[Biraj]

Nostalgia! Thank you so much Rudra Da for sharing such beautiful pics and refreshing my memory. I moderated a car-clinic and focus group at the Namyang R&D center in 2010. It was for a car that they launched in India in 2011. Couldn't capture it in pics as they had not allowed any electronic devices inside the R&D center. I was amazed by the number of cars I saw being tested and almost all the cars one can think of for bench-marking.

The attention to detail of Hyundai's R&D team was mind-blowing. I had never worked with a more committed/focused team, earlier in my career. The only issue was that they start their day, really early.

OT: Not sure if he is still there, the chef at Rolling Hills used to be a guy from Himachal. Our host had shared the attendance list with him and he identified from my name that I am a Bengali thus, prepared "Chingri Maacher Malai Curry"

[Arch-Angel]

Nice walkthrough Rudra ji! From the pictures, it is evident that their rapid growth and progress in the industry proves ther mettle. The ever changing design language seems to be showcased as well. The current ones seems so smooth compared to the yesteryears. Also, the metallurgy process they follow seems to be highly scientific and methodical as well.
Great to have such a nice walkthrough and quite a privilege to be there i must add.

[gkrishk]

Thanks for a very informative article. Beautiful pictures.

The only other auto manufacturer that can boast of this level of integration is our homegrown Tata Motors. The Hyundai Steel Plant is almost fully automated...from the transporting in of iron ore to the final product.

But Ford had an integrated iron ore to finished car plant as long ago as 1928. See http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm...eType=District and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_River_Rouge_Complex

Perhaps other companies too elsewhere in the world may have had such facilities.

[KPS]

If I remember, someone in the US had said that "The way you can double the value of your Hyundai is to fill it with fuel

Hyundai today is a manufacturer to beat. I have been using Hyundai products since 1999 and they have progressed leaps and bounds. They also seem to have an ability to read and understand the customer requirements better and faster.

Thanks Rudra for sharing

Cheers

KPS

[zeemmee]

Dear Rudra, Very informative & well narrated Post!. Kindly elaborate on Kia. It seems that they share the same museum. Both hyundai & kia are of same lineage, is kia planning for the Indian scene? On the International scene they have a strong presence.

[Utopian]

Great thread. Hyundai has indeed changed the perception from a value manufacturer to a high quality auto manufacturer.
One query, Do they actually fit the engine and suspension assemblies on to the BIW before the painting process, as you have mentioned in the thread.

[swiftnfurious]

Absolute treat! May I know what prompted the manufacturer to invite the media for a tour of their centre? I mean, is it related to any special occasion or just another brand building excercise.

Whatever, what they achieved is NO mean feat. But I have always wondered what made Hyundai so successful in a short time - is it the right management or the funding or what is it?! Did they poach a lot of "experts" from multiple companies and gave them a free hand?

Have to agree with one of the above posts - looks like they are better & quicker in reading Indian market and it's requirements, may be even more than Maruti. It will ONLY be matter of time other Indian players are going to keep them as the benchmark.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

Any inside info on Hyundai's next few years' plans for India?

No, they were absolutely tight lipped about that. At R&D Center I’ve seen a camouflaged one which well could be the i10 Grand sedan for our market and so on.
A perfect time to slot that against Dzire/Etios/Amaze.

Originally Posted by rangarx

.. and what is really great is, you guys share it here so that the community can feel the same.

That’s the whole idea from the manufacturers inviting us.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Any idea about what has changed over the last 15 years within their top management which looks after the India operations? There is a clearly palpable change in attitude by HMIL (deteriorating customer friendliness) - I wonder why.

Frankly SS, I wouldn’t know if there’s any change in their attitude. 15 years of existence and 5 million cars in the market can create an illusion for them.
But the way they’re moving, I think they’ll rectify.

Originally Posted by anujmishra

I am coming this country for long, and I just admire their fit and finish quality for their local products.

Agree with you here. Spent a little more than an hour inside their Equus. Fit and finish is impeccable.

Originally Posted by shubhamAT

That's an amazing report, Rudra. From their museum it looks like their earlier offerings were "inspired" by Hondas and Toyotas of that era.

Naturally. But their technical support came essentially from Mitsubishi those days.

After 30+ years they have designs that are not only original, but good looking too. I hope this success does not get into their head and they continue with their customer focused approach. Having owned a Hyundai for last 5 years i see that even though they don't really come with fresh ideas (Veloster being an exception) , when they do offer something it is usually priced lesser than the competition with more features per dollar.

