Hyundai Thrives on Novel Deal Psychology
While other automakers are watching sales decline, Hyundai scored a big boost in business last month fueled by a simple proposition: if you buy a Hyundai and lose your job, you can return the car.
The concept attacks the most prevalent feeling that would prevent any prospective car buyer from making a move right now, namely that void of uncertainly enveloping our economy. Effectively remove that element from the equation, and it obviously draws consumers who are otherwise frozen with indecision.
New vehicle sales fell by 37% last month. Hyundai’s market share nearly doubled, as its sales soared 14% for the month on a year-to-year basis.
The guarantee the company offers covers the difference between the value of the car and the amount that the buyer owes on it, up to $7,500.
The psychology of Hyundai’s proposition is so novel, it’s disarming. The response also indicates the car culture mentality that still prevails in America. And when one considers the impact on the short end of the deal, it’s a potentially nasty double-whammy to lose a job and then give up a new car.
But these days, it’s the best proposition any car makers are offering consumers who are looking for some kind of - any kind of - break.
