Check the mirror and look back in wonder.
Cars that made sense
We remember some of yesterday’s Hyundais that accelerated into the hearts and minds of value-driven motorists.
TWO years after Singapore became an independent nation in 1965, Hyundai Motor Company (HMC) was formed. Like the little red dot, the little automaker started small and slow, building Ford Cortinas under licence for the domestic market.
The Korean firm picked up the pace in the 1970s with the Pony. It was the country’s first “national car”, but it had plenty of help from foreigners — the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro who styled the car, the British executive George Turnbull who managed the car’s development and production, and the Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi that provided most of the vehicle’s mechanicals. The Americans also contributed, in a way, because the Pony’s platform was a mixture of Ford Cortina and Mitsubishi Lancer!
The Pony was introduced to the Singapore market in 1981 by short-lived dealership Pony Motors. A few years later in 1986, Komoco secured the Hyundai franchise and its success story thus began — in the midst of a recession.
Komoco’s very first shipment of cars, 32 Hyundai Excels, arrived in August that year and all were sold in the same month, split between eight salesmen. The value-packed hatchbacks and notchbacks, available with 1.3- or 1.5-litre engines, were accompanied in the showroom by the similarly value-packed 1.6-litre Stellar and 2-litre Prima.
The Stellar was the second model independently developed by Hyundai, and it provided more saloon for the money compared to Japanese stalwarts such as the Honda Civic, Nissan Pulsar and Mazda 323.
According to the catalogue (and its printed sales pitch), the Stellar “is a big-hearted, no-nonsense family saloon… a spacious, mobile lounge… with everything planned to make your driving safer and more enjoyable.” It was the 1980s, so the car was also equipped with luxuries such as central locking, electric windows and a digital clock!
The Prima was essentially a higher-spec Stellar with a 2-litre engine. To quote from the local review published in the 1987 November 15 edition of The Straits Times, the Hyundai Prima “plods along with panache… is suitably adorned to befit its status as the top-of-the-line Hyundai… and is extremely good value for money.”
Fast-forward to 1990, when another breakthrough model was introduced to Singapore — the Elantra (“elan” + “tra-nsport”). The successor to the Stellar would go on to become Hyundai’s bestseller, alternating with the Sonata, another breakthrough car.
Mitsubishi supplied the engine and underpinnings for the Elantra, but it was otherwise a Korean effort. It was an excellent effort, too — Torque’s 1991 road test of the car said “it represents Hyundai’s most serious attempt at breaking into the Japanese market… and does most things very well, even matching some Japanese saloons that cost considerably more.” And the Elantra (above, right) looked good.
Less good-looking, but even more sellable in Singapore, was the Matrix (above, left). The 2001 August issue of Torque described the Pininfarinadesigned five-seater mini-MPV as “Italian automotive art for the Seoul… well made, rides comfortably, and unbeatable in terms of value for money.”
The Matrix was such an attractive package that it became Komoco’s biggest seller and, for a couple of years, was the third most popular new car in Singapore, just behind the Nissan Sunny and the perpetual crowd favourite, Toyota’s Corolla Altis.
Keep reading for our “rear view” on how the Excel turned into the excellent Accent.
“Like Singapore in 1965, Hyundai Motor Company started small and slow in 1967.”
Accentuate the cheap and good
Hyundai Accents have always excelled at providing affordable transport for the masses.
1985-1989
1st generation EXCEL
One of the tag lines for this Pony replacement was “Everything you need, nothing you don’t”. The Excel was a decent alternative to the Toyota Starlet and Daihatsu Charade in Singapore during the late 1980s.
1990-1994
2nd generation EXCEL
The second Excel was much improved, without costing much more than its modest predecessor. It also introduced Hyundai’s first in-house engines and spawned the Scoupe, a supposedly sporty two-door available with a turbocharged motor.
1994-1998
1st generation ACCENT
Wholly Korean in its (loveable) design and (commendable) engineering, the original Accent was a confident step in the right direction. Apparently, its name was an acronym for “A Compact Car of Exceptional New Technology”.
1999-2004
2rd generation ACCENT
Less adorable than the initial Accent, but equally robust and even more practical, the second-generation model was more than a match for the Thai-made shoestring saloons in the same bargain basement.
2005-2010
3rd generation ACCENT
Marketed as the Verna in Singapore, it continued to be Hyundai’s honest-to-goodness runabout, but with significant improvements in styling, equipment and refinement.
