Hyundai Iload News

Most makes and models did better than a year earlier, as customers snapped up everything from cheap Korean imports to value-priced local family cars.  Long-term price leader Hyundai did best of the best, lifting its sales by 67.7 per cent to hit an all-time high for the Korean carmaker.Hyundai has been in Australia since 1986 but has never had a better January, thanks partly to its $13,990 Getz but also the successful i30 and iLoad van.  The locally-made Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore and Toyota Camry-Aurion went up by 15.4 per cent, with the Falcon doing much better as sales lifted from 1630 to 2318.Only two of the top-10 brands went backwards, with Mitsubishi falling 50 sales short of its 2009 result and dropping to seventh in the rankings and Honda sliding all the way to ninth after losing more than 2000 sales for the month.  The overall sales improvement for January was 11.6 per cent over a year earlier, according to official VFacts sales numbers released yesterday, a hopeful reflection of the local economic recovery from the global financial crisis.The monthly total was also helped by carryover deliveries from the showroom rush in December, when business buyers raced to take advantage of the Federal government's investment allowance.The Holden Commodore was Australia's favourite car again in January with Toyota on top overall, followed by Holden, Ford, Mazda and Hyundai.  "This is a strong result. New-car affordability is better than ever and has been further enhanced by the tariff cut on many imported vehicles,” the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Andrew McKellar, said yesterday.“New car buyers have effectively been handed a ‘tax cut’ and many brands have moved quickly to reduce prices or increase vehicle specifications."AUSTRALIA'S FAVOURITE CARSJanuary, 20101. Holden Commodore 32412. Mazda3 32233. Toyota HiLux 29974. Toytoa Corolla 27115. Ford Falcon 23186. Holden Cruze 22187. Hyundai i30 21168. Hyundai Getz 17179. Mitsubishi Lancer 158810. Toyota Yaris 1562* Source: VFacts

But Kia has valiantly soldiered on against the odds as sales of fellow Korean Hyundai - which owns 38 per cent of Kia - has shot ahead on the back of the i30, iMax and iLoad and its market share has grown to 7 per cent. However, Kia is pinning its future on a product-led recovery that it expects to increase sales and its market share.Kia is one of only a handful of brands this year that have increased market share, despite its sales slipping 6.7 per cent. Kia Australia's national sales manager, Alan Crouch, acknowledges there will be comparisions with Kia's performance against Hyundai. "But they have reached a critical mass and we're still some way off," he says.Crouch says Kia is on track to sell around 20,000 vehicles this year, the same as last year, despite the economic slowdown. "We'll be very happy with that," he says. "We think the market will be around 850,000 and our market share will be about 2.5 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent last year."Crouch says Kia Australia has done a lot of development work this year "sowing the ground" for future product and more investment. Dealer numbers have grown from 108 to 117 and for the first time there is now a dealer in Alice Springs and Broome. "As we said when we launched Soul, Kia is a different company now," he says.Crouch says the company has also had a more consistent approach to advertising and marketing, moving away from the budget brand tag. Fresh European-inspired product is also driving new buyers into showrooms. "What we're noticing is that the people who are buying our cars are changing," he says. They are younger, design-driven people, he says. "We're seeing people we have never seen before in a Kia dealership."Crouch attributes this change to the new Cerato sedan and Soul and their competitive pricepoints. He expects more people will cross shop against Kia with the arrival of the Koup and the new Sorento off-roader in a few months.However, those looking to compare in the van segment will have less luck. The cheap and cheerful Kia Pregio diesel van won a legion of fans because of its practicality, and also helped underpin Kia sales locally. But since it was withdrawn in 2006 Kia has moved on and a replacement is unlikely, according to Alan Crouch. "The facts are that there is not a product applicable to the Australian market going forward, especially on safety," Crouch says.Given the high-level of specification and safety now required for the local light commercial van market, Crouch says filling the space left by the Pregio would be difficult.The Cerato, Soul and Koup also show that Kia is moving on from being a rudimentary carmaker, he says. 

