WEBVTT - Hyundia CEO Talks Electrification Efforts

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio News for more on the

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<v Speaker 1>Auto Outlook and the EV Outlook. I'm please to say

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<v Speaker 1>we're joined now by Hyundai North American CEO and Global

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<v Speaker 1>COO Jose Munez, as well as Bloomberg's owned Matt Miller,

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<v Speaker 1>our resident car guy. Let's kick off this conversation with

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on at your Georgia plant. Bloomberg reported in

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<v Speaker 1>April that Hyundai is going to spend more at that

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<v Speaker 1>plan to produce more hybrid vehicles. Are you still betting

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<v Speaker 1>that it's going to be the full battery evs that

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<v Speaker 1>are going to dominate?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, good afternoon, Thank you for having me. It's good

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<v Speaker 2>to see you, Matt. Well, we are still very confident,

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<v Speaker 2>and I was visiting our plant in Savannah last week

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<v Speaker 2>and I'm happy to report that we'll be able to

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<v Speaker 2>produce three months ahead of a schedule. So by October

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<v Speaker 2>this year we will start producing our very popular Ionique five.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think that's that's great. We're very cold. And then,

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<v Speaker 2>as I've said many times, we continue to double down

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<v Speaker 2>on our bed for electrification and we're happy to continue

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<v Speaker 2>with that. So your question about the hybrid we've also

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<v Speaker 2>seen that the evolution of EV sales in the industry

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<v Speaker 2>maybe not as fast as everybody expected or as the

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<v Speaker 2>regulation would expect. And then we have seen also that

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<v Speaker 2>a number of consumers are betting for maybe alternative fuel

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<v Speaker 2>types beyond ice, like hybrids and planking hybrids. And that's

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<v Speaker 2>why we have decided that in our plant in Savannah,

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<v Speaker 2>we're going to produce also hybrid vehicles. This is going

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<v Speaker 2>to imply, of course, an increase on investment, but we

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<v Speaker 2>believe is needed and we are very happy to see

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<v Speaker 2>the reaction of our dealers and our stakeholders as we

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<v Speaker 2>have announced.

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<v Speaker 3>That is the Ionic five. By the way, great to

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<v Speaker 3>see you as well, Hose. The Ionic five n hit

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<v Speaker 3>the market, wowing a lot of people with the sort

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<v Speaker 3>of ic emulation and sporty performance. Is that thing sold

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<v Speaker 3>out already? I mean, what are the orders looking like

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<v Speaker 3>for that? Well?

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<v Speaker 2>I only five and is unbelievable. I think the few

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<v Speaker 2>you noticed, like you Matt, know really what this car

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<v Speaker 2>can do. It's more than six hundred and forty horsepower.

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<v Speaker 2>He just made it to the performance card of the

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<v Speaker 2>Year in the World Car event that took place in

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<v Speaker 2>New York in April and this is only after two

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<v Speaker 2>years earlier the Ionique five became work out of the Year,

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<v Speaker 2>Evy kind of the year and designed Ify kind of

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<v Speaker 2>the year. I think this is one of the few

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<v Speaker 2>cars that could raise you in one of your motorcycles

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<v Speaker 2>and bid you. But then I'll leave it to an

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<v Speaker 2>opportunity in the future.

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<v Speaker 3>I look forward to it. Ose listen, the price tag

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<v Speaker 3>continues to get higher as these cars gained popularity with consumers. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 3>the I has done well. This one costs I think

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<v Speaker 3>north of sixty five thousand dollars and the Genesis product

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<v Speaker 3>is doing so well that you're able to take more

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<v Speaker 3>price there. Do you see that power increasing even as

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<v Speaker 3>it's falling for your competitors.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we really do see the power increasing. So we

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<v Speaker 2>really believe that the future is going to be electric.

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<v Speaker 2>So it's not a matter of if, but when is.

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<v Speaker 2>You go to Europe, I think there is about a

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<v Speaker 2>twenty percent mix of ebs. You go to other regions

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<v Speaker 2>like China is about thirty percent. We are stable in

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<v Speaker 2>the United States about eight percent. But in our case,

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<v Speaker 2>we continue to do very well this year. Today we

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<v Speaker 2>have increased our sales of vs by more than fifty percent,

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<v Speaker 2>and last year we doubled our sales of FBS, So

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<v Speaker 2>if anything, those vehicles are helping our company to position

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<v Speaker 2>themselves in a better place. So in fact, in the

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<v Speaker 2>United States as a group, we are number three on

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<v Speaker 2>retail sales, but on eb sales we're number two, only

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<v Speaker 2>behind Tesla, So we are confident. But to your point

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<v Speaker 2>about affordability, what we have seen is that if you

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<v Speaker 2>compare the prices two years ago, the prices have gone

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<v Speaker 2>down about fifteen thousand dollars in average, but some more ems,

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<v Speaker 2>including us or in our case, taking the lead, we're

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<v Speaker 2>bringing new high performance versions that the consumers like. I

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<v Speaker 2>think we're working also on trying to bring the prices

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<v Speaker 2>down so that it is not only a matter of

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<v Speaker 2>performance but also affordability and convenience plus chatting infrastructure, et cetera.

