Hyundai Motor Company Australia is celebrating 40 years in the local market, marking a remarkable journey from a little-known Korean challenger brand to one of Australia's most successful automotive manufacturers.
The milestone comes 40 years after a single Perth dealership began selling the Hyundai Excel in August 1986, launching a brand that has since delivered more than 2.2 million vehicles to Australian customers.
The company traces its Australian beginnings to Perth dealer John Hughes, who, together with entrepreneur Alan Bond, secured the distribution rights for Hyundai vehicles. Hughes recalls that just eight cars were sold in the brand's first month, although sales reached 1,756 vehicles by the end of 1986.
"I've enjoyed a wonderful ride with the Hyundai brand," Hughes said.
"The product has stood the test of time and has now grown to be a household name in Australia. It gives me a great feeling of pride every time I see one of my valued customers driving a brand-new Hyundai off our showroom floor."
While the original Hyundai Excel introduced many Australians to the brand, it was the i30 that cemented Hyundai's position as a mainstream automotive force. More than 450,000 examples have now been sold locally, making it Hyundai Australia's best-selling model. At its peak, the i30 became Australia's best-selling vehicle outright seven times between 2015 and 2017, demonstrating Hyundai's evolution from a value-focused brand to one recognised for quality, safety and refinement.
Hyundai also played a significant role in reshaping customer expectations. In 1999 it became the first mainstream automotive brand in Australia to introduce a five-year warranty before expanding the offer to unlimited kilometres in 2007. Today, customers receive a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty when servicing through Hyundai's dealer network.
The company has continued to invest heavily in local engineering, developing Australian suspension and steering calibrations to suit local conditions while expanding its focus on advanced technologies including high-performance N models, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and battery-electric vehicles.
Its recent achievements include introducing Australia's first model range offering hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric variants under the one nameplate, launching the country's first hydrogen-powered production vehicle approved for sale and collecting numerous international awards for the IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 5 N.
Hyundai Motor Company Australia CEO Don Romano said the anniversary was ultimately about the millions of Australians who had embraced the brand over four decades.
"When I look back over the past 40 years, I don't just see vehicles or milestones – I see millions of Australians who gave Hyundai a chance," Romano said.
"For many Australians, a Hyundai was their first new car. For others it became the family car they relied on, the car they learned to drive in or the vehicle that took them on holiday around the country. That's what we're celebrating."
As Hyundai enters its fifth decade in Australia, the company says it remains focused on innovation, electrification and continuing to redefine customer expectations, just as it has done since those first eight vehicles were delivered in Perth in 1986.