[Reporter’s Notebook] The Avante Disappears from Beijing... Can Hyundai Make a Comeback?

"Ten years ago, every taxi was an Avante. Now, it's hard to find even a single one."

These words from a local guide on the drive from Beijing Airport to the city center were no exaggeration. The roads outside the car window were filled with electric vehicles from BYD, Geely, and other unfamiliar Chinese brands. Spotting a Hyundai emblem among them was harder than expected. When I finally found a Santa Fe in the auto show parking lot, it felt more like relief than simple delight.

Just a decade ago, Hyundai Motor Company recorded annual sales of over 1 million units in China and, as recently as 2016, boasted double-digit market share, ranking alongside Volkswagen and General Motors (GM) as one of the "Big 3." However, after the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) crisis, its sales plummeted to below 200,000 units. Hyundai also struggled to keep pace with the electrification speeds of local brands such as BYD and Geely Group.

This is why this year's Beijing Motor Show holds particular significance for Hyundai. It served as the stage for the company to officially declare its intent for a comeback, spearheaded by the China-specific model, the Ioniq V. The secret to Hyundai's dominance in Beijing once lay in thorough localization. Ahead of the Beijing Olympics, China needed to replace its old, heavily polluting Volkswagen taxis, and Hyundai seized the opportunity. The Avante, customized for the Chinese taxi market, once achieved a market share exceeding 80%.

Eighteen years later, Hyundai's new strategy is, once again, localization. For autonomous driving, it partnered with China's Momenta to realize Level 2+ autonomy, and chose CATL for its batteries. Even the color had meaning. When the stage lights came on, the Ioniq V appeared in a golden hue-the color most cherished by Chinese people as a symbol of wealth and luck. Standing before the vehicle, Hyundai Motor Company President Jose Munoz unveiled the ambitious slogan: "In China, For China, Towards the World."

The company's future strategy also inspires anticipation. China is the world's most fiercely competitive market for autonomous driving and software-defined vehicles (SDVs), often called "rolling computers." Hyundai plans to launch its own SDV platform by 2028 and equip vehicles with Level 3 autonomous driving, allowing cars to operate on their own without driver intervention. For Chinese drivers-who often travel long distances-Hyundai also intends to introduce an extended-range electric vehicle (EREV), which uses an engine to generate electricity and increase the driving range when the battery runs low.

However, the competition in China's automotive industry has grown far more intense than it was during the Beijing Olympics. Unless Hyundai demonstrates overwhelming competitiveness in software-beyond simply building quality hardware-its goal of selling 500,000 units by 2030 risks remaining nothing more than an empty slogan. I hope that, on my next business trip, spotting a Hyundai emblem will no longer be a "pleasant coincidence," but rather, "a natural part of the landscape."

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