The Elexio is the brand's first passenger model made in China for Australia, and more cars could come from there in future, Hyundai says.
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Hyundai now has the ability to “search the world” to find new models for the Australian market, but expects more to come from China, it says.
In addition to the three plants it has on home turf in South Korea, Hyundai has eight around the globe, as well as R&D centres in Namyang and Shanghai.
While most Australia-bound models come from South Korea, the brand also builds the i30 and Tucson in the Czech Republic for our market and the i20 N in Turkey.
The recently-launched Hyundai Elexio electric medium SUV became the car maker’s first passenger car to be made in China for the Australian market.
Speaking to Australian media at the launch of the Elexio, Hyundai Australia’s Product Development Manager, Tim Rodgers, said that scanning its plants worldwide for models suitable for our market will become more common.
“We're currently sourcing from Turkey and the Czech Republic already, and we've got factories globally everywhere that we're constantly studying and assessing the viability, so anything that pops up onto the radar that becomes viable is just a huge benefit to us, especially as a right-hand drive nation.”
“We'll have Elexio here that the US and Europe won't. We have Inster here, but the US won’t,” added Chief Operating Officer, Gavin Donaldson.
“We have the ability, even though we're a small car company globally, to be able to search the world to find products that will suit the Australian market.
“Ultimately, always be generally sourced out of Korea, but if we have the opportunity to find a car that actually fits our product portfolio that helps the Australian public, we are going to try and bring it.”
Asked if that meant more models would be sourced from China in the future, Donaldson said yes, but not necessarily as a priority.
“There are probably multiple products that may come from other factories. It may not just be China. We use Turkey now. We used to use other factories in Europe. You never know, if it comes outta [sic] the US, it could be for us. There are multiple different options we think we can look at.”
Rodgers said the brand is not just building in China; it also has an R&D facility there that it can leverage.
“The proximity to us to be able to assess our market – it’s a level of support that's great from not just Korea but China as well. It's a huge benefit to us in that way.”
Questioned on whether Hyundai is now sourcing from China based on cost, because it is generally cheaper to buy cars there due to intense price wars, government subsidies, and lower manufacturing costs, the brand said no.
“I would say there would be other levers based on some pricing by other parties that we don't really compete [against],” Donaldson responded.
“I don't think doing these cross-country price comparisons applies to any manufacturer in the market right now. We can't comment on how they run their operations locally. But you know, we think that the price we've got here is quite compelling.”
The “levers” Donaldson refers to likely include subsidies from the Chinese government to help native car brands shift more vehicles.
Broadening its horizons to other parts of the globe is also made possible, Donaldson noted, because his boss, Don Romano, is now President of Asia Pacific for Hyundai Motor Company, a role he occupies while continuing on as CEO and President of Hyundai Australia.
According to Donaldson, Romano’s promotion not only means good things for the local arm in terms of having a seat at the table, but also unlocks the possibility of Hyundai’s forthcoming ute not just being built in the US but also potentially in South-East Asia.
“One of the good things about what we've seen with Don’s [new role] is that more doors are opening up for our product, and we’re involved in heavy meetings about where it's from,” Donaldson told Australian media.
“We get fantastic support out of our current factories. But at the same time, being in the ocean corridor, we have other alternatives that we need to consider. There are other factories that produce [utes]. Once it (the Hyundai ute) comes into play, there's always gonna be a demand, and, therefore, the ability to build in multiple places could be an option.”
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A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.
