Hyundai Vehicles

Overview

    Hyundai Motor Comapny was founded in Korea in 1967 by Ju-Yung Chung, who created the Hyundai industrial comglomerate twenty years earlier. At first, the company built vehicles for US giant Ford, but as South Korea sought to achieve rapid industrialization and economic growth, Hyundai became one of the engines of indigenous industry in the country. By 1975, they were building their own car, a compact pickup called the Pony. Seeking to expand its sales, Hyundai finally managed to homologate and gain permission to sell its subcompact Excel for the US market in 1985. First-year sales were nearly 170,000 (thanks largely to a starting price of $4,995), selling more than any other import, and Hyundai was off to a roaring start in the States. Things soon turned sour with the Excel, as quality and reliability issues began to emerge and pile up. Hyundai persevered, expanding its lineup with the midsize Sonata in 1989, and the intermediate compact Elantra in 1992. The Excel died off after 1994, and was replaced by the Accent. Hyundai's recipe for success in the American market was to offer more features for a lower price than Japanese (and even some domestic) rivals. By 2008, though, the company was confident enough in its improved reputation to offer a luxury car Stateside in the form of the Genesis. Hyundai is also the parent company of Kia Motors, another South Korean carmaker.

CARS

MINIVANS

CROSSOVER VEHICLES