Ninety-year-old John Hughes remembers selling only eight Hyundai Excel cars the first month the brand was introduced in Australia in 1986, as it celebrates 40 years in Australia this month.
“However, by the end of the year, a respectable 1756 Hyundai cars had been sold,” he said, adding he’d enjoyed a “wonderful ride” with the automaker, so much so that, starting in the late 90s, he had the biggest selling Hyundai dealership in the world for six consecutive years.
“The product has stood the test of time and has now grown to be a household name in Australia. It gives me a great feeling of pride every time I see one of my valued customers driving a brand-new Hyundai off our showroom floor.”
The Hyundai automotive brand was introduced to the Australian market by Mr Hughes — who still comes to his office at the Victoria Park dealership every day — together with Perth entrepreneur Alan Bond.
Last count, 2.2 million Hyundai vehicles had been sold in Australia since 1986, starting with the little-known — at the time — Korean hatchback Excel that earned a reputation as an honest, affordable and dependable car.
The Excel went on to become a cultural phenomenon, with its vibrant colours and “$13,990 drive-away” advertising campaign in the 1990s that helped popularise nationally advertised drive-away pricing, changing how Australians bought cars by bringing greater price transparency.
More than 250,000 Excels were sold in Australia.
Hyundai i30
If the Excel introduced Hyundai to Australians, the i30 cemented its place in driveways.
Arriving in 2007, the i30 became an Australian favourite. At the height of its popularity, it was the bestselling vehicle outright seven times between 2015 and 2017, with 6432 examples sold locally in June 2016 alone, topping the Australian new-car market for a fourth consecutive month.
More than 450,000 i30s have since been sold locally, making it Hyundai Australia’s bestselling model.
Five-year warranty
In 1999, Hyundai became the first mainstream automotive brand in Australia to introduce a five-year warranty, upgrading that cover to include unlimited kilometres in 2007.
The move raised the benchmark for customer confidence and helped establish a standard many manufacturers would follow. Today, new Hyundai vehicles are covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty when serviced within the Hyundai dealer network.
Tuning program
Hyundai recognised that Australia’s uniquely challenging road conditions demanded a different approach. What began with locally developed suspension and steering tuning evolved into increasingly close collaboration between Australian and global engineering teams.
Innovation
+ Hyundai launched the N high-performance brand in Australia, and pursued hydrogen fuel-cell technology and sustainable mobility well before electric vehicles became mainstream.
+ In 2018, the Ioniq became the first nameplate in Australia to offer hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric powertrains.
+ Kona Electric followed in 2019 and Nexo became the first hydrogen-powered vehicle certified for sale in Australia in 2021.
+ Ioniq 5 became one of the world’s most awarded electric vehicles, claiming a series of local wins along with the 2022 World Car of the Year, as part of a clean sweep of the event’s three major honours. The Ioniq 5 N was named 2024 World Performance Car.
Hyundai Motor Company Australia chief executive Don Romano said the anniversary was ultimately about the people behind the 2.2 million vehicles sold.
“When I look back over the past 40 years, I don’t just see vehicles or milestones — I see millions of Australians who gave Hyundai a chance,” he said.
“For many Australians, a Hyundai was their first new car. For others it became the family car they relied on, the car they learned to drive in or the vehicle that took them on holiday around the country. That’s what we’re celebrating.
“We’ve never been afraid to do things differently, and I think our customers have recognised and rewarded that over the past 40 years.”
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