Hyundai’s 2024 CEO Investor Day brought an announcement: The N Vision 74 high-performance car will go into production by 2030. Boom. The car the internet wants is going into production, and if you’ve expressed that you want to see it in showrooms, you can pat yourself on the back. I’m not saying you alone made that happen, but your excitement probably helped. Once Hyundai builds the N Vision 74, however, it faces its toughest challenge yet – will Hyundai dealers be able to sell a supercar?
Let’s assume the N Vision 74 goes into production with the same hydrogen hybrid powertrain as the concept. It will be complex and expensive, offer a truly unique performance experience, and appeal to customers who might otherwise never step foot in a Hyundai showroom – the kind of people who have previously been attracted to fast Corvettes, Porsche 911s, and even Audi R8s.
In theory, the N Vision 74 should be the kind of car that sells on demand alone. It’s just such a desirable shape that you’d think all the dealer would have to do to sell examples would be to meet the MSRP, produce a contract, and be done with it, right? If you’re already chuckling, you know what I mean. Look, Hyundai’s American dealer network doesn’t have the best reputation in the world, and Hyundai is going to entrust it with a pretty important job.
Let’s start with the markups. At the beginning of the year Car blog reported a $20,000 markup on a Hyundai Ioniq 5 N sold at a dealership in California, and that’s not the only case. A quick online surf revealed that a Hyundai dealer in Ohio is offering an Ioniq 5 N at a $14,995 markup over MSRP, another Hyundai dealer in California is offering an Ioniq 5 N at a $15,000 markup over MSRP, another Hyundai dealer in Arizona is offering an Ioniq 5 N at a $5,649 markup over MSRP, and the list goes on. If a wide range of dealers can’t be trusted to sell a cheaper, more mass-market car at MSRP, would you trust them to meet MSRP on a high-end car like the N Vision 74?
OK, let’s assume people are willing to pay a premium for the latest Hyundai. That’s not entirely believable, but OK. The slog continues: Hyundai’s dealership service experience ranks 16th out of 18 mainstream brands in JD Power’s 2024 Dealer Customer Service Index survey, with only Volkswagen and Ram keeping it from finishing last. That’s not a good position, especially when trying to court upscale customers. Remember, Lexus built much of its reputation on excellent customer service and continues to thrive on it.
Dealers often give the first impression of a manufacturer, even if they are just middlemen. Some dealers do this brilliantly, others still have a long way to go. By the looks of things, Hyundai’s American dealer network has a long way to go before it seems ready to sell what is considered a supercar. Let’s hope progress has been made by the time the N Vision 74 is launched, because even if the shape of the car could sell itself, some dealers will do their best to scare off potential customers.
(Photo credit: Thomas Hundal, Hyundai)
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