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<v Speaker 2>But that's what we are, that's what we want to do.

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<v Speaker 1>And Hose, I want to talk a little bit more

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<v Speaker 1>about your Genesis brand and full disclosure. Actually drive a Genesis,

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<v Speaker 1>But even outside of myself, I'm seeing more and more

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<v Speaker 1>of them on the road, on the highways, and I'm curious,

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<v Speaker 1>who are you positioned to be taking share from? Are

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<v Speaker 1>you going up against Mercedes BMW's for example.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, first and foremost, I agree with you, So I

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<v Speaker 2>think we've we've done quite well. And in the last

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<v Speaker 2>the nineges that we've been in the market with more

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<v Speaker 2>than increase of volume eight x right, and then we

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<v Speaker 2>continue to grow. We are outpacing the market. In the

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<v Speaker 2>market on luxury is about flat. We're growing more than

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<v Speaker 2>three percent, driven by our subs, mainly so the GB eighty,

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<v Speaker 2>the GV seventy that we produce in the United States,

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<v Speaker 2>including and IV, they're the ones that are doing the

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<v Speaker 2>best job for us. But also you know the set

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<v Speaker 2>ads that we bring to the market. So we're very pleased.

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<v Speaker 2>And in fact, we have started now to have exclusive

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<v Speaker 2>dealers to the about thirty five so far and we

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<v Speaker 2>want to take this number to about one hundred hopefully

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<v Speaker 2>in about one year or so. And as we increase

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<v Speaker 2>the number of exclusive dealers and we continue to bring

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<v Speaker 2>new products like right now we're about to launch the

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<v Speaker 2>GV eighty a coup we see the sales growing strongly,

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<v Speaker 2>the dealers making good profits step by step, and we're

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<v Speaker 2>creating the brand. So our main competitors are not three

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<v Speaker 2>competitors and then in the EB field, of course you

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<v Speaker 2>have Tesla, but in the other technologies the German three

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<v Speaker 2>so SIDS, BMW and ADI are our reference. So we

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<v Speaker 2>are still behind, but we're working hard. And then the

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<v Speaker 2>way we made it today, I think it's being faster

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<v Speaker 2>than most of our competitors before.

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<v Speaker 3>I talked to some Bloomberg Intelligence analysts who say, part

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<v Speaker 3>of the key to your success is your strong relationship

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<v Speaker 3>with the dealer network. I have a lot of dealer

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<v Speaker 3>friends who are angry at you know, domestic automakers when

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<v Speaker 3>they talk about ad ms and talk about selling directly

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<v Speaker 3>to consumers, but dealers are all happy to sell Hyundai's

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<v Speaker 3>Ki as Genesis. How do you keep that relationship strong

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<v Speaker 3>even in the bad times.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, that's really a key success factor. You said it

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<v Speaker 2>better is so we praise our dealers and particularly the

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<v Speaker 2>members of the Dealer Advisory Board on both Genesis and Hyundai,

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<v Speaker 2>because they've been with the brand for many years now

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<v Speaker 2>and they've seen the evolution of the brand, and at

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<v Speaker 2>this moment, they're very supportive of the strategy that our

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<v Speaker 2>executive chair Mister Chung is established for the global operations.

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<v Speaker 2>And one of the things that we do is that

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<v Speaker 2>we meet on a regular basis in person and then

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<v Speaker 2>we genuinely listen with good intention. And I can tell

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<v Speaker 2>you that because the results have been better, because we

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<v Speaker 2>were able to implement the strategies that the dealers gave

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<v Speaker 2>us good ideas about it, et cetera, the dealers are

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<v Speaker 2>happier than ever before. They're making more money and they

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<v Speaker 2>are investing. So ultimately, the chairman of the Genesis Retailer

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<v Speaker 2>Advisory Board, Kevin Riley from a DC, he told me recently,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, is not a matter of the different surveys

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<v Speaker 2>of what they can tell you. When you see the

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<v Speaker 2>dealers are putting their money in your brand, investing in

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<v Speaker 2>facilities which are exclusive, this is when you know you're

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<v Speaker 2>doing something right. And then I could say the same

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<v Speaker 2>thing with Andy Wright, who is the chairman of the

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<v Speaker 2>advisory board for Hyundai, which is also one of our

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<v Speaker 2>best performing dealers investing, et cetera, et cetera. We continue

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<v Speaker 2>to have a dialogue listening to them and trying to

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<v Speaker 2>work together as a team.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, Jose, Unfortunately we have to leave it there.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope to speak to you again soon. Our thanks,

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<v Speaker 1>of course to Hyundai North America CEO and Global COO

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<v Speaker 1>Jose Munez, and of course, our own Bloomberg's car guy

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<v Speaker 1>Matt Miller,