#11 2009 · Hyundai · Automotiverisk-transfer
Hyundai told terrified buyers: lose your job, bring the car back
the problem
In the 2009 crash, buyers weren't rejecting the car — they were rejecting the risk
background
January 2009: US auto sales were collapsing toward a 40% annual decline, credit was frozen, and GM and Chrysler were sliding into bankruptcy. Every carmaker's answer was louder discounts — and nobody bought, because the buyer's real fear wasn't the price, it was next month's paycheck.
Hyundai was still a value brand with roughly 3% US share. Assurance was conceived in weeks and announced in a Super Bowl spot: buy the car, and if you lose your income within a year, return it with no penalty and no credit damage.
the move
Hyundai Assurance let anyone who lost their income return the car with no credit damage, announced in a Super Bowl ad while every rival discounted.
the payoff
Market share climbed faster than any automaker while industry sales collapsed; only about 350 cars ever came back. Rivals copied the guarantee within months.
what came after
Hyundai's share rose faster than any automaker in 2009 and the guarantee was copied by Ford and GM within months; the company revived it for the 2020 pandemic. It remains the case-study staple for selling against the fear instead of the price — and for how cheap absorbing a feared risk can be: only about 350 cars ever came back.
references
- [1]How Hyundai sells more when everyone else is selling lessKnowledge at Wharton, 2009knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu
- [2]The definitive oral history of Hyundai's Assurance programDigiday, 2020digiday.com
- [3]Hyundai ends bold plan that eased fear of job lossAutomotive News, 2011autonews.com