Hyundai's well-designed lineup, including the Sonata Hybrid, have led to a supply problem for its cars, but a fourth quarter production increase should help.
Call it a good problem to have.
Hyundai’s latest cars are so popular, the company is struggling to keep up with demand. And rather than milk customers for a couple extra hundred dollars on each car sold, dealers are keeping prices down so they can move more metal and thus protect their allocation of cars.
Hyundai announced in May that it was hiring 877 workers and adding a third shift at its Alabama plant that manufactures Sonatas and Elantras. That extra shift will help the automaker boost production by 19 percent in the fourth quarter, Hyundai Motor America President John Krafcik told Automotive News.
Hyundai set an all-time record with 61,099 vehicle sales in August, a 4.2 percent increase over August of 2011. Still the industry as a whole was up 20 percent, suggesting that Hyundai left some sales on the table. For the year, Hyundai’s sales are up nearly 39,000 units.
The newfound popularity of Hyundai’s car follows a design renaissance that has increased the company’s stature amongst the world’s automakers. Its cars have won critical acclaim for styling and the company has backed up the award-winning designs with high-tech powertrain features and excellent fuel economy.
The problem is that the company has stretched capacity about as far as it can go.