The Dominance of Hyundai and Kia in Korea is Overwhelming, and This is What I Saw

Miami Herald

2 days ago

As an automotive writer and an American-born Korean, I was chomping at the bit to experience my parents' homeland for the first time, as well as check out the automotive landscape in the Land of the Morning Calm. So many things surprised me (including the popularity of white cars, which I will get to later), but what stood out the most was the dominance of Korean car brands. Everywhere we looked, there were Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis automobiles. Many of them are not available in America, so I was pretty pumped to see some of them.
Hyundai and Kia make up an astounding 90 percent of the automotive market share in South Korea. That's a tremendously huge figure that any two domestic car brands would kill for. Hyundai and Kia have secured their dominance in the South Korean automotive market thanks to the brands' excellent reputation for value, a wide swath of models to fit virtually every need, and advanced design and technology. They also share research and development resources, which allow them to provide vehicles at attainable prices.
A distant third brand is KGM, formerly SsangYong. Occasionally, we would see the KGM Torres SUV, which looks like a South Korean Jeep Cherokee. It's not very original, but I liked the chunkiness of the front end and fenders, as well as the hood bulges. Note that this KGM Torres is surrounded by a Kia K5, a Hyundai Ioniq 5, and a Hyundai Santa Fe.
In the U.S., there are models from foreign manufacturers that we don't get. This list feels endless, but we'll stick to a couple of Korean models that we'd love to see sold here in America. We saw a new Kia Tasman pickup truck parked on a residential street on the island of Jeju. The photo doesn't do the Tasman justice. The unique unpainted fender trim pieces have been polarizing in shots on the internet, but we have to say they set the truck apart from more common pickup trucks. Especially when paired with bold colors (rare to see red cars in Korea), the fender trim slabs pop nicely.
One car that we couldn't get enough of was the Hyundai Grandeur, a name that might not seem familiar to you. The Grandeur was known as the Azera in America, a near-luxury family sedan that left our shores in 2017 due to poor sales. The current-generation Grandeur looks like the offspring of a Bentley Flying Spur and a Cadillac Celestiq, and the result is stunning. The huge upright grille, full-width DRL, flush door handles, and unique rear/side glass give it a look that's far more refined than its price tag of approximately $36,000 USD. The Korean landscape was littered with them, and we loved seeing it every time. It's too bad sedans are on the wane in America. This one is a looker.
We also came to love something at the other end of the vehicular spectrum, the tiny Hyundai Casper. It comes in both gas and electric versions, and it looks more like a little SUV than a diminutive hatchback. The big grille, round headlights, chunky fenders, and upright greenhouse give it a rugged appearance unlike any subcompact we've seen. You can fold the front seats flat and, together with the folding rear bench seat, make a sleeping area.
The Hyundai Staria minivan was also very popular wherever we went in Korea. This versatile MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle) comes in minivan, minibus, van, and limo versions. There's also an ambulance variant that we saw numerous times. The Staria reminds us of a modernized Toyota Previa with its rounded front end and steep windscreen. The side glass panels are enormous, and the super-tall Parametric pixel taillights are a sight to behold. It's sad that Hyundai doesn't sell the Staria in America next to the Kia Carnival. It would be a wonderful addition to the rather narrow minivan segment.
One of my favorite vehicles on the trip was spotted by my younger son, who is an avid car fanatic at the ripe age of eight. This G70 Shooting Brake was parked at a hotel where we ate lunch, and I kept coming back to it just to take a look, as it looks even better than the already fetching sedan. The steeply raked rear glass, unique taillight configuration, and the huge roof spoiler bring additional visual flair to the G70, and it's a version we wish would come to America.
One thing was apparent almost immediately after landing at Incheon Airport. Most Korean automobiles are white. At first, I thought it was because the rental vehicles came in that color, but white cars permeated the streets in Jeju, Busan, and Seoul. Koreans view white as formal, pure, and clean, while also maximizing resale value in Korea. White is the most popular paint color, with black as a distant second. Whitish-grey and blue take third and fourth, according to statistics. On top of that, white cars tend to be cheaper and easier to keep clean. Koreans also don't view the color of their car as an extension of their personality, like many Americans do. They don't ascribe a lot of meaning to colors, and they tend to be unemotional about their car color.
In the sea of white cars, some stood out to me. One of them was the new 2nd-generation Hyundai Palisade, which we haven't seen for sale yet in America. As good as it looks in photos, it's even better in person. It's a very handsome SUV that really does imbue the model with Land Rover-like looks. The huge grille, stacked DRLs, and the squared-off body contribute to a new level of sophistication for the model. I don't think white is the best color for the daring redesign, but it's still quite attractive.
Although the pervasiveness of white cars can be a bit boring, we appreciate the practicality behind the choice. It's not only about practicality, of course, but it is strongly reflective of the Korean culture that does not tie car colors to emotions but to pragmatic transportation. Adventurous colors are more appropriate for their traditional Korean clothing (hanboks), their side dishes (banchan), and K-Pop stars' hair colors. For cars, not so much.
Korea is a wonderful place culinarily, culturally, and automotively. I was impressed by the dominance of the Korean car brands in their home country, and I was fascinated by the sheer preponderance of white cars. It's quite impressive how far Korean cars have come since the Hyundai Pony in the 1970s, and not just for Korea but right here at home. Korean drivers are also very well-behaved and don't honk much (other than in Seoul, where honking still pales in comparison to American cities), which is another pleasant aspect of driving in Korea. I encourage everyone to visit South Korea when they get a chance, if only for the cars.
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