Hyundai preps to play offense: Here's what's coming

[Suarez™]

An old Korean proverb about jumping frogs is suddenly finding fresh currency in the executive suites and engineering labs of Hyundai Motor Co.
After pressing pause on years of breakneck expansion to nail quality, restock the product pipeline and streamline production, Hyundai is on the offensive again.
Internally, the company’s engineers and executives liken it to an old Korean saying: “Even a frog must rest before the next jump.” And Hyundai’s next leap may be its biggest yet.
The restd-and-ready company is simultaneously jumping into three new areas: a full range of eco-cars, from hybrids to EVs to fuel cells; a new subbrand of performance vehicles; and the new Genesis luxury marque nearly built from scratch.
The executives leading these initiatives, in interviews with Automotive News, describe today’s Hyundai Motor Group as a mature, waking giant that used its downtime to regroup and is poised to build on its rank as the world’s No. 5 automaker.
“Every organization needs a break before it goes for another jump,” said Ahn Byung-ki, director of eco-vehicle development. “A lot of people inside feel that way. I’m ready for the next jump.”
The trifecta bet underscores the outsized ambition of a company that traces its roots to just 1967, has scant racing heritage and only developed its first proprietary engine in 1991. Indeed, the stakes are high for the entire auto group, including Hyundai and Kia, as the new ventures devour valuable resources at a time when Hyundai Motor is sliding into a fourth year of falling profits.
The transformation also adds strain as speculation swirls about the transfer of corporate control from Chung Mong-koo, the Hyundai-Kia group’s 78-year-old patriarch and chairman, to his 45-year-old son, Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun.
Sagging profits are a reason to push into more profitable segments, but also a limitation. Operating income dropped 1.5 percent in 2013, 9.2 percent in 2014, 16 percent in 2015 and was down 7 percent through the first half of this year.