What is Hyundai luxury brand?

After 40 years of making affordable cars, the car maker is attempting to to remake its image as part of the luxury market.

The Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is the fifth-biggest carmaker in the world. They’ve been making a slow climb into the luxury market for the past 5 years as they have been expanding in markets outside Asia. According to Reuters, the company has been making significant investments by sending their researchers through immersive experiences such as luxury salons, hotels, retailers, and wellness services to help them get a taste what is at the heart of a premium brand.

Hyundai is taking an interesting product strategy where not only are they creating luxury cars (such as Equus or the Genesis Sedan) but they’re also taking parts of their product portfolio, like the Santa Fe, and developing its positioning to move it from being a domestic/utility car to being a status symbol in 2013.

What does this mean for Hyundai and how they will continue to meet consumer expectations? One salesperson, who’s been part of Hyundai’s immersive research captures a key take away:

I’ve never been to these places before, but now I understand why consumers like to spend there. They (luxury brands) don’t emphasize how expensive their products are. Instead, they try to explain why they’re worth it. Now I do the same thing. I focus more on explaining a car’s history, its value and its strengths, rather than just talking about price.