The Korean firm has seen strong sales growth across the world in the last few years and it is currently the top selling manufacturer in the UK for retail sales.
“Hyundai is awesome,” said Takanobu. “They are undoubtedly a threat because their products are cheap, and the quality is improving.”
Hyundai and its sister firm Kia have been successful across Europe and America in various scrappage incentive schemes. Models such as the i10 city-car, i20 supermini and i30 small family car have proven extremely popular in Europe. The Accent, Elantra and Veracruz have been very popular across North America.
Takanobu’s comments have also been echoed by designer Shiro Nakamura from Nissan.
“Hyundai is the biggest threat for the Japanese automakers. They have the technology but they seem to have cheaper labour.”