It’s that time of year again – when all the big car makers tell us how much money they made – or lost. And as we’ve seen already this year, there’s no equivalent of car breakdown cover for automakers whose plants get knocked out of action by disasters natural or economic; you’re either winning or losing. Next up is Hyundai Motors, the South Korean automotive giant, which was happy to report that its sales increased by an impressive 38% in the fourth quarter of 2011.
The firm made 2 trillion won (around £1.15bn), compared to 1.45tn won over the same period the previous year. As well as seeing sales increase in its home market, Hyundai said it had seen big gains in the US and Chinese markets.
But is this increase down to superior models and excellent marketing? Analysts think not, pointing out that various Japanese carmakers lost out due to the tsunami of March last year, together with heavy flooding in south east Asia – hitting Toyota’s plants especially hard.
As the likes of Toyota and Honda return their manufacturing facilities to full capacity, there is a good chance they will be able to make up lost ground against rivals like Hyundai.
Additional factors that may have helped the automaker enjoy such success include a weak Korean won – which made its cars cheaper for people outside South Korea to buy.
Hyundai is the first of the large Asian carmakers to post its profits.
Breakdown Cover from 
