From Riding High to Lying Low - Hyundai’s Colombia Case

Abstract

Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean car manufacturing company that started to export their cars into the global market in the 1960s. Some years later they decided to implement a new market penetration strategy, by focusing on geographies such as Europe, India, and Latin-America. Carlos Mattos made a commercial alliance with the South Korean company and founded Hyundai Colombia Automotriz S.A in 1992. Thanks to his upbringing, experience, and business acumen, he managed to position the brand as one of the top five bestselling cars in the Colombian market. The prosperous times for Carlos ended abruptly in 2015 when he received a letter directly from the Hyundai headquarters notifying him of the termination of their 23-year relationship and that the Ecuadorian firm Neocorp would be Hyundai’s new authorized distributor for Colombian market.