Hyundai, Kia To Establish Distinct Brand Identities

[AutoGuide.com]

For a long time, the only brand with a poorer reputation than Hyundai was Kia. Despite being a subsidiary of Hyundai, Kia's vehicles were often a grade lower in quality, using decade-old Mazda engineering and projecting an image of cheap vehicles for those with poor credit (or poor taste).

Now, Kia is on a roll, with sharp designs and technology borrowed from Hyundai, which has become a segment leader in many respects. Kia's Optima sedan is outselling the Hyundai Sonata in their home market of South Korea, something few would have predicted even a year ago.

Executives at Hyundai fear that sales cannibalization will occur if action isn't taken to differentiate the brands. Hyundai is said to become the more premium, upscale brand while Kia will take on a sportier image. In the United States, the company's lineups have a lot of overlap, but in the rest of the world, more differentiation exists, and Kia and Hyundai have established dominant positions in different reasons.

More: Hyundai, Kia To Establish Distinct Brand Identities on Autoguide.com

[Khonshu]

Wonder what is going to happen to the genesis if this was the case

[trevorusn]

Originally Posted by Khonshu

Wonder what is going to happen to the genesis if this was the case

Luxury sport coupe most likely.

[bigbossman94]

I like this idea alot.


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[scottieboi]

From a business standpoint it makes sense on one side that they separate themselves more. But I really wonder if they will truly be able to market Hyundai as a luxury brand (at least here in america). The other thing I wonder is how different they will be since they share a lot of the same technologies. This presents a huge cost savings but to truly differentiate can they continue to do this?

A little technical but I'm going for my MBA so this is how I look at stuff.

[Anthonyc77]

Originally Posted by scottieboi

But I really wonder if they will truly be able to market Hyundai as a luxury brand (at least here in america).

Um why not? It worked for Acura, Lexus and Infiniti.....

Originally Posted by scottieboi

The other thing I wonder is how different they will be since they share a lot of the same technologies. This presents a huge cost savings but to truly differentiate can they continue to do this?

Look at the infiniti g35 and the 350z.... Pretty much the same car (chassis, engine, transmission, drivetrain) and yet one is designed to be sporty (2 seats vs 4) and the other more comfortable.

Acura TSX is nothing more then an accord (same motor: k24) with nicer seats, headlights interior, etc.

These companies do this, and it works....

[trevorusn]

Originally Posted by Anthonyc77

Um why not? It worked for Acura, Lexus and Infiniti.....





Look at the infiniti g35 and the 350z.... Pretty much the same car (chassis, engine, transmission, drivetrain) and yet one is designed to be sporty (2 seats vs 4) and the other more comfortable.

Acura TSX is nothing more then an accord (same motor: k24) with nicer seats, headlights interior, etc.

These companies do this, and it works....

Lol, the TSX IS the European Accord!! So yes, it def works.

[trevorusn]

Originally Posted by scottieboi

From a business standpoint it makes sense on one side that they separate themselves more. But I really wonder if they will truly be able to market Hyundai as a luxury brand (at least here in america). The other thing I wonder is how different they will be since they share a lot of the same technologies. This presents a huge cost savings but to truly differentiate can they continue to do this?

A little technical but I'm going for my MBA so this is how I look at stuff.

Look at the Equus, the Genesis sedan and Coupe, plus how even the Elantra gets heated rear seats, and I think you'll see how they have done it and are continuing to. This is good though, as we may now see a RWD KIA in one guise or another, if it is to truly be the sportier of the 2 brands.

[DevilsX]

The TSX is called the Honda Accord Type R in Japan so... yes it's the exact same car.