Hyundai's assault on the new car market has gathered pace and the Korean brand's renaissance has meant that the firm looks set to become a top-five seller by 2013. Back in 2007 Hyundai had 3.67 per cent market share but was mainly selling Santa Fes and Tuscon SUVs, with its more mainstream models not really making much of a dent against the heavy-hitters of Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen.
Hyundai Veloster: on sale in January
Both fast-forward to 2011 and the brand has reinvented itself and with the arrival of the i40 Tourer and i40 Saloon it looks set to dramatically increase its share of the Irish car market. Speaking at the launch of the new i40, Managing Director Stephen Gleeson said that they expect to add 1,000 units of i40 to their mix next year and this, along with the arrival of a new i30 - and the exciting Veloster coupé - will mean that they expect to jump to six per cent of the market, moving ahead of Skoda.
New i30: coming early in 2012
But Hyundai's ambitions don't end there. It expects to jump to seven per cent in 2013. This would place the company in fourth place. Interestingly, it predicts that Volkswagen will be the market leader by the end of 2013. It estimates that Volkswagen will have 13 per cent market share ahead of Ford with 12 per cent and Toyota with 11 per cent. Hyundai estimates that Renault will be fifth after this period.