Charting (and rating) Hyundai Motor Philippines’ comeback year of 2023

It was a relatively low-key relaunch. There was no grand and festive event, just a quietly confident “We have returned.”

There is, after all, no great need for a spectacular brand relaunch. Hyundai was once fighting for the Top 3 slot in the Philippine market, so the brand certainly needed no introduction.

What it certainly needed was an assertion that the brand, now under the auspices of the newly incorporated Hyundai Motor Philippines or HMPH, is in good hands. And on that end, the executives and staff of HMPH exerted every effort to yank South Korea’s biggest automotive brand out of the doldrums in the Philippine market and restore it to its rightful place — which is to be at the forefront of the car-buying public’s psyche and, more to the point, on the shortlist of every new car buyer.

So how did Hyundai Motor Philippines fare in its first full year in business? Let’s find out.     

Product

Rating: A 

No self-respecting car company would be caught dead without at least a respectable lineup of car models. In this regard, Hyundai bypassed “respectable” and went straight to “formidable,” with a distinct focus on crossovers and SUVs as well as versatile and luxurious people movers like vans and MPVs — two of the most popular vehicle categories in the market today.

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Right upon the brand launch around the middle of 2022, HMPH rolled out a masterful mix of well-known models like the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Creta, and bolstered that with all-new models like the Staria premium van, the Stargazer compact 7-seater MPV, and the groundbreaking IONIQ 5 pure-electric vehicle. 

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Hyundai began 2023 with the announcement of the Palisade, the brand’s veritable bad boy in the premium large SUV segment. The next quarter, HMPH made a huge splash at the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS), with the unveiling of the more upmarket 6-seater Stargazer as well as the stunning IONIQ 6 midsize EV executive sedan.  

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Several months later, in October, Hyundai unveiled a triple threat with the crossover-inspired Stargazer X, the Custin premium 7-seater MPV, and the new 9-seater Staria, which features captain’s chairs for the second and third rows, with swiveling function for the second-row seats. 

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As if this array of heavy-hitting models weren’t enough, HMPH saw fit to grant a sneak peek of the all-new — and spectacular-looking — Santa Fe premium midsize SUV to the media just before Christmas.

Pricing

Rating: B+ (the availability of models below P1 million would’ve merited an A)   

No amount of brilliant product design and features can make up for an unreasonably high price. Let’s take a look at Hyundai’s first-year pricing strategy, model by model.

The brand’s entry-level model SUV, the surprisingly capable subcompact, the Creta, starts at a highly palatable P1,098,000 with the GL IVT STD variant — supremely competitive for its size/price class. 

Next up in the SUV lineup is the Tucson compact SUV, whose retail prices of P1,570,000 and P1,840,000 put it in an advantage against its Japanese compact crossover competition.  

The awe-inspiring Palisade large SUV stickers at P3,780,000 — again highly competitive with other similarly sized luxury offerings. 

Hyundai’s MPV line starts with the game-changing Stargazer, whose retail prices range from a winning P1,068,000 for the value-packed 1.5 GL to P1,298,000 for the slick 1.5 GLS Premium 6-seater. The crossover-inspired Stargazer X tops out at a still-attainable P1,348,000.

The notably more upscale Custin is priced at P1,770,000 for the 1.5T GLS and P2,080,000 for the 1.5T Premium. Shrewdly for Hyundai, the Custin is the only MPV in its size/price class with sliding doors.

The diverse Staria line, which starts at P1,850,000 (not counting the P1,560,000 Cargo variant) for the 2.2 CRDi Commuter, moves up to P2,320,000 for the fast-selling 2.2 CRDi GLS+, before topping out at P2,830,000 for the luxurious 2.2 CRDi Premium+ 9-seater AWD.  If you want even more luxury and legroom, there is still the 2.2 CRDi Premium+ 7-seater AWD, which goes for P3,030,000. 

Last but not least are Hyundai’s two-pronged showcase of innovation and technology: the IONIQ 5 crossover SUV and the IONIQ 6 sedan. The former retails for P3,068,000 for the Standard Range version and P3,698,000 for the Long Range version. The latter, meanwhile, has a sticker price of P3,798,000. These may sound pricey; expensive, even. But considering that these cars are currently at the pinnacle of automotive evolution and bring with them a host of technological advancements in performance, safety and luxury (not to mention bundle free home installation of a 7.4kW AC charger and offer a 5-year/200,000 km vehicle warranty and an 8-year/160,000 battery warranty plus free PMS for 5 years or 75,000 kms), you do get a whole bang for the buck. 

Market outreach

Rating: A   

Even if you have nice products at good prices, you still need to get the word out — and Hyundai exerted Herculean efforts to bring their cars to their customers. They started early with the Hyundai Mobility Adventure at the Glorietta Activity Center in February, which also saw HMPH’s partnership with the Roblox metaverse.  

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HMPH continued its mall tour with the Hyundai Mobility Experience at SM Aura in March and at the Fashion Hall in Megamall in June (which showcased Hyundai’s global partnership with the Spider-Verse movie and also marked HMPH’s first anniversary in the Philippines), before venturing to the Vis-Min region with mall displays in Cebu and Davao. Hyundai rounded up the year with another Mobility Experience in Clark and in BGC, adding icing to the cake by joining up for Passionfest. 

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Hyundai also helped spread the word by bringing close to two dozen members of the Philippine media to not one but two international motor shows: the brand’s home motor show in Seoul in April and the very relevant Jakarta show in August. The motor show visits were mixed with experiential events like test drives, executive interviews and plant tours. HMPH also brought the local media to a ride and drive event to Cebu early in the year in February where they got to experience the Creta and Stargazer. 

The brand ended the year by being one of the partners for “NYE at the 5th” – the city of Taguig’s 2024 concert and countdown (with headliners Wendy, Irene & Seulgi of Red Velvet). Not only was Hyundai part of the night’s celebrations, it also gave the public a special branded installation featuring the all-new Santa Fe, giving the public to see this in the metal following the private preview earlier in December.

Customer initiatives

Rating: B+

HMPH started the year with a bang, clinching the Best in Service for Asia Pacific in Hyundai’s Global Customer Experience Championship in February. The award was won by Hyundai Baliwag.   

Hyundai then opened its first EV charger-equipped dealership in Hyundai Makati in March. Before long, the brand would have six EV charger-equipped dealerships (Alabang, Pampanga, Commonwealth, Pasig, and Cebu South). The brand then rolled out its Before Service program for the summer road trip season, before announcing the Extra Mile spare parts promo in July. 

In July, HMPH forged a partnership with SM Malls for the rollout of 6 EV Charging Stations which can be used by all models / make with a Type 2 charger. The completion of the facilities was announced in September namely in MOA, Podium, SM Lanang, Fairview, Clark & SM City Cebu

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Just a month later, the brand launched Hyundai Finance and Hyundai Revive & Drive. HMPH ended its first full year with 38 dealerships, with more to be opened in 2024. 

All things considered (and these are all just from an outsider’s point of view), we give Hyundai Motor Philippines a solid “A-“ in its first full year of operations in the Philippines. Under new management and with a highly positive dealership network (and with seemingly strong support from its HQ in Seoul), Hyundai Motor Philippines can only be expected to go from strength to strength moving forward this 2024.