Keema News - Jun 2009

In the U.S., J.D. Power and Associates has announced that Hyundai is the highest ranked volume nameplate in the 2009 Initial Quality StudySM (IQS) and is ranked fourth among all nameplates, finishing ahead of brands such as Honda, Toyota and Mazda. Hyundai owners had fewer problems with their vehicles than any other non-premium car or truck brand.

In addition to Hyundais strong overall showing, the Hyundai Elantra earned the award for the highest initial quality in the compact car segment. The all-new Hyundai Genesis sedan, the North American Car of the Year, significantly outperforms the average midsize premium car.

This years ranking marks the second time Hyundai has been the highest-ranked volume nameplate in the last four years, and the second time it finished among the top four overall nameplates, having also achieved these levels in 2006. Highlights this year include a top ranking for the Hyundai Elantra in the compact segment, and a top three segment performance for the Hyundai Accent, which ranked second in the highly competitive sub-compact car segment.

The IQS study measures 228 attributes, including the overall driving experience, engine and transmission, and a broad range of defect and design problems reported by vehicle owners.

Check out Keema's range of Hyundai vehicles available at our Brisbane dealerships.

With a year to go until the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa kicks off, Hyundai Motor Company officially started the countdown to the world's greatest sporting event as it delivered a fleet of 78 vehicles to the local organising committee of FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa 2009. Customarily held in the World Cup host nation a year before the World Cup, the Confederations Cup is widely viewed as a test run of facilities and management.

The two-week tournament, being played in four South African cities, opened June 14th at Johannesburg's Ellis Park Stadium. Eight national teams will be competing for the world crown: South Africa, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Spain, USA, New Zealand and Brazil. For the tournament, Hyundai delivered 66 passenger cars and 12 buses to FIFA and the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (LOC) at the Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Already a proud supporter of the Qantas Socceroos and Hyundai A-League, Hyundai Motor Company Australia is right behind the Australian national team as it prepares for an exciting campaign in the World Cup Finals in South Africa next year.

Football is continuing to grow in Australia and the Qantas Socceroos progression to South Africa is sure to create enormous interest in the game next year, commented Kevin McCann, Hyundais Director of Sales and Marketing.

Hyundai is one of the strongest supporters of football in the world having served as the official sponsor of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea / Japan and the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany as well as many other FIFA tournaments including the FIFA Confederations Cup. The company has extended its strategic sponsorship agreement with FIFA to cover the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Hyundai has not only infused a new sense of fun and excitement into the game, but through its sponsorship of international football it has also achieved significant increases in brand awareness and image.

Check out Keema Brisbane's great range of Hyundai vehicles here.

Suzuki's class leading Grand Vitara DDiS turbo-diesel has been confirmed as Australia's Best Compact SUV.

Australia's toughest judges - the 4WD experts from 4x4 Australia and Overlander 4WD magazines - have this week named the Grand Vitara the best compact SUV in the country for the second year in a row.

"Its low-range gearing, tough ladder frame chassis and all-independent suspension quickly impressed 4X4OTY judges on a mixed on and off-road test route that few other compacts could have completed," said the 4x4 Australia judges.

"The suspension is well sorted, steering is direct and the driver's seat is comfortable and supportive - ideal for long-haul trips.

"The Grand Vitara DDiS's asking price makes this compact a steal - and a worthy Best In Class winner once again."

The 4x4 Australia award comes close on the heels of the judges at Overlander 4WD picking the Grand Vitara turbo-diesel as its best compact SUV, lavishing the car with praise.

"The DDiS's closest rival for this award is one of the two petrol variants of the Grand Vitara. If we were to split this category so that we have separate diesel and petrol winners, there's no doubt that one of the two petrol Grand Vitaras would get the nod.

"For now, the single Compact Wagon category is owned by the DDiS, thanks to its unique combination of performance, economy and off-road ability.

"What's even better is the way that it sips fuel. Drive it hard and you're unlikely to use more than 10 litres/100 km, while easy driving will see the consumption drop into the eights or even the sevens.

"The Suzuki's on-road handling is also a highlight. This is a vehicle that's stable at higher speeds on crook roads, yet agile and zippy in the tighter stuff. In fact, there's very little we don't like about the DDiS."

The Grand Vitara was judged Best Compact SUV from a highly competitive field, including the Volkswagen Tiguan, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan X-Trail, Jeep Wrangler, Subaru Forester and Honda CR-V.

Suzuki Australia General Manager Tony Devers said the domination by the Grand Vitara in Australia's leading 4x4 magazines confirmed the Grand Vitara as the best compact SUV on the market.

"We were confident of the Grand Vitara's performance potential when we launched it in 2008, and winning coveted awards from the toughest judges in the business is proof there is no better compact SUV available.

"That's the reason why the Grand Vitara has performed so well in awards like this, and why its one of the few vehicles showing an increase in sales in 2009," Devers said.

Great Wall Motors is the first Chinese car manufacturer to debut in the Australian and New Zealand markets after its dealer launch in Sydney today. Two twin-cab utilities, the V240 in both 4x2 and 4x4 configurations and the SA220 in 4x2 only, are the first Great Wall models to be released onto the Australasian market. Both vehicles offer unparalleled value for money to Australian and New Zealand buyers.

