No price surprises on Hyundai menu

1 November 2006
Immediate release

No price surprises on Hyundai menu

Given New Zealand’s cafe culture, most Kiwis are more than familiar with restaurant and cafe menus. This week however sees a new menu from Hyundai that will hold much appeal to those with more motoring and economical tastes.

The giant South Korean car company is creating a stir in the industry by launching its “menu pricing” system on 1 November 2006, designed to take the bad taste out of car servicing costs and ensure customers return to Hyundai dealers for their servicing requirements.

The website based service menu pricing aims to allow Hyundai customers with year 2000 vehicles and onwards to easily assess the work that needs to be carried out on their vehicle at specific service intervals. It also provides an accurate assessment of the costs for that service.

Hyundai Aftermarket manager, Peter Tolley says the menu pricing system is the second stage of Hyundai’s aim to make vehicle ownership costs transparent and affordable.

“We started with our Family Parts Pricing back in March, which aimed to standardise parts prices across all Hyundai models. You saw some significant shifts in costs there, with simple components, for example oil filters dropping down from $38 each to $15 each (excluding GST).”

Mr Tolley says the full menu pricing system builds on the beach head of cheaper parts, and provides motorists with accurate information on the labour and time taken to change and install those parts. Furthermore, the system is very transparent, meaning the customer knows the vehicle has been maintained to the high standards the factory recommends, which has the added benefit of improving the resale value of Hyundai vehicles.

Accessed through the servicing section of the Hyundai website www.hyundai.co.nz , the menu pricing system provides vehicle owners with a service estimate that matches their location, anywhere in New Zealand. Local variances such as oil prices and labour costs are also allowed for.

“Even better, it is possible to book the service on-line, and customers, including potential customers, get the chance to see what the future costs are going to be for servicing their Hyundai,” says Mr Tolley.

“By making servicing costs so transparent for Hyundai customers, this should help to dispel the myth that franchise dealers are too expensive, and have the effect of returning our customers to their local Hyundai dealership, ensuring the vehicle is still functioning to a high standard at resale,” he says.

Hyundai also see the online site playing a valuable role in providing comprehensive information to customers. “It allows prospective customers to be able to see what future servicing costs are on each model, and make their own decision on just how low the ownership cost of a Hyundai is,” says Mr Tolley.

Either by entering their vehicle’s registration number or via drop down boxes, owners and potential customers are able to identify recommended servicing costs on their selected model.

Mr Tolley commented that part of Hyundai’s philosophy was to also dispel the notion that going to a franchised dealer was too expensive. This process began with the introduction of Family Parts Pricing earlier in the year, and flows on into the service menu pricing strategy being launched on the 1st of November.

“This view has been prevalent in the industry, and the website has had uncompromising support from all our dealers who can see the value of offering a transparent, competitive service experience for a brand that is fast becoming recognised in the industry as a leader in terms of quality and reliability,” commented Mr. Tolley.

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