In a way to plump up the sales of its Aslan premium FWD sedan, Hyundai Motor Group announced that it would cut the price of the vehicle by 2.3 percent.
[ads id=”0″ style=”float:left;padding:9px;”]The world’s fifth-largest carmaker said the Hyundai Aslan 3.0 model ― which sells for 39.9 million won ($36,800) ― would be redivided into Modern Basic and Modern Special trims.
Modern Basic models will be priced at 38.9 million won ($35,780), but feature lower-spec front passenger seats and fuddle lamps.
But in order to attract luxury-seekers, Hyundai decided to add several prestige factors ― Advanced Smart Control and a Michelin Tire option ― to the Modern Special trim.
Hyundai said it would cut 1 million won off the price of the Aslan for all those who already own a Hyundai vehicle.
Hyundai expected to sell 22,000 Aslans by the end of the year. But has sold just 3,995 as of April.
Hyundai Aslan
I still think they should have brought this over as the Sonata.
Um, how would they have been able to do that when it is larger and more expensive/premium than the Azera?
Aside from the bland sheetmetal, was a mistake for Hyundai to spend the development $$ on this type of vehicle.
Would have been better if Hyundai had spent that $$/time on a Genesis-based crossover.
Hyundai’s Korean brass has been too slow to move in expanding their crossover lineup, much less expanding the supply of the CUVs they do have.
I totally agree. It seems to me their focus was off tangent with this vehicle. A blend of Azera, Sonata and Genesis, but not better than any of these.
Regarding the Genesis based crossover, I would buy this in a heartbeat. The current CUV offerings are above average in their classes I’ll admit, but a luxury SUV is where Hyundai can really shine.
Bring the refinement, style and luxury of the Genesis in to an SUV, at a price that’s 15% cheaper than the competition, and you’ll have a hit on your hands. I would actually drive this over the X5 I just got.
The X5 is pretty sweet tho and one of the few BMWs that still look good (BMW designs, much to mu chagrin, have gone down the drain).
A Genesis-based CUV would presumably offer a bit more interior space (probably could fit a 3rd row option) than the X5 (in terms of interior space, would be more like the new XC90).
For Asian and domestic luxury brands (and for Hyundai), it has always been easier to compete against against the Germans on the CUV/SUV front than with RWD sedans.
Absolutely agree. Although I don’t imagine that there was actually much development money spent on this car–seeing as it’s just another version of the Sonata/Azera platform–but it’s still an absolutely stupid slicing of the mid/large sedan segment. I mean really, do they need three models that are different by a few mm and features? A total waste. Hyundai needs to change direction, and fast, if it wants to gain any permanent relevance, as it can’t even count on a virtual monopoly in the domestic market anymore, now that it’s actually open for competition.
Yes, but they could have sunk that $$/engineer hours into a Genesis-based CUV which would be using off-the-rack platform and powertrains, so would have been comparable development time and $$-wise.
Hyundai seems to be overly focused on the China market (building 2 more plants) and seems to have been ignoring the NA market (aside from launching in Mexico), but even for the China market, the switch increasingly is in favor of CUVs (which is why Hyundai developed a new CUV for China before doing so for the other markets).
I wasn’t aware it was larger than the Azera. The Azera itself is a failed name plate in North America. They’ve already stopped selling it in Canada. Considering this car looks like an expensive Sonata, especially inside, what I meant was drop the Azera all together and bring this as the new Sonata pushing it upscale versus competitors.
Why would Hyundai want to push the Sonata upscale into a different price-point? Only would lose sales volume (as the “full-size” sedan segment is one of the fastest shrinking segments).
The problem with the Azera, aside from pricing, is that it doesn’t have nearly the interior room of competitors like the Avalon and Impala.
It would be tough for Hyundai to sell the Aslan at the current Azera price-point (would be more around the price of the Kia Cadenza) as the Aslan has the amenities and luxury to compete with the likes of the Lexus ES (as opposed to the Avalon).
But then that would be really treading onto V6 Genesis sedan pricing.
Another reason why the Azera doesn’t sell better is due to the lack of a hybrid model for the NA market (figuring that Hyundai decided not to bring the Azera hybrid to NA until it gets fitted with the new hybrid system that is in the new Sonata hybrid).
Hyundai seems to be stumbling a bit lately. First with the 2015 Sonata, Veloster and now the Aslan. The one good news is the Elantra, it is the new king of sales in the U.S. over the generified Sonata. Who would have guessed!
From the first moment that I saw this vehicle it looked redundant. Hyundai’s HQ decision makers seem to have lost focus on what should be their brand’s natural attributes; quality, value and styling. I find that the current styling of cars like Sonata are moving into the bland and directionless categories, just as with the ill fated Aslan.
Hyundai needs to refocus on styling, polishing their interiors, especially in the Genesis. It should be styled as nicely as an Audi’s. That is the benchmark they should be using, not this bland, generic every other car brand look. This is why their target car buyer in S. Korean domestic market are opting for Mercedes, BMWs and Audis instead.
This is exactly what I’m thingking of Hyundai!! i love the brand, but they seem to act so strange lately.
Especially with their design (and interiors too) + their decission on launching new models.
The trend are crossovers, but they are focusing on luxury
sedans.
They should have already launched a sub-compact CUV, yet its
still 2 years away.
There’s a lot of happenings in the EV sector, yet, they
still plan to launch only one ir two EVs within 3 years.
I love Hyundai, but on the other hand I’m angry at them, because they are
always playing so safe… imagine Tesla going the same safe way, they would never succeed in such a short time.
Exactly. You have hit the nail or point squarely where it should be. I have also noticed since John Krafcik left Hyundai Motor America they have lost focus and there isn’t that much excitement at Hyundai in either their offerings or designs.
It was Big mistake the Hyundai Made the Aslan. It’s enough for Korean costomers with Grandeur(Azera) and Genesis. Aslan doesn’t have a Sales point.