Filed under: Minivans/MPVs, Plants/Manufacturing, Hyundai, Kia, Earnings/Financials
When Hyundai dealers complained about not having a minivan in 2006, the automaker reached into the corporate pool and re-badged the
Kia Sedona, turning into the
Entourage. The timing was poor, as minivan sales plummeted across the board. Last year, sales were down 50% on the Entourage to just 8,400 units (Kia sold 27,000 Sedonas in the same period). It was a brutal lesson, but Hyundai's U.S. CEO John Krafcik says the company learned "why you don't do badge engineering." Needless to say, the plug is being pulled on the Hyundai Entourage later this year. With its sales wounded by the dismissed Hyundai, the Kia Sedona will continue to grace showrooms. For now, at least.
[Source:
BusinessWeek]
Entourage dead, Hyundai says no to badge engineering originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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11-04-2009, 01:40 AM
