Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik.
John Krafcik, president and chief executive officer of Hyundai Motor America, has been named “Automotive Executive of The Year” for 2013.
The award for the one-time Ford Motor Co. engineer comes as the Korean carmaker sees a modest – but anticipated — slowdown after several years of record sales growth.
“With his superb team, John Krafcik has literally reshaped the way Hyundai approaches the market with consumer focus, compelling design, and enduring value,” said Robert Djurovic, executive director of the Automotive Executive of the Year Award program, and director of Automotive Services North America, DNV. “It’s no surprise that accolades for Hyundai products just keep coming,” Djurovic said.
Hyundai itself has earned a variety of honors since Krafcik joined the maker in 2004, including twin victories in the North American Car of the Year awards. He was also credited with coining the term “Lean Manufacturing” while participating in the International Motor Vehicle Program at MIT where he earned his Masters of Science degree at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
“I accept the honor with the understanding that I am representing the hard work, dedication, and achievements of all the men and women who work at Hyundai around the world, including our research and development facilities in Michigan and California, our U.S. manufacturing plants, and our passionate and dedicated network of 823 Hyundai dealers across the U.S.,” Krafcik said.
The 51-year-old executive started his automotive career in 1984 as the first American engineer on the GM/Toyota joint venture known as NUMMI. He joined Ford in 1990 where he rose to a senior engineering position before being recruited by Hyundai as vice president of product development and strategic planning. He was promoted to president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America in 2008, and has now had the longest tenure of any U.S. executive in that post since the Korean maker came to the States.
Under Krafcik, Hyundai has posted a series of annual sales record, though the momentum has slowed in recent months, in part, due to capacity constraints – as well as increased competition from the resurgent Japanese. But that’s only one reason Krafcik said that the last year has been a challenging one for Hyundai.
“The level of competitive product activity has never been higher, the sales environment never tougher, and the competitive marketing activity never more creative,” he noted. “So while we have improved our sale and satisfaction levels, our mission is still clearly a work-in-progress. It is this work, still undone, that keeps all of us at Hyundai continuing to move forward,” he said.
Hyundai also was charged by the U.S. Department of Transportation with falsifying the fuel economy and mileage claims on several of its models. Krafcik has said he urged the company’s top Korean executives to get out in front of the issue by acknowledging the results of its mileage tests were not accurate. It has since agreed to offer owners of affected vehicles compensation to cover higher fuel costs.
The controversy, however, hasn’t stopped Hyundai from introducing new models such as the Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport crossovers and an update of its Equus premium luxury sedan. Krafcik has been actively working with Korean management to expand the brand’s presence in the high-line market, a move that underscores the changes in perception about a marque once focused on econocars.
Since 1964, the Automotive Executive of the Year Award has recognized excellence in industry leadership with past recipients ranging from Henry Ford II to Tesla Motor Co. founder and CEO Elon Musk. Other recipients have included Renault/Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, Ford Chairman Bill Ford, Daimler AG’s Dieter Zetsche and Bob Lutz, the septuagenarian veteran who has worked with makers as diverse as BMW, Ford, Chrysler and GM.
The 2013 Automotive Executive of the Year Award will be presented to John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America at an invitation-only luncheon held at the Detroit Athletic Club on June 21, 2013.
Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.