Hyundai’s U.S. Journey Began with Excel Export in 1986
Hyundai Motor Co., which will mark its 40th anniversary of entering the U.S. market next year, is preparing to take a step forward based on the leadership of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun.
According to the automotive industry on the 29th, Hyundai Motor will mark the 40th anniversary next year since it exported the Excel, Korea’s first front-wheel-drive passenger car, to the United States in 1986.
In its first year of entry, Hyundai Motor achieved sales of 160,000 vehicles by emphasizing relatively low prices, followed by sales of more than 260,000 vehicles the following year, capturing the attention of American consumers.
However, the company faced a crisis where its brand image was tarnished in the early stages of U.S. entry due to problems such as inadequate quality control and insufficient service networks. In response, Hyundai Motor Group Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo launched full-scale quality management focused on strengthening quality, safety, and performance to satisfy customers worldwide, including the United States.
A representative example was the 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty policy introduced in 1999. Through this groundbreaking after-service (AS) strategy, the company directly addressed quality issues, and currently Hyundai Motor has achieved both quality improvement and increased sales by consecutively winning the most prestigious awards in the United States.
Based on these efforts, Hyundai Motor Group achieved a record of being selected as having the safest cars for the most models for the second consecutive year, with a total of 21 vehicle models receiving the highest TSP+ or TSP ratings in the crash safety evaluation announced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) this year.
In the 2025 Initial Quality Study (IQS) conducted by U.S. data analysis company JD Power, the company also achieved the best overall performance among 17 global automotive groups. Additionally, Hyundai Motor Group accomplished the feat of being selected as World Car of the Year (WCOTY) for four consecutive years.
Automotive News, a leading American automotive publication, selected three generations of management including founding Chairman Chung Ju-yung, Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo, and Chairman Chung Euisun as figures who exercised significant influence on the development of the global automotive industry in August, marking the publication’s 100th anniversary.
At the time, Chairman Chung Euisun said in an interview with Automotive News, “The customer-centered management philosophy of my grandfather, founding Chairman Chung Ju-yung, has become the foundation of Hyundai Motor Group’s core values, and the beliefs of my father, Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-koo, regarding quality, safety, and R&D are deeply ingrained in Hyundai Motor Group’s management philosophy.”
Hyundai Motor sold approximately 896,000 vehicles from January to November this year in the United States, positioning itself to achieve the highest annual sales for the third consecutive year. Despite automotive tariffs from the U.S. Donald Trump administration, this is the result of flexibly responding to market conditions by minimizing vehicle price increases while increasing local production and changing the sales vehicle lineup.
Hyundai Motor Group held the completion ceremony for Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), a key production base, in Georgia in March and began establishing a 1.2 million vehicle production system in the United States. The company also plans to invest $21 billion (approximately 30 trillion won) in automobiles, parts, logistics, steel, and future industries in the United States by 2028. The company plans to respond to the U.S. electric vehicle subsidy policy that ended at the end of September by strengthening its hybrid lineup.
