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March 24, 2022

A Hyundai Dealer Just Confirmed A New Distributor For The Korean Car Brand


Update: It seems Hyundai Pasig took their post down, but we were able to take a screen shot using our mobile phone (3/24).

Despite the lack of an official announcement regarding the status of Hyundai in the Philippines, one of their dealers went ahead and announced it anyway on their official dealer Facebook page.

Revealed by Hyundai Pasig, the brand will undergo a “great restart.” Although no details were shared by the dealer, they did mention that it is “happening soon.” See the original post below.

Now, it’s the worst kept secret in the local automotive industry for some time that Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) is set to lose the distributorship of Hyundai passenger vehicles after more than 20 years (it will keep the distributorship of trucks and buses though). The word going around is that a new corporate entity, Hyundai Motor Philippines, Inc. (HMPI) will serve as the brand’s new distributor. It will have direct links to Hyundai’s regional office in Indonesia as well as the head office in Korea.



According to sources, HMPI’s in-coming president has already made the dealer rounds. She (yes, she’s as woman) says the official transfer of distributorship will officially happen sometime in April or May, and that new stocks are expected to arrive in the Philippines between May and June. It’s understood that based on dealer meetings that HMPI will target a lower price point for its vehicles, while also upping its standard specifications—a direct response not just to established Japanese makes, but also against the upstart Chinese brands.

Along with Hyundai Pasig’s announcement, are four vehicles cloaked in shadows.

You can check it out for yourself below, but they’re pretty easy to make out. It looks like Hyundai in the Philippines will be going back to basics with a four-vehicle line-up. It will launch the all-new Creta (which for some odd reason, is shown as the pre-facelift version), the Santa Fe, Staria, and Tucson. The refreshed Kona, though not part of the initial salvo, is also expected to join the line-up at a later time. For now, these will be imported mostly as CBU from Korea, but once the Indonesian assembly line comes online, they will switch their sourcing to there. As for passenger cars, it’s rumored that Hyundai’s keeping the Accent sub-compact sedan, but axing the Reina and Veloster after the transition.

Are you excited for Hyundai’s next chapter here in the Philippines?


11 comments:

  1. It's interesting to see that the Creta would have another go here in the Philippines considering how it got axed immediately in favor of the Kona. Considering though that the Kona is still going to be sold here, I think they will not introduce the Creta here since it and the Kona both compete in the same class and they will instead introduce the Alcazar which is a 7-seat version of the Creta. I just checked what it looks like online and yup it wears the pre-facelift Creta's face albeit with minor modifications to differentiate it. The Alcazar would be a great addition to the lineup and will for sure be a threat to the Rush and Xpander. Sad to see that their going the Ford route here though with only the Accent remaining. Wonder what happened to the Venue and Palisade though

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  2. The Woman President of HMP will be a Korean

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  3. Wonder if it will be cheaper or same pricing as Kia PH. They could undercut the carnival, Sorento and future Sportage by offering those in the photos at a lower price point.

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  4. Please Hyundai, no more engine problems moving forward, anywhere in the world.

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  5. Im curious why they are sticking with Accent over the Reina. Is it because of the name which is a queen version of HARI(haha)? Seriously maybe this is due to the plan of Hyundai in China to go higher end. So this means leaving also Venue(do not quote me). Good to have Creta back. This maybe in preparation to also carry Alcazar (which a Creta MPV). Same platform, same logistics. Would be good to still have Palisade while Kia Borrego is not in the market yet.

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  6. Hyundai PH desperately needs something right now. While these products will surely bring Hyundai to better footing than before, the markets their targetting are not exactly "pang-masa". The Creta, being bigger than the Kona, will likely be more expensive than the already slow selling Kona. The Tucson and Santa Fe are in the price ranges of PPVs that Filipinos really love for some reason (but if the Santa Fe will be priced right, I'm sure it will eat up a good chunk of the PPV market). And the Staria minivan is reserved for VIPs.

    If Hyundai PH wants to really come back and take their spot back in the top 5 best selling brands in PH, they need to fix the Accent, especially since the Reina will be discontinued. Accent platform is good, but ruined by awful pricing and specs. They also need to improve their marketing and advertisements for the Venue. It is a really good small crossover that nobody buys because nobody has heard about it. Then, they need to bring in the rumored Indonesian-made small 7-seat MPV that competes with the Xpander, Ertiga, and Avanza as quickly as they can (rumored to be called 'Stargazer'). Price this aggresively, and it will be an instant blockbuster.

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    1. Really on point. Spoken like an expert in the industry 👍

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    2. Kailangan mas mababa ang pricing at better specs ang iooffer ng Hyundai Ph, kasi mas matindi n ang competition ngaun, whether Japanese or Chinese. Hindi n kasi basta uubra ang KPop at KDrama influence ngaun.

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  7. So the current Hyundai distributor will now focus on Changan vehicles.
    After the new CS35, a new CS75 as the next vehicle?

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  8. Uly, does the change of hands for the passenger car distributorship from HARI to Hyundai Motor (the Korean mothership) mean that the Genesis luxury car brand will also be brought in, to rival against Lexus?

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    1. Anything is possible at this point, but for now, no. It'll just be the Hyundai brand. Although, I know for a fact that dealers are clamoring for the new distributor to bring in both the Hyundai N and Hyundai N Line models.

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