Hyundai Announces Price Hikes Despite Declining Sales
Despite a sharp decline in sales, Hyundai Motor America on Thursday boosted the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of its cars an average of 3.1.%
The price hikes range from $175 for the base three-door Excel to $739 for the GLS four-speed automatic.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Oct. 7, 1989 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday October 7, 1989 Orange County Edition Business Part 4 Page 2 Column 1 Financial Desk 2 inches; 49 words Type of Material: Correction
Hyundai Prices--The Times Orange County in a chart published Friday incorrectly identified two Hyundai Sonata models as lower-priced Excels in a report of the car maker’s 1990 manufacturer’s suggested retail prices. The Hyundai Sonata 4-cylinder GLS 5-speed that is priced at $12,349, and the Sonata 4-cylinder GLS automatic is priced at $13,044.
The South Korean car company, which hit the United States as a low-price leader in 1986, now has five models with base prices in excess of $10,000, including two that top $13,000.
Just one day before announcing its 1990 price increases, Hyundai Motor America--the Garden Grove-based U.S. marketing arm for Hyundai Motor Co.--said American sales for the first nine months of 1989 totaled 146,042 cars, including 26,150 of the mid-size Sonata models introduced in January. That represents a drop of 30.1% from the 208,966 cars sold in the same period last year.
And on Tuesday, Hyundai announced that its top American executive, chief operating officer W. Greg Warner, had resigned in a dispute with corporate officials over marketing strategy.
Hyundai spokeswoman Debbie Douglas on Thursday called the management turmoil and year-long sales decline “temporary setbacks.” She said the price increases were necessary because of increasing production costs and because of the costly redesign of all the Hyundai Excel models and the addition of a V-6 engine to the Sonata line.
Industry analysts seemed to agree, and added another reason for the price hike. The value of the South Korean monetary unit, the won, has risen 7% against the dollar over the past year, said Ronald A. Glanz of Montgomery Securities in San Francisco.
Hyundai’s price increases followed similar announcements by the Big Three domestic auto makers and most Japanese car companies.
The Japanese auto makers have hiked U.S. prices an average of 2% for 1990, Glanz said.
Ford Motor Co. said in mid-August that its 1990 prices would rise an average of 4.8%; General Motors announced an average 3.4% hike and Chrysler Corp. has tentatively set a 5% price hike.
HYUNDAI CAR PRICES
1989 1990 % Model Price Price Increase Excel 3-door hatchback $5,724 $5,899 3.1 Excel 4-door sedan 6,449 6,999 7.7 Excel 5-door hatchback 7,199 7,599 5.6 Sonata 5-speed manual 9,695 9,999 3.1 Sonata 4-speed automatic 10,305 10,694 3.8 Sonata V-6 automatic NA 11,289 NA Excel GLS 5-speed manual 11,695 12,349 5.6 Excel GLS 4-speed automatic 12,305 13,044 6.0 Sonata GLS 4-speed NA 13,739 NA
Source: Hyundai Motor America
