Most people know the Hyundai brand. What they might not necessarily know about is its origin. It might surprise some individuals to know that this industry giant came from humble beginnings.
Tomball Hyundai is where you can go if you’re interested in purchasing one of the models from the current line of family-friendly vehicles. Before you do, let’s briefly look at Hyundai’s evolution from the beginning to today.
The Hyundai Engineering And Construction Company
If you go back to South Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, you’ll see a country desperately in need of an economic rebuild. The Hyundai Engineering and Construction company was a part of that.
This company was instrumental in providing new transportation infrastructure to South Korea. This included roads and bridges. This continued throughout the 1950s and 60s. However, when the calendar turned to the 1970s, the company started looking into vehicle manufacturing.
The Pony
The first car that Hyundai popularized was referred to as “The Pony.” It was a no-frills, utilitarian vehicle that was relatively inexpensive.
The company called it “the car of the people,” and there was a good reason for doing so. The company sold many in South Korea, and they proved to be a better option for much of the country’s citizenry than some of the autos being mass produced by older or better established car brands.
The Modernization Effort
As the years passed, the company began to make significant inroads into the American market. They mostly did so in the 1980s. However, many of the car models that they debuted were seen as inferior to some competing brands, at least in the early going.
Hyundais were not typically well regarded in America until the 1990s. At that point, they reimagined their old models and introduced some new ones.
Many positive reports from Car and Driver and similar publications made the American public more inclined to purchase Hyundai models. The relatively low price point as compared to some other options was also part of what convinced many American car buyers.
The Ioniq
If we jump ahead to 2017, we see many Hyundais on the road, not just in South Korea, but in America as well. Models like the Elantra did well, but it was the introduction of the electric car that the company called the Ioniq that made some drivers look at them in a new light.
The Ioniq featured innovative technology that both South Korean and American drivers appreciated. The Tucsan was another addition to the automaker’s line that did well in the US. It was a compact SUV, large enough to deal with snow, ice, and other rough conditions, but also not so gargantuan that it would not fit in the average garage.
These days, Hyundai is well established on multiple continents. They are considered to be reliable, but also cost-effective.
Motorists who are not averse to driving cars made in international locales would do well to consider some of Hyundai’s options when you’re looking for your next family car.
Thanks for stoppong by!
Magda
xoxo