Hyundai to make history

NEWS FEATURE

The history of Hyundai in Australia will reach a major milestone on December 31, 2018.

The final day of 2018 is when the South Korean car-maker will officially report its graduation into the A-team of the Australian motoring industry with a sustainable six-figure annual sales total.

With four months to run, nothing can stop Hyundai powering past 100,000 local deliveries for the first time since 2014, cementing third place on the league ladder behind Toyota and Mazda, and laying the foundations for the next decade.

It’s a massive result for a company which was a cheap-and-cheerful wannabe just over 30 years ago and is set for increased growth in coming years as it fills open points in its showroom line-up (including a one-tonne ute) and aims for a leadership role on affordable hybrid, electric and hydrogen cars.

“A car plan is like a life plan: you start as a child, become an adolescent, then become an adult. It’s one of those spiritual levels. You’re either under a hundred or over a hundred,” said Hyundai Motor Company Australia chief operating officer, Scott Grant.

Grant told motoring.com.au that Hyundai is moving and morphing rapidly, both globally and in Australia.

“Originally Hyundai was cheap. Eventually it transitioned to value, with things like drive-away pricing, and now it's transitioning again.

“We’re now transitioning at two levels: one is luxury and one is technology-based performance for mums and dads.”

Grant faces the day-to-day challenge of hitting aggressive sales targets but says it’s the longer-term stuff that is occupying more of his time, as the Hyundai range and reach expands and the company races up to the launch of its Genesis luxury sub-brand in November.

“Personally, the transition is my biggest challenge,” Grant says.

“If you think about the journey, over 30 years, what we’re facing as a management team is the greatest opportunity and challenge the company has ever faced. Rather than being a follower, the opportunity is to become a leader in the industry.”

Change is nothing new for Grant, who began his career at Toyota and also served time as the managing director of Holden Special Vehicles, as well as taking places at Komatsu and as an industry consultant.

Now 51, and recently moved to a small farm on the outskirts of Sydney, Grant looks back on the lessons from time with Toyota in America and an MBA at Macquarie Unversity’s graduate school.

“It nearly killed me, but it was great,” he says of the degree.

He moved back into the motoring mainstream as sales director of Hyundai under John Elsworth, the former marketing chief at GM Holden. Here he served for a year before being promoted to COO when Elsworth resigned for family reasons.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t walk past,” Grant says.

“On many levels, it was a great opportunity. I spent four years in marketing at Toyota in the USA, I did time at HSV, I felt like I had the breadth of knowledge to contribute.”

He’s now four years into the job and laughs as he outlines his biggest success.

“Hitting target. Every month.”

Anyone who has experience with Hyundai, or its sister company Kia, knows the relentless grind of sales targets set by ambitious executives in Seoul and Sydney, and Grant knows it can be tough.

“It’s a sales-driven company, not a marketing-driven company. And there is a significant difference.

“It's been a lot of fun. The products are great. But it’s a tough business. Last year we did 97,500 vehicles.”

That could sound like a sign-off, but Grant is not done yet at Hyundai as he talks through the plan and challenges to the end of 2018 and beyond.

“We will get to 100,000 this year. In a challenging market it’s even more satisfying to do that.

“From a hard work standpoint, there are the internal challenges around maintaining growth and then there is the external environment, where the industry is more competitive than it’s ever been.

“A significant part of that is the change in market segmentation — away from passenger cars towards SUVs and light commercial vehicles. It will take some time for us to fill out the portfolio.”

Grant is still pushing hard for a ute. There is still no official approval — a lot of internal discussion and a lot of internal noise, but…

“I think we are moving that way but there is no official announcement that I can share,” he states for the record.

It’s not the only project on, or over, the horizon at Hyundai, which most recently updated its relatively new small SUV, the Kona.

“A truck-based commercial vehicle [SUV] would be good. Like a 200-Series LandCruiser, to fill out the commercial vehicle range.

“There is a lot of opportunity in that truck-based area, whether it’s SUVs or commercials.”

But Scott points out there are other big developments at Hyundai, which wants to position itself with affordable technology and green cars.

“I’m very confident that Hyundai is at the forefront of all known technology developments. And they are a reality,” Grant says.

“We’re not just saying we’re doing it, we’re delivering it. And that’s a significant statement about the company.”

One of the keys is electrification, via hybrid, battery electric and hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains.

“We’re going to launch a completely electric Kona. It’s an EV with a range around 400km, with solid-state battery technology.

“It's the next level of battery technology. It will be industry leading on range.

“The final piece of the tech puzzle is Nexo. It will be ready to go on sale as soon as we see the first hydrogen fuel station launched in Australia.”

Grant is not expecting to do big numbers with the future cars, nor make big profits, but he knows Hyundai needs to shift up a gear for the next stage in its evolution.

That includes the Genesis luxury brand, a fully electric family SUV, new commercial vehicles and also new sales experiences, including investment in online retailing.

“There is a lot happening. And I think it will be pretty exciting...”

“No doubt it is challenging, but the company needs to invest — from a product cycle point of view — in new technology.

“To be relevant you’ve got to be in the game,” he stated.