We appreciate you taking the time today to visit our Virginia Beach & Chesapeake area Hyundai dealer website. Our goal is to give you interactive access to our new Hyundai cars and used cars, as well as to allow you to conveniently get a quote, schedule a Hyundai service appointment, or apply for a car loan in Virginia Beach.
At our new Hyundai dealership in Virginia Beach, we have devoted ourselves to helping and serving our Chesapeake area customers to the best of our ability. We believe the cars we offer are of the highest quality available. We understand that you rely on our Hyundai dealer website for accurate information, and it is our pledge to deliver you relevant and accurate content.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have. Our staff is happy to answer any and all inquiries in a timely fashion. We look forward to serving customers in Virgina Beach, Chesapeake, Hampton and Newport News, Virginia.
The Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) (KSE: 005380, LSE: HYUD), a division of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, is South Korea’s largest car maker. Headquartered in Yangjae-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea. It is also the world’s sixth largest car maker and operates the world’s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea. The Hyundai logo, a slanted, stylized ‘H’, is symbolic of two people (the company and customer) shaking hands and its official slogan is “Drive your way”.
Hyundai means “modernity” in the Korean language.
Hyundai’s History
Chung Ju-yung founded the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company in 1947. Hyundai Motor Company was later established in 1967. The company’s first model, the Cortina, was released in cooperation with the Ford Motor Company in 1968. In 1975, the Pony, the first Korean car, was released, based on Japanese technology from Mitsubishi Motors. It was exported starting the next year.
In 1986, Hyundai began to sell cars in the United States, and the Excel was nominated “Best Product #10” by Fortune magazine, largely because of its affordability. The company began to produce models with its own technology in 1988, beginning with the midsize Sonata.
Starting in 1998, Hyundai began to overhaul its image in an attempt to establish itself as a world-class brand. Chung Ju Yung transferred leadership of Hyundai Motor to his son, Chung Mong Koo in 1999. Hyundai’s parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, invested heavily in the quality, design, manufacturing, and long-term research of its vehicles. It added a 10-year or 100,000 mile warranty to cars sold in the United States and launched an aggressive marketing campaign.
Hyundai is now the fastest-growing auto brand in the United States and in 2004, it was ranked second in “initial quality” (not including the quality of body and engine parts) in a survey/study by J.D. Power and Associates. Hyundai is now one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide. Since 2002, Hyundai has also been one of the worldwide official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup.
Hyundai in the United States
Hyundai entered the United States market in 1986 with only one model, the Hyundai Excel, offered in a variety of trims and bodystyles. That year, Hyundai set a record for selling the most automobiles in its first year of business in the United States compared to any other car brand, a staggering 126,000 vehicles.
Hyundai invests heavily in the quality, design, manufacturing, and long-term research of its vehicles. It added a 10-year or 100,000 mile warranty to its vehicles sold in the United States. In 20 years, both quality and sales dramatically increased, and the reputation of Hyundai cars improved. In 2004, Hyundai tied with Honda for initial brand quality (quality of engine parts not factored in) in a survey/study from J.D. Power and Associates, for having 102 problems per 100 vehicles. This made Hyundai second in the industry, only behind Toyota, for initial vehicle quality. The company continued this tradition by placing third overall in J.D. Power’s 2006 Initial Quality Survey, behind only Porsche and Lexus.
Hyundai continues to invest heavily in its American operations as its cars grow in popularity. In 1990, Hyundai established the Hyundai Design Center in Fountain Valley, California. The center moved to a new $30 million facility in Irvine, California in 2003, and was renamed the Hyundai Kia Design and Technical Center (Kia is a sister brand of Hyundai). Besides the design studios, the facility also housed Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. (HATCI, established in 1986), a subsidiary responsible for all engineering activities in the U.S. for Hyundai. Hyundai America Technical Center moved to its new 200,000-square-foot, $117 million headquarters in Superior Township, Michigan (near Ann Arbor) in 2005. Later that same year, HATCI announced that it would be expanding its technical operations in Michigan and hiring 600 additional engineers and other technical employees over a period of five years. The center also has employees in California and Alabama.
Hyundai America Technical Center completed construction of its Hyundai/Kia proving ground in California City, California in 2004. The 4,300-acre facility is located in the Mojave Desert and features a 6.4-mile oval track, a Vehicle Dynamics Area, a vehicle-handling course inside the oval track, a paved hill road, and several special surface roads. A 30,000-square-foot complex featuring offices and indoor testing areas is located on the premises as well. The facility was built at a cost of $50 million.
Hyundai completed an assembly plant just outside Montgomery, Alabama in 2004, with a grand opening on May 20, 2005, at a cost of $1.1 billion. It is Hyundai’s second attempt at producing cars in North America (The Hyundai Auto Canada Inc. plant in Quebec closed down in 1993). At full capacity, the plant will employ 2,000 workers. Currently, the plant assembles the Hyundai Sonata and the Hyundai Santa Fe.
In 2005, Hyundai allowed Ed Voyles Hyundai in Smyrna, Georgia to become the first “deaf friendly” dealership in the entire world. The staff in this dealership are able to accommodate deaf customers with the use of American Sign Language and video conferencing phones.
In 2006 JD Power and associates ranking, overall the Hyundai brand ranked 3rd, just behind Porsche and Lexus. And beating long time rival Toyota. The brand overall is ranked much higher than the average industry and resale value continues to improve, a comparable 2003 Hyundai Sonata sedan ranks just $2200 below a similarily equipped Honda Accord according to Kelley Blue Book Pricing 2006.
*The brand history on this page is a collaboration of points found from various sources on the Internet. Checkered Flag does not claim it to be accurate. If you find anything to not be factual, we want to know so we can change it. Please use our Contact Us form to inform us of a possible error.
