Hyundai has set itself the goal to return to fourth position (in terms of market share) in the combined passenger and light commercial vehicle market, says Hyundai Automotive South Africa (Hyundai SA) sales and operations director Stanley Anderson.

The local importer has fallen from fourth position last year, to sixth place for the year-to-end May, and is now behind Toyota, Suzuki, Volkswagen, Ford and Nissan, having sold roughly 1 900 units fewer in the first five months of the year than over the same period last year.

Anderson believes the Motus-group company will be able to regain lost ground through a number of new models and initiatives, including a refreshed i20 hatchback, launched this month, and a new small sports-utility vehicle (SUV) on its way from India.

The Exter SUV is built on the Grand i10 platform and set for its local debut in September.

This model will provide Hyundai access to a very popular part of the South African market, as cash-strapped consumers continue to seek value-for-money offerings from auto makers.

Anderson says Hyundai SA is also targeting the small cargo market with its new Venue Cargo and Grand i10 Cargo models, at roughly an additional 100 units a month.

Here the company works to gain customers such as security companies and pathology groups, which may have typically acquired the now defunct NP200 half-ton bakkie to ferry their goods.

Hyundai has also returned to the government tender market, with its Staria minibus proving popular, for example.

“We also need to sell more of what we have available to the market,” says Anderson. “This includes the H100 bakkie. We normally do 200 a month and we would like to sell 250 a month.”

When considering the rising sales of Chinese competitors, Anderson says Toyota and Suzuki remain the biggest threats in terms of new vehicles priced under R300 000, while Chinese brands have largely been taking market share in the R300 000 to R500 000 segment, along with the popular Toyota Cross.

Anderson expects more Chinese importers to join the domestic market.

As for these brands’ longevity in the domestic market, he says long-term durability, high fuel consumption and accident-parts availability may still trip up the newcomers, even if they offer good styling.