Hyundai Motor plans to expand its dealer network in the United States to 820 from the current 787 this year, the company has said.
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Owners of select US Hyundai dealers were invited to Korea for a three-day trip during which they toured the company’s research centres and test drove the Genesis, which will be launched in the US during the second half of the year.
With the new luxury car, the company is hoping to raise the brand image away from relatively cheap and bland cars in the US marketplace.
At the meeting Hyundai Motor vice chairman Kim Dong-jin requested the dealers’ assistance in raising the company’s sales in the United States, which have fallen 8.5% to 95,338 units in the first quarter of the year from a year ago, and meeting its annual sales target of 515,000 units.
The chairman of Hyundai Motor has voiced concerns over the health of the market in the US in the wake of fuel price increases.
“Demand in the United States has fallen considerably due to sharp rises in fuel prices,” a company statement quoted Chung Mong-koo as saying.
See also: SOUTH KOREA: Chairman thanks US dealers personally
