Four New Crossover SUVs are Being Added to Hyundai’s Lineup
“We don’t think it’s a temporary thing. It’s driven by lifestyle.” Those were the words of Dave Zuchowski, president of Hyundai Motor America. Zuchowski is referring here to a recent trend in auto sales that shows quite a significant boost in crossover SUV sales across the United States. “What we see with Millenials is . . . one vehicle has to do more things . . . a crossover allows you more flexibility.”
Zuchowski here is referring to what seems to be a generational shift with regard to Millenials who now seem to prefer crossover SUVs. Zuchowski notes that he and his staff have noticed “a generational shift that probably will accelerate rather than slow down.” Too, Zuchowski noted: “We don’t think that’s a temporary change. IT’s driven by lifestyle.” All of this was said with regard to the launch of the new 2017 Hyundai Elantra sedan in San Diego, CA earlier this year. Zuchowski used this platform to discuss this aforementioned generational shift, as well as adjusting production to vehicles like the Elantra.
This certainly affects production as well That is to say, the Elantra—which is built in both South Korea and Alabama—will soon be sharing building space with the likes of the Santa Fe Sport. Now, when Hyundai first opened an American plant in Alabama, the Santa Fe SUV was one of its first projects. Since then, however, production of the vehicle has been sent to a plant in West Point, Georgia. Returning the Santa Fe Sport to Alabama, however, is smart business where Hyundai is concerned. That is, the move will certainly open up more room for the automaker to build more crossovers in the future (which, of course, seems to be the direction in which the company is heading).
All in all, Zuchowski seems to be correct in his assumption: There does seem to be a growing trend among this generation of automotive customers in which they seem to lean toward crossovers. And this trend is not a fluke; Zuchowski talks about it like it is just common sense. With a crossover, he says, “you can have beautiful styling and [a better] fuel economy.” Though, Zuchowski’s quite to not give all the credit to gas prices; however, he does note that such a thing plays a very large roll. “Part of the growth in trucks is two dollar gas,” he says. “In a couple of years, full-size trucks and body-on-frame SUVs will be affected by [fuel] prices, but crossovers not as much.”
Never the less, with all these plans in place, what we can certainly expect to see is an increase of Hyundai crossovers in the next few years. Already up to four new crossovers have been added to their list, and that list is expected to get higher and higher.
Keep checking back in with us here at Rosen Hyundai for more information with regard to Hyundai’s crossover selection.
