Carmakers Target Female Buyers

Seoul September 13, 2004; Bae Keun-min writing for the Koreas Times reported that as women's purchasing power has increased, so has the ratio of female to male customers in the auto industry.

Although carmakers sales success has been highly dependent on their ability to attract male customers for a long time, females have recently emerged as strong buyers, leading carmakers to implement marketing strategies focusing on this emerging customer group.

Hyundai Motor's new products have benefited from the new power group. Females account for some 30 percent of Hyundai's customers for its newly launched Sonata sedan, higher than Hyundai's overall average of 23.8 percent.

``From the launching of the Sonata, we began marketing Sonata N20 Elegance, a special model for women,"a Hyundai official said. The edition allows female drivers of a relatively short height to adjust the distance from the driving seat to the pedals.

Other features include a telescopic steering wheel, a back warning system (BWS) and sliding console box.

Hyundai's small sport utility vehicle (SUV) Tucson, which has been on the market since March, also marked 22.7-percent for female customer ratio.

Kia Motors' recently introduced entry-level SUV Sportage has also benefited from the emerging female consumer group. Female buyers of Sportage vehicles, as of Thursday, had purchased 27.4 percent, significantly larger than the 17.8 percent for SUVs produced by Hyundai Motor such as Santa Fe, Tucson and Terracan.

``In order to attract women, we have applied bold and primary colors in both the exterior and interior. This seems to be effective," a Kia official said. The Sportage differentiates itself from other SUVs that traditionally use achromatic colors.

For both interior and exterior of the new Sportage a variety of colors are available such as Hawaiian blue, romantic rose, olive, coffee bean and golden green for externals.

The Sportage is equipped with other features to attract females, including a hook to hang handbags and shopping bags.