Platform rationalisation within Hyundai Motor has left its two brands (Hyundai and Kia) working all models off just six platforms, Kia company officials have told just-auto.
At a briefing in Seoul, Kia said that the number of platforms used by Hyundai and Kia has fallen from 22 in 2002, to 18 by 2009 and now stands at just six.
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The group has also dramatically reduced the numbers of suppliers over the period and increased the number of shared suppliers between the brands from around a fifth to over 90%.
This, the company maintains, has led to cost savings, improved quality and freed up resources for R&D and new product development.
Kia says it is planning 47 new or upgraded products over the 2013-2017 period and that it has tweaked its product cycle planning to bring enhanced mid-cycle refreshments. Previously, it worked on a single mid-cycle facelift in between full model changeovers. From this year, it is replacing the mid-cycle facelift with two “product enhancements” over a standard product cycle. This, it says, enables it to freshen products more often according to market needs.
Kia also says that it has reduced the new product development time period – from design concept to start of production – from 4 years to 3.5 years.
| Hyundai Motor (Hyundai + Kia) | 2002 | 2009 | 2013 |
| Number of platforms | 22 | 18 | 6 |
| Number of models | 28 | 32 | 40 |
| Hyundai Motor (Hyundai + Kia) | 1999 | 2009 | 2013 |
| Number of suppliers | 740 | 400 | NA |
| Shared suppliers | 18% | 78% | >90% |
| Source: Kia |
See also: COMMENT: Hyundai Motor’s mantra: handle volume with care
