Hyundai Generic and Intensive Growth Strategies

Hyundai is among the leading automakers of the world that has a strong global presence and manufacturing capabilities. Apart from the Hyundai brand, it also sells Kia models. The auto industry has grown highly competitive and apart from fuel efficiency and security, digital tech and environmental impact of vehicles are some of the key factors that affect sales. Most of the auto brands in the world are investing in safer driving technology, automated driving, IoT and other latest technologies that can help improve the overall driving experience. Hyundai is a South Korean brand of automobiles with its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.

The company has maintained a strong competitive position in the automobile industry which reflects in its growing sales and revenue over the past several years. The brand has acquired a leading position in the Asia Pacific market where its sales are the highest of all market regions followed by North America. The growth strategy of Hyundai included a focus on customer experience, product quality, and pricing. Apart from making available a large range of small family cars, the company has also brought a nice range of SUVs and environment-friendly vehicles as well as premium models from Kia. This is a discussion of Porter’s generic and intensive growth strategies Hyundai has employed to achieve global expansion and higher sales.

The generic strategies employed by Hyundai motors mix cost leadership with differentiation. Prices and customer experience are two important factors that have a direct impact on the sales of an automobile brand in the global market. Market expansion in the Asia Pacific markets requires a focus on both since customers are more price-sensitive and also consider the safety aspects of a product before purchasing. Apart from that Hyundai has mainly employed product development and market penetration strategies for global growth. It has expanded its range of environment-friendly vehicles and SUVs in the light of recent trends.

Generic Strategies used by Hyundai:

Cost Leadership:

With time the costs of raw material and labor have grown driving the operating expenses higher for the automobile brands. Achieving cost leadership in the auto industry requires a focus upon several things since companies need to achieve cost efficiency first. Apart from supply chain management, manufacturing, and other areas also need to be fine-tuned for achieving the highest cost-efficiency. Hyundai has focused on all these areas to achieve higher cost competitiveness and built strong manufacturing capabilities which have also allowed it to reduce operating expenses.

Cost leadership is the main generic strategy that the company has employed for market growth. It has brought a large range of competitively priced cars to the market. In the Asia Pacific market, some of its leading competitors are Honda and Ford as well as Maruti Suzuki. However, through cost leadership, it has been able to build a large customer base and achieve higher loyalty. Its large range of products also includes small family cars in the introductory range that are priced very competitively when compared to the rivals. However, the company also caters to the needs of high-end customers through its Kia brand.

Differentiation:

As competition has grown in the automobile industry, the need for having a differentiated image and overall identity has been strongly felt by the auto manufacturers. Apart from investing in the design and quality of their products to provide outstanding customer experience, the companies are also investing in marketing and customer engagement so as to build a differentiated image and identity. Hyundai has used its pricing, brand image, and marketing strategy to differentiate itself from the competing brands. Product quality and efficiency are the main basis of differentiation.

Hyundai’s focus remained on bringing offerings that were efficient and safer as well as suited the changing tastes of customers. Apart from the sweeping technological changes, growing environmental awareness in people, as well as the growing demand for SUVs around the world, are some of the leading factors that are affecting the choices of customers. Despite being positioned against tough rivals like Ford, Toyota, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, GM and FCA, Hyundai’s position has remained strong in the Asia Pacific and North American markets and it has been able to build a distinct image through differentiation. Auto brands also focus on differentiation to grow customer loyalty. Design and technology are among the common bases of differentiation in the automobile industry.

Intensive Strategies used by Hyundai for growth:

Market Penetration:

Market Penetration is the strategy of releasing new products in an existing market to grow sales or selling more to your existing customers. The Asia Pacific and North America are the leading markets of Hyundai motors where the company has built a strong sales and distribution network. Apart from product quality, the company has also focused on marketing and customer service to grow sales and build customer loyalty.

In recent years, the company has also focused on catering to more diverse consumer segments in its existing markets through varying product models. Growing competition in the automobile industry has made it important for auto firms to research demographic and technology trends so that they can cater to the changing needs of customers worldwide better. Hyundai has already achieved a strong position in several leading auto markets of the world and now is working on filling the gaps and touching more customer segments by delivering a superior customer experience through innovation to grow its penetration of the existing market regions.

Product Development:

Product development is the strategy of developing new products that cater to customer needs better. All the leading automobile brands invest huge sums in research and development to develop more efficient and safer models. They do this to grow the attractiveness of their product portfolio. Apart from improving the existing models, companies also bring new models to cater to the changing trends. For example, the demand for SUVs grew in recent years and Hyundai has released several market-leading SUVs in a competitive price range. Kia Motors has also brought SUVs to cater to the needs of the higher-end customers.

Market Development:

Market development is the strategy of entering new markets to grow the customer base and sales. However, this is not a primary intensive strategy used by Hyundai. Firms that have already expanded on a global scale mainly utilize the first two strategies to find more growth. Rather than finding new markets for its products, Hyundai focuses on growing its sales in existing market regions through product development and market penetration.