Hyundai and Kia gain from European crisis

With stands in opposite ends of the exhibition halls at the Geneva motor show, it is clear that Hyundai and Kia are attacking the European market on two fronts.

Their models range from Hyundai's new flagship, the Grand Santa Fe - which marks the brand's entry into the market for large, luxurious sports utility vehicles - to Kia's Provo concept, which is gunning at the quirky Mini.
In the marketplace, Hyundai and Kia are rivals, often offering alternatives to each other's models, though the two South Korean carmakers operate as sister companies at the corporate level, sharing both technologies and components.
Hence, although many of their models are very similar under the skin, both their sales and marketing efforts as well as their designs have been carefully honed to distinguish them from each other.
As a strategy, it has been extraordinarily effective. In Europe, both carmakers have seen their sales double during the past five years or so, pushing their market shares to 3.5% for Hyundai and 2.7% for Kia, up from 2.9% and 2.2% in 2011.