'No plans' for Hyundai retrenchment cover in Oz

HYUNDAI Motor Company Australia has no plans to copy Hyundai’s North American Assurance Plus scheme that covers vehicle repayments under certain circumstances for three months if the buyer loses income.

Hyundai Australia’s marketing general manager Oliver Mann said: “There are no immediate plans to introduce such a scheme in Australia.

“The economic climate and market in Australia is significantly different to what is happening in the USA at the moment.

"Hats off to our US parent, though, for kick starting it." Nevertheless, Mr Mann said Hyundai was keeping an eye on the US scheme which, since its launch in January, has been partly credited for a sales upswing.

“We are watching the program and the success that they are having, and we’re monitoring the model and where it is going. But there are no plans in place for it in Australia,” he said.

Assurance Plus seems to have struck a chord with American consumers amid high levels of unemployment.

A similar exercise is also believed to be under consideration by other car-makers in recession-ravaged America, including General Motors.

“It shows the good character of the Hyundai brand,” Mr Mann said, adding that it proved how innovative the company can be on a local as well as global level.

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