Hyundai’s redesigned Elantra saw a huge sales boost (over 40 percent) in 2011, but now a closer look at the numbers reveals a boost to a lot more than just volume.
After taking a look at the tallied sales data compiled for a report by USA Today by Edmunds, it appears that Hyundai was commanding an average of $19,711 for each Elantra it sold in 2011. by comparison, Honda got about $19,400 for each Civic it sold, and Toyota averaged only $18,200 for each Corolla it moved off its dealer lots.
Those figures demonstrate a swift and vital change in Hyundai’s pricing strategy as the brand has demonstrated without a doubt that it is capable of selling vehicles based on merit, content and design, rather than deep discounting. Put another way – people actually want to buy their Hyundai’s now, where as in the past the brand was often considered a cheaper alternative to other brands like Toyota or Honda that used to command the highest premium in the segment.
While the change is certainly cause for alarm for other automakers and cause for celebration for Hyundai, the Korean automaker still has some more work to do in other segments. Similar data shows that the Sonata averaged $23,259 in 2011, where as the Accord managed to take in around $24,100 per sale, and the Camry brought home about $23,800.
With figures like these, it is no wonder Hyundai confidently priced the redesigned 2012 Azera $6,000 higher than the 2011 model it replaces.
