.

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