Hyundai Motor holds Brand Day in Tokyo

Hyundai Motor Co., in celebration of the first anniversary of its reentry into the Japanese market, is introducing a locally tailored "assurance program." Hyundai held a Brand Day event on Tuesday at a hotel in Shibuya, Tokyo, where they unveiled their business strategy and upcoming release schedules.

Hyundai's assurance program, originally implemented in the US market during the global financial crisis in 2008, is a service where customers who experience job loss within one year of purchasing a Hyundai vehicle can return it at no cost. Hyundai explained that it has restructured the program under the same name to suit the characteristics of the Japanese market, which has a low uptake rate of electric vehicles.

The Japanese version of the assurance program offers free regular inspections for up to three years after the registration of an electric vehicle, as well as free replacement of the battery coolant during the third-year inspection which is essential to maintaining the performance of the electric vehicle.

The program also offers a vehicle protection service considering local factors such as road width and driving environment, as well as support for exterior damage repair costs of up to 100,000 yen ($735) per year.

The company also announced its future electric vehicle release schedules. Kona Electric, the compact electric sports utility vehicle (SUV), will be launched in the Japanese market in the fall of 2023, while the high-performance electric vehicle IONIQ 5 N is set to be released in early 2024. The sedan-style electric vehicle IONIQ 6 will be introduced in Japan through exhibitions and test drives.

Since May 2022, Hyundai has been targeting the Japanese market and has achieved success with its zero-emissions vehicle (ZEV) lineup, online sales without dealerships and other differentiated strategies. Within just one year of reentry, the company's electric vehicle IONIQ 5 was selected as the "Import Car of the Year" at the "Car of the Year Japan" awards.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com