Inside autos: Hyundai keeps gaining in U.S.

Source: Egmcartech.com

Hyundai Motor America's CEO signs his e-mails with this advice: "Stay humble, stay hungry."

It's not easy, given the company's momentum.

In 1998, Hyundai held 0.6% of the U.S. auto market. Today, it's 4.4%, ranking seventh among U.S. brands. Sales in 2010 are up 23%, the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year market share gains. In April, Sonata demand was so strong that Hyundai ran out.

"We cannot build our cars fast enough," Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik said.

Hyundai sold its first car in the U.S. in 1986, but it's the past decade that saw the company really come from behind. Many credit Hyundai's chief executive, Chung Mong-koo, who took the reins of the parent company in 1999.

Krafcik wasn't at Hyundai Motor America at the time -- he arrived after stints at the General Motors/Toyota NUMMI joint venture and Ford -- but he says that the company has created a unique culture.

More than a decade ago, Hyundai set out to become one of the world's top five auto manufacturers. In 2001, it ranked only 32nd of 38 brands in a J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey. Today, the company is the world's fourth-largest automaker.

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