Brand building

Noh said Beijing Hyundai's product structure will change in the next few years, focusing more on mid- and high-end cars to lift Hyundai's brand image among Chinese customers.

In April, the joint venture launched the new generation Sonata in China. By June, dealer sales of the model already surpassed 5,000 units, a figure that will keep rising, Noh said.

Eighth generation Sonata [Photo/China Daily]

The joint venture has great hopes the new Sonata can grab a share in the competitive mid-priced segment where Toyota's Camry, Honda's Accord and Volkswagen's Passat compete.

Noh noted that the venture is adjusting its production plans to ensure that more Sonatas will be produced every month.

"We will have a monthly output of 10,000 Sonatas after August," he said.

The company also expects the new Sonata to improve the Hyundai brand, as it is still perceived as lower than Japanese, German and US competitors in China.

"We will improve our brand by offering quality products and services - quality is the principle we stick to," Noh said. "The principle helped us succeed in the US and it will also work in China."

To prove its quality to the customers, Beijing Hyundai has the longest product warranty in the market - 5 years or 100,000 km.

Most carmakers offer a 3-year or 60,000-km warranty.

The company has supplied the Sonata and Elantra as taxis in Beijing since 2005 so more people could experience the quality.

Noh himself often takes taxis, and with knowledge of some Chinese, learns about how the cars are performing and what maintenance is required.

Beijing Hyundai's third plant, with designed capacity of 400,000 vehicles a year, is now under construction and will be put into operation in the second half of next year.

Together with its existing two plants, the new facility will enable the company to produce 1 million vehicles yearly in China.

Noh said the brand intends to soon have a 7 percent share of China's auto market.