Category Archives: Automobile Industry

John Krafcik Leaving Hyundai Motor Company

Automobile Industry, ,
John Krafcik
John Krafcik

After five years of successful leadership as CEO of US sales for Hyundai Motor Company, John Krafcik is leaving his position to be replaced by David Zuchowski.

Mr. Krafcik, who is 52 years-old, has been working under a contract due to expire at the end of 2013, is the most successful leader of Hyundai to date. It is not yet known if Mr. Krafcik is leaving voluntarily or was asked to leave, but under his dynamic and skillful leadership Hyundai’s market share doubled.

“On behalf of Hyundai Motor Co., we sincerely thank John for his visionary leadership and relentless pursuit of customer satisfaction, which has driven Hyundai’s record growth over the past five years,” said Im Tak Uk, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hyundai.

Mr. Krafcik joined Hyundai in 2008 from Ford Motor Company. He will be replaced by David Zuchowski, 55, joined Hyundai in early 2007 as vice president of sales. Before coming to Hyundai Zuchowski was vice president of sales and field operations for Mazda Motor Corporation.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk Demonstrates Ease of Refueling the Model S

Automobile Industry, , , , , ,
Tesla Electric Car
Tesla Model S Has a Frunk (Trunk in Front)

In the Los Angeles design studio of Tesla Motors, a crowd of local owners of one of the top electric cars around today, Tesla’s Model S, is ready to see a unique demonstration of the powers of their car.

Onto the stage outfitted with wheel guides and a pit like the kind you see in a Jiffy Lube shop rolled the Tesla electric car. At precisely the same moment a live video feed of an Audi pulling into a traditional gas station appeared on a big screen next to the Tesla Model S. On screen a timer starts counting off the seconds while the Audi’s driver begins to pump gas into his car and robot arms under the stage begins to change the Model S’s batter pack.

By the time the counter gets to 93 seconds the Model S is done, rolls off the stage, and another Model S pulls over the pit and begins to have his batter changed as well. Meanwhile the Audi is still pumping gas. Another 91 seconds pass and the second Model S finishes having its battery changed just as the Audi’s gas tank reaches its capacity 20 gallons.

This demonstration, which shows just one of the ways how electric cars work, is convincing evidence of the electric car’s worthiness. At the end of the demonstration CEO Elon Musk commented:

“There are people that take a lot of convincing. Hopefully, this is what will finally convince people that electric cars are the future.”

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Tesla CEO Wants Direct Sales Model to Help His Electric Car Company Grow

Automobile Industry
CEO Elon Musk of Tesla Motors
CEO Elon Musk of Tesla Motors

Saying that the traditional model for car sales and distribution in America is hindering his company’s ability to grow, Elon Musk, chief executive of the electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc, addressed his firm’s annual meeting this week.

“The auto dealers association is definitely creating some problems for us, making it harder to get things done,” Musk said.

Tesla was launched ten years ago and has been steadily gaining momentum as they posted a quarterly profit for the first time in their history last month. Other good news came when their Model S electric sedan received an almost perfect rating from the popular and influential Consumer Reports magazine.

These pieces of good tidings helped Tesla’s shares to triple in value during the past year. At the meeting, which took place in Mountain View, California, Musk said that he expected the company’s gross margins to come close to those of the famous sports-car maker Porsche AG, “over time.”

But Musk insists that Tesla needs to break away from the independent car dealer model in order to boost sales. He would like to see his company conducting direct sales to consumers, eliminating the middleman dealerships. Tesla is hoping to see 50 stores selling his cars this coming year, up from 34 which existed at the end of last quarter.

Musk pointed to the fact that consumers have shown support for the direct-to-consumer sales model as a reason to push for such a practice. He also said that the dealer model for selling cars, which has been practiced in the US for almost 100 years, has been a failure for other start-ups in the car industry, such as Fisker Automotive and Coda Holdings. Coda was forced to file for bankruptcy protection last month.

“It didn’t work for Fisker, didn’t work for Coda. In the last 90 years, when did it work?”

Musk said at the meeting, which was also broadcast online. “We have to do this directly.”

GM Remaining in Korea: Labor Force Still Uncertain

Automobile Industry, , , , ,
GM CEO Dan Akerson
GM CEO Dan Akerson

Due to on-going tensions between North and South Korea, CEO of GM Dan Akerson said last month that the US-based car manufacturer is considering moving output away from this important production center.

Last week Akerson addressed a meeting with GM Korea’s union leader in Detroit, saying GM is not planning on leaving Korea, but will need to discuss his labor problems with South Korea’s president Park Geun-hye when she visits the US this week.

“We are upset by his remarks. We did not go all the way to the U.S. to hear that,” Choi Jong-hak, Korea’s union leader said.

Choi added that Akerson’s original statements on the possibility of a change in venue for GM’s facilities was an empty threat meant to calm down the union before talks commence on a possible restructuring of production systems.

“GM cannot withdraw from South Korea. We have technology to make good cars and our wages are only about one third of those in the United States and Europe,” Choi remarked.

No Plans for New Hyundai Plant in US Says Chairman

Automobile Industry, , ,
Chairman of Hyundai Chung Mong-koo
Chairman of Hyundai Chung Mong-koo

Dousing speculation that Hyundai Motor Group was planning on opening a new production plant in the US, Chairman of the world’s fifth largest car manufacturer, Chung Mong-koo announced that Hyundai had no such plans.

“We have no plan (for a new U.S. factory) for now,” the 75-year-old told reporters at Seoul’s Gimpo airport before leaving for the United States.

It is believed that Chung will be visiting already existing production facilities for Hyundai in Alabama and Georgia while he is in the US. Chung has decided not to embark on any major expansion, but he did say last week that Hyundai “will look into whether there are opportunities” to expand production overseas. This statement spurred the  talk among industry experts that Chung was considering building a new factory in the US.

A second senior executive at Hyundai Motor Group, which is the parent company of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors, Kim Yong-hwan, also stated that the company is not seriously considering new plant construction in the US at this time.

“We are closely watching the U.S. market situation … but we are not having an in-depth consideration of a new plant there,” he told Reuters.