{"id":164228,"date":"2025-07-28T14:59:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T14:59:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T14:59:23","slug":"hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: ‘This should be on every car buyer’s radar’"},"content":{"rendered":"
Have you noticed? Hyundai is doing remarkably well in the Netherlands. Where in the 90s the brand was one of the somewhat well-behaved wallflowers of car land, the modern models like the Ioniq 5, Kona, Inster and Tucson stand out more than ever. They are confidently drawn cars with a pared-down design, as well as models that are superbly up-to-date in terms of technology. And yet the brand’s new European President and CEO, the French-born Xavier Martinet, is not yet satisfied. <\/p>\n
The goal of the former sales director, Martinet (b. 1975) previously worked at Renault and Nissan, among others, is very clear. He wants to grow his car brand into the top three in sales statistics. “We are already competing in that top three worldwide, but in Europe – and certainly in the Netherlands – we are still missing opportunities,” he says candidly during our extended conversation. <\/p>\n
\n
“The most important question: how are we going to make Dutch people choose Hyundai en masse?”<\/p>\n
Xavier Martinet, Hyundai’s new European President and CEO, aims to grow his brand significantly <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There is indeed room for growth: in our country, Hyundai is invariably in the top ten best-selling car brands, but in the first half of 2025, the brand remained stuck at spot 8. And that while sister brand Kia regularly appears in the books as the best-selling brand. What is going on there, and perhaps more importantly, how will Martinet ensure that the Dutch will choose Hyundai en masse? <\/p>\nHyundai CEO Xavier Martinet in conversation with Roland Tameling of AutoRAI.nl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
More attractive to business drivers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Asked about the lessons Hyundai can learn from its sister brand, Martinet reveals that he is analytically strong. “We really need to pull ourselves up by their way of working. For example, in the business market, where we are still too often invisible. Think of leasing companies, fleet managers and entrepreneurs; there we need to be more consistent in our offering and clearer in our message.” <\/p>\n
That message, first of all, is that Hyundai is going to greatly expand the range of business-interesting models. Currently, you can already see this through the fiscally attractive Business Editions created by the Dutch importer, based on the Kona, Ioniq 5 and recently updated Ioniq 6. The brand is also coming out with a load of new models over the next few years, with an all-electric SUV model in the compact B segment expected to attract many buyers. That car will soon be built in Turkey, should become very affordable and see the light of day later in 2025. <\/p>\nOutspoken and successful: the Tucson is one of the brand’s most popular models<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Entrepreneurs beware: Hyundai will make commercial vehicles again<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Also particularly interesting for the business market: Martinet reveals that Hyundai will return in the future to the segment of so-called LCVs, or Light Commercial Vehicles<\/em>. In other words, commercial vehicles or vans, but a lot more modern than the time-honored H100 and H200. There is a good chance that in the longer term commercial vehicles of all sizes will come on the market that make use of the technology that the Hyundai Motor Corporation already uses for the Kia PV5, among others. <\/p>\n
The new top executive is still coy about details, but admits that a plan is being worked on: “We will only compete with a well-thought-out lineup, with good prices, solid coverage and excellent services that suit the customers of these types of vehicles. The commercial vehicle market is demanding and we are able to deliver, but the exact details of our approach will follow. Know that we are working on it.”<\/p>\nCutting-edge technology in a striking jacket: the updated Hyundai Ioniq 6<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
‘Tech-minded’ Netherlands as growth market<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Interestingly, Martinet explicitly mentions the Netherlands as a growth market for Hyundai. And that’s no coincidence. “The Dutch are critical, tech-minded and very consciously choose high-quality, sustainable products. I think that fits Hyundai’s latest models perfectly, only we need to tell that story better. Especially about the quality you get when you choose a Hyundai.” <\/p>\n
Martinet is visibly driven. He sits up straighter and cites a study on the health of batteries in electric cars three years and older. “This measured the so-called state of health<\/em>, or the extent to which the capacity of a battery pack deteriorated during use. We were by far the best, along with Kia. Few car buyers know that but it’s still useful to know when you put your trust in a car brand for years.” <\/p>\n
\n
“We were the best by far. That’s the kind of thing you want to know when you as a car buyer put your trust in a car brand.” <\/p>\n
Hyundai chief executive Xavier Martinet on battery reliability in Hyundai electric models <\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It proves once again, the top executive would like to point out, the extent to which Hyundai is ahead technologically, including, for example, in comparison with emerging brands from China. “We not only want to build cars that look good and contain a lot of modern technology, but that perform at top level for years. The feedback from our customers and leasing companies about our electric cars is downright positive, and I’m immensely proud of that.” <\/p>\nHyundai CEO Xavier Martinet in conversation with Roland Tameling of AutoRAI.nl<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
‘The dealer dead? With us they are alive and well!’ <\/strong><\/h2>\n
