Sonata, 'Power of Taxi', Succeeds in Rebounding Sales Despite Recession

[Korea Financial Times, Gwak, Ho Ryung] Hyundai Motor's mid-sized sedan Sonata has partially succeeded in rebounding in sales since its design transformation.

According to Hyundai Motor Company, domestic sales of the Sonata were 5,532 units in July, up nearly double (97%) from the same month last year. While not as high as its heyday in the 2000s and early to mid-2010s, when average monthly sales reached 10,000 units, the increase is notable given the recent slowdown in the domestic market. Excluding Santa Fe, Hyundai's volume models such as the Tucson, the Grandeur, and the Palisade have been on the decline in sales during the same period.

The rebound in Sonata sales was driven by the revival of taxi sales. Of Sonata sales last month, 2,425 taxi models accounted for 43.8 percent of the total.

The Sonata Taxi was revived as the 8th generation(DN8) model in April this year. It came nine months after Hyundai Motor discontinued the 7th generation(LF) Sonata Taxi, which is produced at its Asan plant, in July last year. The new Sonata taxi is produced at a Chinese factory and brought to Korea. The move is aimed at securing stable volumes for Chinese factories that are struggling with deteriorating profitability, while domestic factories focus on producing higher-value vehicles.

This strategy is becoming a godsend. Between May and July, sales of new Sonata taxis amounted to 6,924 units, up 2.5 times from 2,736 units sold during the same period last year.


The design transformation is also believed to have been successful. Hyundai Motor has changed its overall impression by applying a horizontal lamp to the eighth-generation Sonata facelift that was launched in May last year. The horizontal lamp, also known as the "straight eyebrow," is Hyundai's new family look that has been applied to the Staria, Grandeur, and Kona. As the 8th-generation Sonata lost in a design competition with Kia's K5, its sibling, it attempted a drastic style transformation.

The transformation effect is continuing in the U.S. as well. According to Hyundai Motor's U.S. sales arm, the Sonata mid-January-July sold 36,902 units in the U.S., up 21 percent year-on-year. In particular, the Sonata sales increased 79 percent year-on-year to 5,755 units last month, the highest growth rate among Hyundai's U.S. lineup.

Gwak, Ho Ryung (horr@fntimes.com)