Hyundai Mobis taps two Japanese auto experts to boost sales

South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis Co. has tapped two Japanese auto experts to accelerate its business in Japan, the company announced on April 27. The Hyundai Motor Group’s auto parts maker unit has hired Yukihiro Hattori, a former director of purchases at Mitsubishi Motors Corp., and Ryoichi Adachi who supervised the purchase of Mazda Motor Corp. Hattori and Adachi, as president and vice president of Hyundai Mobis Japan, will be in charge of local sales and order intakes, respectively. 

The two experts have more than 40 years of experience in Japanese finished cars and auto parts companies being responsible for design and purchase. They have a wealth of expertise in the field, valuable local networks and a profound understanding of the characteristics and changes in the Japanese car market, Hyundai Mobis said.  

The Korean car parts maker has supplied lamps, chassis, and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems to major finished car makers in Japan. This year, Hyundai Mobis is focusing on expanding sales in the core parts of future mobility, such as autonomous driving technologies and EV connectivity.

Hyundai Mobis sees new business opportunities in Japan as the Japanese car market is shifting toward future mobility sectors in line with global trends, the company said.  

Hyundai Mobis’ recent hires came with its affiliate Hyundai Motor’s reentry in Japan with EVs, after a 12-year hiatus. Hyundai Motor previously entered Japan’s passenger car market in 2001 but left in 2009 after selling only 15,000 gasoline-powered cars, mostly the Sonata and Grandeur sedans. 

In February of this year, Hyundai Motor executives announced the company will return to Japan with the IONIQ 5, a mid-size crossover EV, and the NEXO, a hydrogen fuel cell SUV, and expand its lineup later. The carmaker giant will start taking orders of IONIQ 5 in Japan on May 2.

The automaker will sell its EVs exclusively via an online marketing platform to appeal to customers increasingly accustomed to online shopping in the pandemic era, and set up customer experience centers in Yokohama and other Japanese cities for testing the cars.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.