现代和起亚集团最近几年在中国市场不温不火。现代4月发布了今年第一季度财报，显示净利润为16870亿韩元，下降12%。这已经是销量连续第九个月出现下降，这与现代起亚在中国市场销量不佳有关。现代起亚今年一季度共销售了111万辆车，同比下降2%。其中中国市场销量降至10万辆，下降了10%。虽然出现整体复苏，但现代起亚面临提升中国市场份额的新任务。韩国品牌销量下降的主要原因是日系品牌的复兴和独立品牌占据更大份额。最主要原因是韩系品牌缺乏优势。现代起亚自从去年8月以来一直在调整中国市场战略，韩系品牌在中国市场是低端形象，缺乏高端品牌限制了其在中国市场未来的发展。起亚去年11月推出了独立豪华品牌Genesis，强调“新的Genesis品牌将与全球一流豪华品牌竞争”，未来五年将推出六款新车。预计现代也将很快在中国推出新品牌。或许，现代对进口车业务的调整是其计划的序幕。

 

Hyundai KIA decide to increase market shares in China, seizing for high-end market

Hyundai and KIA groups have lukewarm performances in China in recent years. Hyundai released Q1, 2016 financial report in April, showing that it has a net profit of Won 1,687b, decreasing 12%. It’s the ninth consecutive quarter of sales decrease. Report also analyses that the reason comes in bad sales volume in China market.

 

Hyundai KIA sells 1.11m units vehicles in the first quarter, decreasing 2%. The sales volume in the Chinese market fell to 100,000 units, decreasing 10%. Although it shows an overall recovery, Hyundai KIA faces a new task of increasing market share in the Chinese market.

 

The main reasons for decreasing Korean-brand vehicles come that Japanese brands are recovering their market shares and independent brands are occupying great market shares. The most important factor is that Korean brands are lacking their strengths in brands.

 

Hyundai KIA is adjusting their strategies in the Chinese market since August of last year. Auto analyst once said, Korean brands have a low image in the Chinese market, and the lacking of high-end brands is an important factor of limiting their future developments. In fact, KIA launched an independent luxury brand Genesis in November of last year, emphasizing that “the new Genesis brand will compete with first-class global luxury brands.” It also announces that Genesis will launch six new models in the future five years.

 

It’s expected that Hyundai will launch new brands in China soon. Maybe the adjustment towards its imported vehicle business in China is a prelude to its plan.