Hyundai Plans Revamped Dealership Experience for Equus Customers

Hyundai’s plan to sell the luxurious Equus a stone’s throw from $10,000 Accents begs an obvious question: How will the average Joe feel when he’s offered a cup of coffee, but the guy shopping an Equus gets an éclair and a cappuccino?
 
That won’t be the case, Hyundai spokesman Miles Johnson said. But the two customers won’t get identical service. Hyundai plans to offer red-carpet treatment for Equus customers that conforms to what they might get a luxury-brand dealership – but do most of it remotely.
 
Differentiating the service is arguably a necessary step. Better service is a typical hallmark of luxury brands, but Hyundai isn’t launching one for the Equus or Genesis. Instead, it plans to retrofit a select few dealerships to sell the Equus, with modular displays inside the dealership to show off the car. The store-within-a-store concept isn’t new – Mercedes does it with Smart cars, and Toyota does it with Scion. However, Hyundai plans to differentiate things even further by keeping most Equus shoppers away from the dealership entirely.
 
“Time is the ultimate luxury in this world,” Johnson said. “If your car, your maintenance is all handled by this pick-up service, you really don’t have to spend any time at the dealership. … You’re not burdened by having to sit in a dealership or arrange transportation to and from a dealership, that kind of thing.”
 
Toward that end, a specially trained “product champion” – i.e., an exemplary salesperson – can bring the Equus out to a prospective customer for an at-home test drive. Regular maintenance is done by valet, with a loaner Hyundai parked in the driveway while your Equus gets new wiper blades. Though the valet service is complementary, we suspect actual maintenance will incur its usual costs. We asked if Hyundai is planning a BMW-like free maintenance program for Equus customers, and Johnson is still getting back to us on it.
 
Not even Genesis customers will get this level of service, Johnson said.
 
That gets us back to the original question: How will Accent-shopping Joe feel about all this? No different, we suspect, than Yaris-shopping Jane feels about that couple eyeing a Land Cruiser. But Johnson said Hyundai plans to use the Equus experience as a springboard to revamp customer service for all Hyundai shoppers. That means Equus customers will still get premium service in the meantime, but down the road the rising tide may lift all Hyundais.

Comments

While reading this article I laughed so hard I think I cracked a rib. Already Hyundai is admitting they are embarrassed by their core customer base because they don't want them co-mingling with a Equus buyer. This car and service concept is doomed from the beginning because in the end you still have to tell people, "I drive a Hyundai".

Laugh now...given Toyota's current predicament no doubt they'll have to match Hyundai when they implement this.

As a current Lexus owner and former Audi, and MB owner trust me when I say Hyundai is not crossed shopped and will never be. As long as they sell under the Hyundai name they have no prayer. You are not only poor but also clueless.

I just took delivery of my new Equus and the car is great! I've paid for the 750Li and a Benz and believe me if telling the guys at the club was a concern I'd stay home! I can't wait to tell them how I saved 2.5 years of club dues on my new car that the dealer comes o my office to pick up even for a oil change. I'll take my personal time and a lot of money saved if all I have to do is say it's a Hyundai. If your so worried about people knowing you paid so much more maybe you should get dollar signs monogrammed on your white shirts!