Despite the lack of an official announcement regarding the status of Hyundai in the Philippines, one of their dealers went ahead and announced it anyway on their official dealer Facebook page.
Revealed by Hyundai Pasig, the brand will undergo a “great restart.” Although no details were shared by the dealer, they did mention that it is “happening soon.” See the original post below.
Now, it’s the worst kept secret in the local automotive industry for some time that Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) is set to lose the distributorship of Hyundai passenger vehicles after more than 20 years (it will keep the distributorship of trucks and buses though). The word going around is that a new corporate entity, Hyundai Motor Philippines, Inc. (HMPI) will serve as the brand’s new distributor. It will have direct links to Hyundai’s regional office in Indonesia as well as the head office in Korea.
According to sources, HMPI’s in-coming president has already made the dealer rounds. She (yes, she’s as woman) says the official transfer of distributorship will officially happen sometime in April or May, and that new stocks are expected to arrive in the Philippines between May and June. It’s understood that based on dealer meetings that HMPI will target a lower price point for its vehicles, while also upping its standard specifications—a direct response not just to established Japanese makes, but also against the upstart Chinese brands.
Along with Hyundai Pasig’s announcement, are four vehicles cloaked in shadows.
You can check it out for yourself below, but they’re pretty easy to make out. It looks like Hyundai in the Philippines will be going back to basics with a four-vehicle line-up. It will launch the all-new Creta (which for some odd reason, is shown as the pre-facelift version), the Santa Fe, Staria, and Tucson. The refreshed Kona, though not part of the initial salvo, is also expected to join the line-up at a later time. As for passenger cars, it’s rumored that Hyundai’s keeping the Accent sub-compact sedan, but axing the Reina and Veloster after the transition.
Are you excited for Hyundai’s next chapter here in the Philippines?
Keyword: A Hyundai Dealer Just Confirmed A New Distributor For The Korean Car Brand