Hyundai Turns 25 in the United States

South Korean automaker Hyundai has entered the American market for the first time back in 1986, which means it is now celebrating its 25th anniversary in the United States. This extremely important milestone finds Hyundai with a full line-up of award-winning products that comprises no less than 12 different cars and crossovers.

Next for Hyundai is the introduction of three new models arriving at nationwide showrooms thorough summer. Specifically, the Veloster, a unique 3-door 40-mpg sporty coupe featuring Hyundai's Blue Link telematics solution, will join all-new 4-door and 5-door versions of the Accent, which will also deliver 40 mpg.

Hyundai's award-winning Genesis gets a thorough face-lift and new engines and transmissions, with the performance-focused Genesis R-Spec and its all-new 429-horsepower Tau 5.0L V8 engine making its first appearance.

A state-of-the-art headquarters based in Fountain Valley, California is slated for completion in late 2012, aimed at doubling the size and capacity of the current building.

In addition Hyundai has committed to a 50+ mpg fleet average goal by 2025. This strategy, dubbed "BlueDrive," includes the aggressive implementation of a range of new, affordable technologies such as direct injection, turbocharging, internally-developed transmissions, and lightweighting. In parallel, Hyundai's engineering teams are developing new fuel cell and battery solutions.

"As far as we've come since 1986, we still feel we're in the early stages of connecting the Hyundai brand to the U.S. consumer," said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. "We've always challenged convention – from our powertrain strategies, to our consumer partnership programs, to our unique Genesis and Equus retail approach. It's authentically Hyundai to question the status quo and pursue our own vision of how things should be in order to best serve our customers. This willingness to challenge convention will continue to guide us these next 25 years."