At a time when more and more car brands are switching to the so-called “agency model” – where you buy your car online, for example, and the dealer is primarily a delivery and service point – Hyundai is deliberately staying true to the classic dealership.<\/p>\n
Xavier Martinet calls that good news for us car buyers. “Cars are becoming more and more complex. Customers need explanations, advice, maintenance, and above all: a fixed point of contact. Our dealers know their customers, invest with their own money and think locally. That model is robust and future-proof, which is why we are not abandoning it. In the end, it’s all about one thing: you, the customer, and you need to feel heard, helped and taken seriously.” <\/p>\n
\n
“Not everyone likes our design language, and that’s just fine… <\/p>\n
Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet on the power of striking design<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
By the way, anyone who thinks that the current designs of Hyundai models are too pronounced for the down-to-earth Dutch people is wrong, according to the top man. “Design plays a key role in our success, of that I am convinced. Not everyone likes our design language, and that’s okay. We don’t want to blend in with the masses. If you choose a car with your heart as well as your head, with us you color outside the lines in a positive way.” <\/p>\n
That distinct style is paying off worldwide, Martinet emphasizes. “In segments where we offer models like the Tucson, we are doing better than many established names Europe-wide. That’s why I really think Hyundai is no longer the brand you choose by accident, or because the car happened to be the cheapest. It’s the brand you choose consciously because the whole picture is right.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Have you noticed? Hyundai is doing remarkably well in the Netherlands. Whereas the brand was among the somewhat well-behaved wallflowers…","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":156617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[93,105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-news","category-interview-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you noticed? Hyundai is doing remarkably well in the Netherlands. Whereas the brand was among the somewhat well-behaved wallflowers of car land in the 1990s, modern models like the Ioniq 5, Kona, Inster and Tucson stand out more than ever. They are confidently drawn cars with edgy design, but also [...]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"All cars news\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: ‘This should be on every car buyer’s radar’\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1182,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"car news\",\"Interview\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/07\\\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: ‚This should be on every car buyer’s radar‘\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"All cars news\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"All cars news\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/CMYK-AllCarNews_LANDSCAPE_300px-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/02\\\/CMYK-AllCarNews_LANDSCAPE_300px-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"All cars news\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/all-car-news.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news","og_description":"Have you noticed? Hyundai is doing remarkably well in the Netherlands. Whereas the brand was among the somewhat well-behaved wallflowers of car land in the 1990s, modern models like the Ioniq 5, Kona, Inster and Tucson stand out more than ever. They are confidently drawn cars with edgy design, but also [...]","og_url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/","og_site_name":"All cars news","article_published_time":"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/"},"author":{"name":"","@id":""},"headline":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: ‘This should be on every car buyer’s radar’","datePublished":"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/"},"wordCount":1182,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg","articleSection":["car news","Interview"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/","url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/","name":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: 'This should be on every car buyer's radar' - All cars news","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-07-28T14:59:23+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Xavier-Martinet-Hyundai-Ioniq-6N.jpeg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/hyundai-ceo-xavier-martinet-this-should-be-on-every-car-buyers-radar\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hyundai CEO Xavier Martinet: ‚This should be on every car buyer’s radar‘"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/","name":"All cars news","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#organization","name":"All cars news","url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CMYK-AllCarNews_LANDSCAPE_300px-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CMYK-AllCarNews_LANDSCAPE_300px-1.png","width":300,"height":100,"caption":"All cars news"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164228\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/all-car-news.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autorai.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/06_30_2025_RPP_HyundaiTalksEuro_0012-1140x760.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autorai.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Tucson--1140x641.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autorai.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/hyundai_ioniq_6_n_line-1140x641.jpeg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/autorai.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/06_30_2025_RPP_HyundaiTalksEuro_0006-1140x760.jpg\")