When you say fresh ideas, do you mean the design? In that case I would like to add their Genisis also.

On a different note, how much patronage does SK Govt give to such mega companies ? What car does the SK Head of State ride in ?

I have no idea or information to reply these two questions.

Originally Posted by Biraj

OT: Not sure if he is still there, the chef at Rolling Hills used to be a guy from Himachal.

Think he’s still there.

Originally Posted by Arch-Angel

Also, the metallurgy process they follow seems to be highly scientific and methodical as well.

That’s the coordinated harmony between Hyundai Steel Plant and Hyundai Hysco.

Originally Posted by gkrishk

But Ford had an integrated iron ore to finished car plant as long ago as 1928.

I said that in India context.

Perhaps other companies too elsewhere in the world may have had such facilities.

May be. Need to check.

Originally Posted by KPS

They also seem to have an ability to read and understand the customer requirements better and faster.

That’s the biggest part of their entire process.

Originally Posted by zeemmee

Dear Rudra, Very informative & well narrated Post!. Kindly elaborate on Kia. It seems that they share the same museum. Both hyundai & kia are of same lineage, is kia planning for the Indian scene? On the International scene they have a strong presence.

Hyundai and KIA compete with each other in the marketplace. Yes, it was surprising to see some KIA model at Hyundai’s corporate office. Hyundai was very clear about not discussing anything about KIA.

Originally Posted by Utopian

One query, Do they actually fit the engine and suspension assemblies on to the BIW before the painting process, as you have mentioned in the thread.

No, engine fitting happens after the painting.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

May I know what prompted the manufacturer to invite the media for a tour of their centre? I mean, is it related to any special occasion or just another brand building excercise.

It’s their very first brand building exercise to start with. As they said, more like this will come up.

Did they poach a lot of "experts" from multiple companies and gave them a free hand?

May be. There are people working (in Korea) from different countries.

looks like they are better & quicker in reading Indian market and it's requirements, may be even more than Maruti. It will ONLY be matter of time other Indian players are going to keep them as the benchmark.

Huyndai’s (4th outside Korea) R&D Center in Hyderabad is essentially for India specific requirement. This Centre facilitates the development of India as Hyundai’s global hub for manufacturing and engineering. Other overseas R&D centers are located in the United States, Germany, Japan & Korea.

[VijayAnand1]

Excellently compiled and bloody concise. Loved the photo set and it's as if almost I went back in time. Kudos!

Cheers!
VJ

[ajmat]

Wonderful travelogue, Hyundai are pulling out all stops and seem to be taking a very globl approach judging by key positions and responsibilities held by non Koreans

[bullock-Car]

A wonderful insight into an ambitious brand.I wonder how they aim at all segments from maruti to Mercedes and pulling if off. Regarding their backward integration with iron ore to car, it reminded my visit to Ford plant in Detroit. Only koreans are an impatient lot squeezing it in couple of decades. Kudos to their ambitious canvas and execution. An wonderful report.

[benbsb29]

Wonderful report there, Rudra. Its amazing to see how Hyundai has transformed its lineup over the years, with drastic improvements in product quality.

That said, i am not sure if the fluidic design approach is resulting in too many cuts and slices on the cars, giving them a rather busy face. On the other hand, the Kia designs are more simplistic.

[arunkrishnan4]

Thanks Rudra for this wonderful virtual walk-through. Hyundai's sales speak for their astonishing market share in just over a couple of decades. Also interesting to see few performance cars in the lineup. Would be exciting if Hyderabad R&D tries to make Hyundai cars more fun to ride with better driveability and control. Only thing that is possibly missing in Grand i10 viz. Swift is the fun-to-drive quotient. Only if Hyundai starts to focus on this, it will in one stroke extinguish the likes of FIATs & VWs and make Maruti run for cover.

[sapeco]

Wow, what a fascinating insight into Hyundai, both as a car manufacturer and a brand.
Even though Hyundai is the No.2 manufacturer in India, we hardly knew its origins. Thanks to Rudra now we are aware. Five stars for sure!

[MaxTorque]

Great travelogue Rudra da. As usual the images are of top quality. It is always a pleasure to see the facility from which automobiles are rolling out.

The growth of Hyundai from 1967 to 2013 is phenomenal. We know many Indian companies started much before Hyundai's inception are still lagging way behind.