The well known auto maker based in South Korea, Hyundai Motor announced on 19th April 2012 that the company believes to sell around 152,000 units of its facelifted Santa Fe in the global market. The revamped version of this car will be placed in Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) segment of the industry, which is incorporated with a sleek design.
With the launch of this car, the company introduced a single model in the international market this year. However, the domestic sales of Hyundai are quite vulnerable as Seoul has stated its consent over free trade agreements with United States and Europe. Owing to this agreement, the auto manufacturers from all over the world are facilitated to access the auto market of South Korea, which was a privileged place to trade in past.
According to the industry data, the sales of imported cars increased for the first time in January 2012 by 10 per cent, as compared to less than of 1 per cent in 2000. Along with its partner Kia Motors, Hyundai Motor is the fifth largest auto group in the world, which said in a statement that the company has aimed to register sales of 385,000 units of its Santa Fes during 2013.
After the unveiling the facelifted version of Santa Fe, Kim Choong-ho, Chief Executive, Hyundai, said, “We are confident about positioning Santa Fe as premium model both at home and in the overseas markets. It boasts very competitive fuel mileage of 17 km per litre and a bold design.”
In Santa Fe’s third generation, the company has introduced the first facelifted in past seven years. The new model is equipped with a completely new design "fluidic sculpture", which is now incorporated in most of the models offered by the Hyundai’s product portfolio. The new design of Santa Fe flaunts arched lines, starting from the front fascia to the rear end of the car. This design was initially introduced in 2009 in Hyundai’s flagship model, Sonata, which is placed in the mid-sized sedan segment of Indian industry. Later, this design was also seen in Elantra compact and Azera, a large sized sedan.
In order to increase sales, the car makers are now required to offer a unique and appealing design with their offering. As per the company’s statement, the new Santa Fe will deliver a stiff competition to Audi Q5, which is planned to be launched in Europe this June, in United States this July and in China during the October.
The officials of Hyundai said that the company has received 15,000 advanced bookings for its new model in South Korea. However, it targets to sell around 42,000 units of Santa Fe in domestic market and 110,000 in overseas market during the year. Kim further said, “High household debt and a slump in the real estate market could depress overall car demand in the domestic market but we hope the overall economic conditions will improve from May.”
The shares in Hyundai witnessed a downfall of 0.9 per cent as of 0310 GMT, against the 0.1 per cent fall in broader market.
