Racing to the Top

Around the same time last year, quite a lot of people (except for a few auto-buffs who foresaw this) were surprised when Hyundai-Kia became the world's 5th largest auto manufacturer leapfrogging Nissan and Honda. The same set of people were in for a bigger surprise this year - Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group (HKAG) has overtaken Ford to become the world's 4th largest auto company in Jan-Jun 2009 global sales. The once-a-butt-of-jokes Korean underdog has risen meteorically in the past decade to become a global superpower in the world of automobiles

When the company declared 10 years back that their ambition is to get into the Top 5 by 2010, there were no takers for the statement. But the Koreans had the audacity and commitment which paved the way for them to move from 11th in 1999 to 4th in 2009. What makes the acheivement even more remarkable is the fact that there was a difference of about 1 million vehicles between Ford and Hyundai-Kia in 2008. Of course, Ford lost quite a few brands from its kitty (Jaguar, Land Rover & Aston-Martin) in its restructuring process, but that should not take the credits away from the Korean duo.

The startling success of this company can be attributed to several factors such as a string of globally super-successful models (Sonata, Elantra, Ceed & Soul to name a few), multifold improving Brand-Image (Genesis Sedan & Coupe), the extremely successful new European nomenclature (i30, i10 & the recent i20) and renewed focus on Safety & Quality which puts its cars on par with the best.

 

Great going Hyundai-Kia!!! I sincerely hope that you will treat us with many more surprises with every new model launch which will not only be leaps & bounds ahead of the model it replaces but also lands directly on top of that particular segment.

Why did I do this?

The time of inception of this blog may seem quite awkward for many. "As the Automobile Industry is reeling in the worst economic recession seen in the last many decades, here comes yet another blog dedicated to automobiles" some might think. But I will make things very clear right away. This is not an official blog doing professional testing and posting reviews.

I love automobiles (be it cars, bikes, buses, trucks, trains, aircrafts et all) and there have been instances when people have asked me to marry a car and not spoil a girl's life by marrying her. Once when travelling with my friend on a fine Sunday evening, we almost had a very bad crash as my friend lost control of his bike when I shouted on seeing a Porsche 911 in Chennai. The other day, my excitement on seeing a Rolls-Royce Phantom so close and the resulting reactions on my colleague's faces made me feel embarassed as I was travelling back home in my office bus. Even after many such embarassments and near-death experiences, I continue to love automobiles and continue to shout on spotting an exotic on road.

What better way to make things public than putting it live on the World Wide Web? So, the idea of this blog is very simple - to express my ideas and views on automobiles in such a way that some people (atleast those whom I know) get benefitted out of it. So, here I start off with my first post and with the hopes of having much more in store.