Hyundai believes the new Tucson is a brand game-changer  – so what’s the plan, and why should an SME business be interested?

AT THE launch of the new Hyundai Tucson, we managed to catch up with Hyundai’s President and CEO, Tony Whitehorn, to find out more…

So what do you think the opportunity is for the SME with the new Hyundai Tucson?

“I think from an SME’s point of view, he or she will purchase a car from two angles. So, there’s the emotional side of it, whether it looks good – the design or the styling – that’s very important from an SME perspective.

“But also they’ve got a rational point of view as well. I think that’s what’s different about an SME buyer over anybody else, is really they’ve got to have a combination of the two.

“When you look at the styling, I think the Tucson is a good-looking car. A lot of people have commented on how smart this car is, plus how great it feels inside and the drivability. They’re all quite individualist things, when you look at the rational perspective – but how do the figures stack up?

“From the figures point of view, if you’re an SME, first of all what is the initial price like? Tucson starts at £18,695, right in the heartland of where the competitors are and where the market is.

“Secondly, it’s not just the individual price of that car, but the residual value and when you compare the Tucson, it has class-leading residual values. At three-years, 30,000-miles, the 1.7 SE Nav has a residual value of 50% – now that is class-leading and will be the best-selling Tucson.

“Also an SME will want to understand the bit inbetween – what is the Tucson like on whole life costs? You’ve obviously got the residual value which is part of it, but also the SMR costs (Service, Maintenance and Repair costs). Again on the SMRs, the Tucson is class-leading. So it’s a really strong message here for SMEs.

“The emotional side is very good, but the rational side – particularly from a cost, ownership and residual values point of view, the Tucson ticks all the right boxes.”

Does Tucson follow Hyundai’s value for money policy?

“We’re renowned for not necessarily being cheap, but being good value for money. I think when people purchase a Hyundai, they are saying “wow, this feels like it costs more than it actually is.”

“What this car does, is it actually moves the brand on. A car in the SUV segment has the ability to do that, because it is very high profile and it’s also high volume. So it’s a great combination of the two and something like the Tucson will move the brand forward quite considerably.

“This has happened with other manufacturers in the C-SUV segment and it’s going to do the same for us. Everyone who has driven this car has said it’s great in terms of design, engineering and drivability – they’re the three key points.”