2009 was one of the best years in terms of revenue and growth for Hyundai. What primary factors would you attribute to this success?

We are looking at the European market with more confidence. Globally, we have shared economies in research and development and product manufacturing, but when it comes to our markets, globally, we differentiate our markets regionally. We do not have a global car but we have global technology on a global platform.

The aspect of having cars for specific regions will give us hindsight in sales growth within a global company – at the moment we have global reach which other European brands do not. This transcribes to success in the US which European brands would be more than happy to attain.

We are growing our market share in all regions. Globally we are at five per cent market share, in Europe we stand at 2.6 per cent, so for us there is still head room growth.

Our success story in Europe has been the past three years: it started off with the CO2 car-based tax in Western Europe at the time when we were introducing our ‘I’ range. It was something which the majority of car buyers were looking at. The scrappage schemes already accelerated a trend that gave us critical mass and our sales were up by 27 per cent. The European market was two per cent down in the last part of last year.

Our gains were the introduction of the ix35. This was a very successful product for us, embarrassingly successful. Our projected sales figures were at 35,000 and we had sold 80,000 before our introduction of the low capacity engines. The SUV market is 10 per cent up and Hyundai is 84 per cent up, so through a combination of momentum, the scrappage scheme and new product launch within the ‘I’ range, we have a reach on a position this year: our sales are six per cent up and globally, car sales are three per cent down .

This year had to be critical in the Hyundai story because it is going to be a bridging year between successful scrappage and our defensive theory which starts off with the ix20, followed by 13 new products launched within a two-year period. We will see organic sales growth and shared development from new models within new segments.

One of Hyundai’s major marketing drives this year was its sponsorship of the World Cup. Are you able to quantify the spin-off effects of this major investment? What was the primary driver behind the initiative?

The primary driver behind this initiative is the ‘broadcast alliance’, our so-called unaided awareness is around 20 per cent in Europe. Our alliance with FIFA gave broadcast awareness so that the communication of the Hyundai brand can be transmitted to a broad community.

At the World Cup we created 12 fan zones around Europe which resulted in a community of three million people. We could also measure the creation of the brand awareness significantly in specific European markets. Interestingly the markets which enjoyed the biggest attention were the ones whose teams did best: Germany, Italy and Spain.

The challenge for Hyundai is to sustain the increased awareness before the European championships in two years’ time.

You have publicly stated you have mixed feelings about the prospects for hybrids in Europe. Why?

I still remain unconvinced, although it is a rather strong word. Toyota enjoyed a primary success with the Prius. Beyond that, the business case is questionable from the manufacturer’s point of view.

I doubt the other manufacturers are able to take advantage of their hybrid technology on the market to the extent that Toyota initially enjoyed within that segment. Beyond that, if you look at electric cars, for example, there are a number of manufacturers which are developing electric cars and bringing them in the market, so I am very cynical about grabbing the opportunity to move with electric cars.

From a manufacturer’s point of view, hybrid and electric are not the most profitable cars to make: they are more costly than clean diesel and more efficient gasoline engines. If one looks at the European market, the reach to expand into the hybrid market is in small cars which are very price sensitive. I cannot reconcile a premium hybrid with the price sensitivity of the A and B segment, with the poor economies, with building these cars.

It can be a case of volumes, but, if it is, it will definitely be a long-term prospect.

What is the brand’s outlook for the last quarter of 2010 and the first of 2011?

Everyone is seeing a wall within our industry this quarter and in the first quarter of next year. Life continues. The picture within our brand looks strong for three reasons: there is reason for economic growth in markets like Germany and France, even in the UK as companies are starting to report profits.

The scrappage schemes are beginning to wash out, beginning with Germany, which ended them in September of last year, with year-to-year comparatives becoming clearer and less indicative on scrappage ending from Germany, Italy and Spain.

We are going into a quality perspective with the ix 20, followed by an SUV and a whole range of cars within different segments.

What do you pride yourself with bringing to Hyundai during your tenure as vice-president?

We are a big company and it is difficult to say I did this or that within a large company. There is a lot of strength, structure, logic and process in our business which is our fundamental power plant.

As a group, there is always room for improvement. Our retail experience is one area which is not quite good enough. We must define the standards we need to achieve. However, above all, in terms of leadership, like all other car manufacturers we are good at telling people what to do. From a European perspective we are in a position where we can perform.

There are pieces which are missing like values: what I represent, our heritage, explaining to the man in the street our brand. Making it understood is my role. I know how to translate this into behaviour which, for me, is a key influence on brand image. These days it is not simply about publishing a wonderful picture of your car in a Sunday supplement. We live in a world of media but the customer experience is really fundamental. Focusing, setting standards and communicating, explaining why it happens to the team, will help a successful continuation of achievements.

I like to give the opportunity to people to express themselves. No matter where you are looking, there is always something which you do not expect from people. Taking people as a commodity is a big risk – people should be an asset. This is something many leaders talk about. Valuing people’s potential is definitely a challenge with a big company and this is something which interests me in this role. I used to tell people that I am interested in cars but I am not. The older I get, the more I am interested in people. That is why I am in this business.