However, of seven vans rated by ANCAP, just three, including the iLoad, have four-star ratings.The others are the Mercedes-Benz Vito and Volkswagen Transporter. By comparison, the best-selling Toyota Hi-Ace gets a three-star rating.ANCAP manager, Michael Case, said many work vans and other commercial vehicles still lacked proven lifesaving safety features like anti-skid brakes or electronic stability control. Few vans have them fitted as standard, he said."No commercial vehicles currently have a five-star rating, which requires excellent crash protection plus head-protecting side airbags and electronic stability control," Case said.He praised the iMax and iLoad results but said other carmakers still need to lift their game. The iMax and iLoad were crashed at 64km/h to simulate an off-set head-on collision with another car. He is also urging businesses to put safety ahead of penny-pinching when purchasing work vehicles."It's a question of occupational health and safety," he said."The OHS requirements on employers to provide a safe work environment do extend to work vehicles and that often means the commercial vehicles we're talking about." Fleet managers no longer have any excuse to buy unsafe vehicles, Case said."ANCAP is seeing mixed safety performance in its recent crash tests of van-style vehicles and the Hyundai results are good to see," he said. "It has put considerable effort into improving the safety of its vehicles and the results reflect that effort."Case also said parents who also use their work vans as family transport at weekends are risking their families' lives. "That's of particular concern," he said.Both the iLoad and iMax get dual front airbags, anti-skid brakes and electronic brake distribution as standard. The iMax also gets stability control but it is still optional on the iLoad. 

And in the case of Hyundai, the Korean carmaker's sharp pricing has bolstered its 2009 sales start as popular rivals plunge into the red. Hyundai is the only volume brand to post a sales lift last month compared with the same period last year. Two months into the sales year and Hyundai is 9.3 per cent up over the same period last year. Its success is in stark contrast to its Korean ally and other budget carmaker, Kia. Kia sales are down 20 per cent this year. With 4151 vehicles sold, Hyundai achieved a 5.9 per cent market share last month, the company's best result since the factory took over distribution in 2003. Director of sales and marketing, Kevin McCann, says more consumers are getting the value message. Of the Hyundai models, the budget Getz and small i30 performed strongly, helped by the iLoad and iMax. The i30 had its best-ever result with 1234 sold. With the exception of Hyundai, Audi and Jaguar, the economic downturn is ravaging local carmakers and most imports. Audi lifted its share 5.4 per cent and Jaguar by 22 per cent, largely on the back of the success of its XF sedan. Fiat and Dodge also had spikes on the back of big incentives. Sales were down across all segments and fleets, which normally return to the market in February, were noticeably absent. Of the three local volume players Toyota remains market leader but had a 31 per cent sales drop last month, selling 14,274 vehicles compared to 20,703 in February 2008. Holden was down 27 per cent and Ford 21 per cent for the month. The Commodore and Aurion were the biggest local big six losers in February, down 22 per cent and 48 per cent respectively compared to February 2008. However, the Commodore managed to snatch back No1 sales spot off the Mazda3. In January the Commodore was overtaken by the Mazda3, but it reclaimed top billing last month, with 3376 sales. Mazda3 was second with 2989 sales. The FG Falcon came in fifth behind the Toyota Corolla and HiLux. Economic uncertainty is also hitting the luxury segment this year. Mercedes-Benz sales are down 22 per cent, BMW 21 per cent, Alfa Romeo 52 per cent, Lexus 30 per cent, Volvo 30 per cent and VW 13 per cent. Sportscar maker Porsche has taken a big hit, with sales down 47 per cent. However, auto analyst David Gelb of KPMG warns that comparisons between the first half of 2008 and January and February this year are relative because the first six months of 2008 was a bumper sales period. "In this market you'd have to be a brave person to make any predictions that provide any credibility," he says.   TOP TEN MAKES (*February) 1 Toyota 14,274 2 Holden 9029 3 Ford 7396 4 Mazda 6376 5 Nissan 4441 6 Mitsubishi 4301 7 Hyundai 4151 8 Honda 3445 9 Subaru 2848 10 Volkswagen 2443   TOP SELLERS 1 Holden Commodore 3376 2 Mazda 3 2989 3 Toyota Corolla, 2769 4 Toyota HiLux, 2619 5 Ford Falcon, 2386 6 Hyundai Getz 1583 7 Toyota Camry 1564 8 Mitsubishi Lancer 1551 9 Toyota Yaris, 1548 10 Hyundai i30 1234  

Hyundai is entering the booming light commercial vehicle market and will debut its new iLoad vans at the Brisbane International Motor Show.