There's Going to be a 2012 Hyundai Azera?

Cars Mania Blog

Auto Car | There's Going to be a 2012 Hyundai Azera? | In a semi-recent interview in Automotive News, John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, provided some interesting info about the automaker moving further up-scale, specifically saying the 2012 Hyundai Azera is going to be "a remarkable car ... . It will surprise a lot of people." That's certainly the case for me, as I'm shocked the Azera will even exist in 2012. After all, keeping it in production will give Hyundai three biggish sedans with varying degrees of near-premium aspirations—and a potential marketing migraine of epic proportions.

The Lure of Luxury

When the Japanese automakers began launching their premium brands in the late 1980s, it was in further recognition of a key component of human nature: A need to distinguish one's self from the hoi polloi by purchasing material objects that aren't available to the masses. Of course, in the auto industry, "availability" is usually directly tied to price, no matter how nice a car Toyota is capable of making, it's just not going to have the same attraction for this group of people as a more expensive Lexus, even if everything else about the vehicles except their badging is exactly the same.

This works both ways, too. The same status-boosting thrill that these particular lux buyers get from their purchases is mirrored by the corporate excitement that comes with proving your company can be successful with said vehicles. And this is what's playing out right now at the No. 1 South Korean automaker, which will soon be taking things to ye olde next level with the Hyundai Equus.

Three's a Crowd?

The problem is, even assuming the Equus doesn't become Hyundai's Phaeton, is the ripple effect the car will have on the rest of the lineup. Suddenly, the company will be offering three very similarly sized, similarly priced sedans, all of which will be bumping up against the model the next rung up on the product ladder.

Here's the story: Right now, the most expensive Hyundai Sonata on the Hyundai site is the turbocharged "Limited 2.0T," with a base MSRP of $27,045, while the Azera starts at $25,495. The next-gen Azera will likely gain a bigger price tag to provide some breathing room for the Sonata, but it can't get too much more expensive or it will bump into the Genesis sedan, which now starts at $33,000. Remember, the top-of-the-line Azera is now over $30,000; if Hyundai offers a turbo and/or hybrid Azera for 2012, the prices of those models will have to come awfully close to—or more likely exceed—the $33,000 price of admission to the Genesis sedan.

As for the Genesis, its MSRP in V-8 trim starts at $43,000. That's $15,000 less than the base price of an Equus, which might seem like plenty of room for the Genesis to grow, but you have to be even more careful here to prevent product overlap than at the lower ends of the spectrum. The Equus will need to remain a clearly more luxurious vehicle than the Genesis for it 2011 Hyundai Genesisto be a success, and that will put a hard cap on how much content can be offered on the other sedan.

And remember the sizes here: Outside of the Equus, the three other vehicles are within about six inches of each other in length: The Sonata is 189.8 inches, the Azera is 193.3 inches and the Genesis is 195.9 inches—they're all essentially mid-size sedans.

Taking a Page From the Nissan Playbook

So, what will Hyundai do? Well, according to that AN story I mentioned above, the key will be stronger differentiation between the Azera and the Genesis. The former will remain on a front-wheel-drive platform and get more of a near-premium positioning, allowing it, in theory, to compete against the likes of the Toyota Avalon and Buick LaCrosse. The latter will stick with rear-wheel-drive and a more performance-oriented strategy to battle rivals like BMW.

Sound familiar? If you scrunch up your eyes just right, you could be looking at the brief for the Nissan Altima and Nissan Maxima, two mid-size sedans that share the same basic dimensions but have vastly different missions. But the next question is, with Hyundai trying the same tactics with three (or four) sedans, will there be enough difference—and customers—to go around?

Source : www.autotropolis.com