Quote:
Originally Posted by jpd80
and this is why I believe that in the next two to five years, Hyundai/Kia will make big
gains against Japanese brands like Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda. All those
compact and sub compact cars and SUVs are up for grabs but then they will go after
the more expensive mid sized SUVs and Utes...
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Mazda moved the price of the 3 up considerably, along the lines of Focus. And it's sales have dropped off. I think last month it was outside the top 10, when it used to be top 3 or 4. It's entry point is now around 24k. Either price is the sticking point, or people hate the look of the weird rear quarters on the hatch. I know I do.
Corolla and others have moved up to the area north of 23k as well. Manufacturers are starting to look at profits over numbers. Kia admitted they will not be making profit on passenger cars come 2021, so I recon you will see them move up as well. They might be happy to try to steal market share with minimal profits now, and then go up and hope buyers stay later? Or they may be happy to go no profit on passenger cars, and try to make money back on SUV's?
I'd think they will have too, as South Korea is not a cheap country to manufacture in. From what I recall their auto workers are on similar money to ours. Not like Thailand or China.