Hyundai says the sticker prices of its cars will always be worthy of a premium over Chinese models, and BMW is working with Mercedes to build an EV charging network in China.<\/p>\n
This is AM Drive, Motor1’s daily look at the news you need before you get in your car.<\/em><\/p>\n Hyundai Says It Will Always Be More Premium Than Chinese Automakers<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Hyundai has come a long way since the 1990s \u2013 but so have Chinese automakers. Still, the South Korean company claims that it’s a more prestigious brand than anything coming from China. Speaking with CarSales<\/em>, Hyundai\u00a0Motor Company Australia chief operating officer John Kett said the era of cheap cars is gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I think we’ll always be a premium to the Chinese. We’ve just got to come up with the technology to keep ahead of them, to recognize that our premium is worth it to some customers. Our benefit is that the pace of change in our portfolio is quite significant, and I think we’re going to have to keep doing that to justify the pricing position we have over our competitors. Time will tell if the technology we will bring is worthy of the premium we charge.”<\/p>\n John Kett pointed out Hyundai couldn\u2019t have been profitable had it kept prices low as it did in the past. Consequently, it would\u2019ve lacked the necessary budget to roll out so many cars and refresh them so often. Indeed, it feels like a next-generation model or a mid-cycle facelift is happening every other week.<\/p>\n