AM MAGAZINE NAMES HYUNDAI AS ‘CARMAKER OF THE YEAR’

Less than one week after we drove the new 2010 Hyundai Sonata and the 2010 ix35 in Oman and highlighted the 'big jump' forward which Hyundai did with these two models, the Korean car manufacturer won the prestigious 'Carmaker of the Year' award.

The leading industry publication AM Magazine presented the prestigious award of Carmaker of the Year to Hyundai, at its annual ceremony in Birmingham this week.

A panel of industry experts led by AM Editor Jeremy Bennett gave the accolade to Hyundai over rivals Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar and Kia.

Jeremy said; “With the newly-opened factory in Eastern Europe pumping out high quality vehicles and dealers selling them at the right price to a consumer base looking for alternative motoring choices, it was only a matter of time before Hyundai entered the mainstream�.

Presenting the award, Sky News Today presenter Dermot Murnaghan said; “It has been an amazing year for Hyundai, with a model mix that allowed dealers to take full advantage of the Government scrappage scheme. This is allied to a consistent message and support to its dealers, which had provided the brand with a fantastic start to 2010�.

Hyundai’s UK managing director Tony Whitehorn said; “We’re delighted to win Carmaker of the Year. We have doubled sales and strengthened our retail network. 2010 is set to be a very promising year for us and this award proves we are a brand that people are noticing.�

He continued to say; “We are about to launch our new ix35, which is set to become our flagship model in the UK which will further increase awareness of our brand. Everyone in the company has worked very hard the last few years in making our brand appeal to a wider audience�.
Just as we discovered in Oman during our test-drive with the new 2010 Sonata and the ix35 which are manufactured in Korea, the panel of judges praised the high quality of the vehicles which Hyundai is currently manufacturing for the international markets.

I can only just agree with the panel.

MS