The V240 4x2 will sell in Australia for a class leading $23,990 on road with the 4x4 option costing a modest $3,000 extra, while the SA220 will sell for a remarkable $19,990 on road. Both vehicles offer buyers superior equipment levels, including electric windows, alloy wheels, leather trimmed seats and air conditioning and a genuine opportunity to enter the new car market at the equivalent of a second-hand price. Great Wall vehicles will be sold and supported initially in Australia by a nationwide network of over 45 dealers and have a comprehensive three year/100,000km warranty. The New Zealand range will be common to that sold in Australia with six dealers at launch.

Ateco Automotive, the Sydney and Auckland-based importer, has been negotiating to bring Great Wall to Australia for over three years. According to the Ateco Managing Director, Mr Ric Hull, "Great Wall is one of China's leading car makers and it has been consistently at the top of its domestic car market with its Ute and SUV models." "This year China will make and sell more vehicles than any other country in the world. Every mainstream car and component manufacturer is represented there. Access to technology is virtually unlimited. China's car industry has come a long way in a very short time," he said.

"From day one we have been thoroughly impressed with Great Wall. World-class production facilities are becoming commonplace in China and there is no doubt that Great Wall has set a production benchmark. But what sets Great Wall apart is the corporate culture that permeates through the organisation. The company motto is 'Improving little by little every day' and from what we have seen the staff really do live and breathe this philosophy." "Every time we go to Great Wall's head office in Baoding, we are impressed by the progress that has been made since our last visit. We targeted Great Wall for our Chinese plans because they are highly disciplined, organised and well led," said Mr Hull.

About Great Wall

Analysts are predicting that the Chinese automotive market will this year exceed 10 million vehicle sales replacing the USA as the largest market in the world. This significant milestone has been achieved almost a decade ahead of expectations. A discernible shift in the global automotive power bases is taking place, with every major automotive manufacturer actively trying to gain access or increase its influence in the worlds most dynamic and fastest growing automotive market.

Great Wall Motor Company Limited is located in the industrial city of Baoding which is in the Hebei province of North East China, 140 km south of Beijing. The company was founded in 1976 and was the first Chinese automotive manufacturer to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Originally, the company specialised in manufacturing Pickups and Sports Utility vehicles achieving an outstanding reputation in the domestic and some overseas markets. These vehicles have been so well received that Great Wall has been Chinas No. 1 manufacturer of Pickups for the last 10 consecutive years and for the last five years Great Wall has been Chinas market leader in SUVs.

Today Great Wall boasts an ever-expanding range, including recently released light and small passenger vehicles as well as MPVs. The company owns more than 30 subsidiaries and employs over 22,000 staff. At present, it has a production capability of 400,000 units which is set to expand to 800,000 units by 2010.

Great Wall possesses a state-of-the-art research and development centre with first class international R & D equipment and systems and owns a nationally certified test centre, all of which lays a solid foundation for Great Walls ongoing independent R & D and innovation program. Over the next three years Great Wall plans to make substantial additional investment in production and R & D facilities. The total anticipated investment will approach A$2 billion. By 2010, the annual output of 800,000 units is expected to realise sales revenue in excess of A$6 billion.

The Great Wall Technical Centre is responsible for independent innovation activities such as product planning, product development, technical support and R & D management. It has an R & D team of about 3,000 people including some 500 experts and executives in various fields from both China and overseas. The Technical Centre has directly and closely co-operated with famous design and engineering companies both at home and abroad.

At the core of Great Wall lies its adherence to the management philosophy of "improving little by little every day". These simple yet powerful words emblazoned on the factory wall underpin the thinking of every Great Wall employee and set the organisation apart from its competitors. An utter and total commitment to the power of relentless, small, sustainable improvements delivers a key competitive edge; distinguishing Great Wall from all other competitors.

In the recent 4WDers Ute of the Year 2009 awards, the Isuzu Ute D-Max came out clear ahead of the competition.

According to the magazine, the competition was like this:

"When you take a bunch of the best turbo-diesel cab utes on the market with a testing crew that is made up of a range of 4WD enthusiasts, you have a test that holds more value than a standard, run-of-the-mill vineyard tour like other publications try to get away with. Throw in miles of untamed dirt roads, water crossings, ruts, mud and hill climbs, and you have a new vehicle test.

Our testing criteria were simple: we let real 4WDers cast their own views and opinions on each of the vehicles to get a series of wide-spread results that would hopefully reflect the wide demographic we had on the test. As it turned out, the results were a real reflection of the test and showed that real 4WDers know how to pick real 4WDs."

The highlights of the review in 4WD Action Magazine were as follows:

"At first, the testers didn't know what to make of the new kid and therefore tended to steer away from it to the better known makes...Not many people actually realised that Isuzu had been making diesel engines for over 70 years and has made over 20 million diesel engines in this time.

After the drivers got to spend some time behind the wheel, it was hard to pry them out of the D-Max and into another vehicle. As if it were contagious, the testing crew really took a liking to the ute. We had a case of D-Max fever on our hands."

"Throw an application at it, from nasty dirt roads to real tough low-range action, and the D-Max would handle it. To sweeten an already sweet deal, the D-Max boasted the best fuel economy of all the vehicles on the test."

"The D-Max is a serious 4WD, a great touring vehicle and a real work-horse. It does everything a dual-cab ute is supposed to do, and the best news is that it does it well. It's a deserved winner of our 2009 4WDer's Ute of the Year award, as our testing crew agreed this ute outperformed the other contenders.