Korean automakers are gaining ground in the American market, giving worries to Japanese industry, already penalized by a high yen. In June and July of this year, Hyundai overtook Toyota in the mid-size and luxury vehicle market. The Korean company sold 7.189 Equus and Genesis compared to 6.745 Toyota-badged Lexus.
Evidently the international market is starting to trust Korean models not only for the lower ranges, but also for the more expensive models. An evident sign of this evolution is the average price of machines from Seoul sold abroad, which rose in the first half of the year to 13.499 US dollars (+13,9% compared to the first half of 2010).
The increase is attributed, comments the Korean Ministry of Economy, to better product quality and the increase in purchases of higher volume cars such as large sedans and recreational vehicles. In the six months, the proportion of small-engined machines in fact decreased from 52,4% to 46,7%, while the percentage of Rvs increased from 30,1% to 33,9%. "Evidently - the ministry commented - Korean automakers are gaining competitiveness from quality and leaving behind the image of producers of practical and inexpensive cars".
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/09/09/2011090900930.html
