Hyundai Grabs 22 Percent of Russian Market

Seoul October 17, 2005; Kim Yon-se writing for the Korea Times reported that one in five automobile customers in Russia are buying cars produced by Hyundai Motor or Kia Motors.

The market share of Hyundai in Russia reached 17.4 percent as of August. Toyota captured 12.3 percent, Uzbek-Daewoo 10.5 percent, Mitsubishi 9.8 percent and Ford 8.7 percent.

With Kia Motors, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, ranked at eighth with 4.1 percent, the combined market share of Hyundai and Kia stood at 22 percent.

Hyundai Motor took the top place in the Russian market in May 2004, outperforming global competitors such as Toyota, Ford and BMW.

While the automaker stood at the ranking of 10th in 2002 and fourth in 2003 there, it overtook Toyota/Lexus in 2004 and maintains the top place this year. Kia posted between fifth and 10th over the past few years.

Hyundai saw its sales for the first eight months of the year surge 114.8 percent, compared with the same period of 2004 _ from 28,175 to 60,530.

The growth rate far outpaces that of its competitors. The growth rate of Toyota/Lexus and Ford stood at 53.4 and 33.8 percent, respectively, over the same period.

``The performance is attributable to the transfer of regional headquarters in Eastern Europe to Moscow last year,’’ a Hyundai official said.

Considering the growth potential of Russia, the automaker plans to supply cars suitable for the country’s climate and geographical features, he added.

Kia Motors is also mapping out strategies to beat international competitors in consultation with its parent Hyundai Automotive Group.

Aside from the Russian market, Hyundai Motor is still focusing on the Eastern Europe market.

Its market share in Czech rose to 4.8 percent this year, from 3.6 percent in 2004 and 3.3 percent in 2003.