These factors make Hyundai the hottest automaker in the world.

Hyundai is now blazing. For years, it has grown steadily and unabatedly, treading a course already well-traveled by Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mazda, Subaru, and Mitsubishi. We have seen it all before, and that is an easy assumption to make. Mostly. The future of the Hyundai Motor Group, however, appears to be very different from that of its Japanese competitors.

Japan's automakers had the entire globe at their feet during the height of their dominance. As customers began to purchase more affordable Japanese imports that were better equipped and more dependable, GM, Ford, and Chrysler struggled and failed. Customers who had previously been taken for granted.
Japanese automobiles have essentially driven Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, and Volkswagen to give up on markets outside of Europe for the same reasons.

Walking by vehicles like the Lexus LS400, Honda NSX, Z32 Nissan 300ZX, Subaru SVX, Mazda Miata, and Mitsubishi Eclipse during the 1989 Tokyo auto show made it simple to assume the Japanese were in charge of the industry. Japan Inc. however, botched it. The same inertia that held GM at the top for decades after it ceased to be a benchmark automaker is what propels only Toyota now as a Japanese automotive behemoth.

In comparison to its Japanese rivals, Hyundai Motor Co. now appears to be on a considerably loftier trajectory. This is not only because its Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands have more models available than the main Japanese automakers.

It's also not because it already manufactures and sells fuel cell, battery electric, and plug-in hybrid powertrains while several Japanese manufacturers are still deciding which route to take the leap.
No. What's important is that Hyundai is learning the soft side of business that the Japanese, despite their undeniable industrial prowess, never quite appeared to be able to appreciate.

The Genesis premium lineup's implementation provides the clearest illustration. The gasoline-powered models don't all have obvious gussied-up copies of less expensive vehicles like far too many Lexus, Infiniti, and Acura models; instead, they all ride on distinctive premium rear-drive platforms.

Hyundai is aware of the reality in which affluent clients like real luxury to be integrated rather than grafted on to the vehicles they purchase.

Design is the next step. The majority of people have trouble naming the head of design at any Japanese carmaker, with the possible exception of Alfonso Albaisa from Nissan. They are undetectable, like suit-clad cyphers who say nothing and go unnoticed.

The only logical conclusion is that design isn't given much weight by the majority of Japanese automakers. And it can be seen in the overly fussy and disjointed design of Japanese automobiles and SUVs.

Hyundai design leader Luc Donckerwolke has a strong opinion about how modern Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis automobiles should appear, which contributes to their aesthetic sophistication. Additionally, he and his top design executives, including SangYup Lee, are given the freedom to express their opinions both to the automotive media and among themselves during the frank horsetrading that is a necessary component of the creation of every car. Hyundai's expanding N division further demonstrates that the firm is aware of the benefits that performance cars may provide for its brands.

You need go no farther than the Honda/Acura NSX, Nissan GT-R, and Lexus LFA for proof that Japanese businesses are fully capable of creating genuinely magnificent performance goods.

However, history demonstrates that they released those cars into a void, did little with them, and, when consumer interest waned, left them to wither and die, leaving their supporters gnashing their teeth in anger.

Toyota is making a late attempt with its GR brand to make up for previous mistakes, but Hyundai already has a large number of fast, inexpensive, and enjoyable to drive N-brand vehicles available on global markets, and by the end of next year, it will also have N performance EVs for sale. According to N brand CEO Till Wartenberg, who currently leads the division started by former BMW M chief Albert Biermann, "high performance emotionalizes automobiles and people." The big shocker, though, is that the N automobiles are the most lucrative ones for the business.

Yes, Hyundai is now popular. Take that, Japan.