'Excel' marked the start of Hyundai Motor's history of 'entering the U.S.,' which will already mark 40 years next year. Hyundai Motor, whose stature has risen to a level incomparable to the past, is now dreaming of a bigger leap under the Chung Eui-sun leadership.
Hyundai Motor entered the U.S. market, the home of the automobile, beginning with exports of the country's first front-wheel-drive passenger car, the 'Excel,' produced at the Ulsan plant in 1986. Riding on price competitiveness, it sold 160,000 units in its first year of entry and more than 260,000 units the following year, drawing attention from American consumers.
However, due to inadequate quality control and a lack of maintenance networks, the brand's image suffered a setback in the early stages of entering the U.S.
Honorary chairman Chung Mong-koo focused on 'quality management' to satisfy customers around the world, including in the U.S., by promoting enhancements in quality, safety and performance. In 1999, he confronted quality issues head-on with an after-sales service strategy offering a '10-year/100,000-mile warranty' (warranty).
As a result, Hyundai Motor has achieved both improved quality and sales volume, receiving the highest honors and praise in the United States.
Hyundai Motor Group achieved a record of being named 'the safest car' most often for two consecutive years, with a total of 21 models earning TSP+ and TSP ratings in the crash safety evaluations released by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It also earned the best overall score among 17 global automaker groups in J.D. Power's 2025 Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Because these are core indicators that U.S. consumers actively use as criteria for car purchases and that gauge each manufacturer's quality competitiveness, Hyundai Motor is evaluated as having proven an uncompromising commitment to safety and quality.
At the same time, Hyundai Motor Group achieved the feat of being named World Car of the Year (WCOTY) for four consecutive years. Automotive News, a leading U.S. automotive publication, on its 100th anniversary selected founder Chung Ju-yung, honorary chairman Chung Mong-koo and chairman Chung Eui-sun as three executives who exerted profound influence on the development of the global auto industry.
Chairman Chung Eui-sun told Automotive News that the customer-centered management philosophy of his grandfather, founder Chung Ju-yung, became the foundation of Hyundai Motor Group's core values, and that his father, honorary chairman Chung Mong-koo's faith in quality, safety and R&D is deeply engraved in Hyundai Motor Group's management philosophy.
Based on these efforts, Hyundai Motor sold about 896,000 vehicles in the U.S. from January through November this year, putting it on the verge of achieving the highest annual sales for three consecutive years. Despite auto tariffs from the Trump administration, it stood out by minimizing vehicle price increases and responding flexibly to market conditions through increased local production and changes in the sales mix.
In this regard, Hyundai Motor Group held a completion ceremony in March for the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), an advanced manufacturing innovation hub in Georgia, U.S., and launched efforts to build a U.S. production system of 1.2 million units. It also plans to invest $21 billion in key areas in the U.S. by 2028, including vehicles, parts and logistics, steel and future industries.
In response to the adverse event in October of the end of U.S. electric vehicle subsidies, it broadened consumer choices through 'strengthening the hybrid lineup' while fully demonstrating its crisis response capabilities.
However, Hyundai Motor faces major challenges such as the remaining 15% tariff despite the Korea-U.S. negotiation settlement, intensified offensives from global electric vehicle makers such as Tesla and China and the end of subsidies, and competition in software-defined vehicles and autonomous driving. Given that the U.S. is the largest export market and a key foothold that leads global automotive industry trends, attention is focused on whether Hyundai Motor, based on Chairman Chung Eui-sun's leadership, can overcome the crisis and achieve a greater leap.
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