2011-NOW
4th generation ACCENT
The entry-level saloon looks like a downsized Elantra (fifth generation) and offers upsized value for money, with positive attributes that include a seamless drivetrain, a well-built cabin and a comfortable ride.
The first Excel’s tag line was “Everything you need, nothing you don’t.”
The original Accent was a confident step in the right direction.
Mileposts, Milestones, Motoring Moments
Komoco and Hyundai have established their own landmarks in the transport landscape of Singapore.
1986
Komoco Auto started its engines and delivered its very first car in August, an Excel GL hatchback with the registration number SBC5710. In the month before, MRTC took delivery of its first two Mass Rapid Transit trains at Bishan Depot.
1988
Hyundai named Komoco its World Distributor of the Year, ahead of 66 other distributors worldwide. It was a feather in the cap for the company, which had increased its sales from 1500 units in 1987 to over 4200 in 1988, with a market share of 19 percent. In the same year, the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) was completed, with its Alexandra exit leading to the Leng Kee motor belt.
1994
The bikers’ attire arrived first, with the 1993 opening of the Harley MotorClothes store at Ngee Ann City. Then the burly Harleys roared into Leng Kee in 1994, when Komoco’s new Harley-Davidson dealership opened for business and imported its first batch of 48 motorcycles. Probation plate legislation also came into effect, with the P-plate’s orange triangle against a yellow background intended to make new licence holders less vulnerable to road accidents.
1996
Komoco’s American adventure accelerated with Chrysler Jeep, best known for their family-friendly minivans and rugged SUVs. In the same year, the Land Transport Authority upgraded its Onemotoring portal to become a one-stop online gateway to all information and services related to motoring, traffic and regulations. In 2009, the 13-year-old Chrysler Jeep distributor was given importer status and put the finishing touches to a shiny new showroom at 1 Chang Charn Road.
1998
Komoco’s new fourstorey headquarters at 253 Alexandra Road opened for business. New, too, were the first two gantries of the newfangled Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system — one on the East Coast Parkway near Fort Road and the other on the Ophir Road up-ramp to the same busy expressway.
2004
After trailing Nissan on the local sales charts for two years, Hyundai achieved a breakthrough when it became the island’s No. 2 car make in 2004 and Komoco recorded its best-ever sales year in Singapore, with 13,888 units sold — an average of 38 per day.
With 10 different models in its lineup from the Getz hatchback to the Trajet MPV, all competitively priced and nicely equipped, the Korean brand was on a roll. The pool of potential car buyers grew, too, thanks to the start of lessons for Class 3A, the “automatic” driving licence.
2007
ComfortDelGro’s comfortable new Sonata taxis started plying the streets of Singapore. The first batch of 700 cabs, compliant with Euro 4 emission standards, replaced obsolete Toyota Crowns and Nissan Cedric relics, and went on to log over a million kilometres each. Today, the Sonata taxi population exceeds 10,000.
Another major transport upgrade was Singapore Airlines’ first Airbus A380, whose maiden commercial flight took off for Sydney in October that year.
2008
The inaugural Formula One Singapore Grand Prix, the premier motorsport series’ first F1 night race, transformed the Lion City into Asia’s moonlit “Monaco GP” and turned September into a special month on the country’s calendar of world-class events.
2009
The Avante was Singapore’s best-selling new car, with 5225 units registered, well ahead of the Toyota Corolla Altis (4259 units) and the Kia Cerato Forte (3148 units). And against the backdrop of the second F1 Singapore Grand Prix, Ital Auto pranced into Leng Kee as the newly appointed franchisee for Ferrari, the Maranello crown jewel of supercar marques.
In other motoring-related news, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced enhancements to the Off-Peak Car scheme, making it more convenient for “red plate” drivers.
2011
Having put over 133,000 Hyundai vehicles on the road since 1986, Komoco celebrated its 25th birthday with pride and happy wishes for the future. The LTA provided a glimpse into that future with its launch of a 30-month testbed for electric vehicles.
2014
The debut of Hyundai’s flagship, Genesis, marked the automaker’s most serious attempt to go upmarket without forgoing the value-for-money ethos that has taken the brand this far. Taking motorists farther and making their journeys smoother was Singapore’s first undersea road, the Marina Coastal Expressway.
