• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.265-274
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• 2011

The objective of this case study is to analyze how effectively KIA K5, which is a leading mid-size car brand, has positioned itself into the mid-size car market. Before KIA launched the K5, Sonata and SM5 were the leading brands in the mid-size car market. They had loyal customers who like their similar images. As many competitors keep launching new brands or new designs into the car industry, Sonata and SM5 were pressured to introduce new versions. But, the YF Sonata and the New SM5 failed to catch up with the new trends in the market. Whilst YF Sonata was perceived as too innovative, the New SM5 was treated as an old car by the target customers of the mid-size car. While the two leading brands struggled to attract customers, KIA K5 found a new market space by identifying and focusing on the lucrative replace and up-grade demand segment and filling the gap between the current product category values and the emerging mid-size car category values. The K5 found the right values that customers need and successfully articulated the values to the customers. This case study illustrates that a successful positioning strategy can be effectively employed to attract customers in the saturated car manufacturing industry. This case can be summarized as the successful positioning strategy of KIA K5 is comprised of four primary pillars: design innovation, market analysis, STP (segmentation, targeting, and positioning), and launch strategy. The KIA K5 case study provides valuable insights and implications for many other companies that are planning to find a proper positioning strategy for their own business.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.137-145
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• 2011

This paper suggests possible rear body shape modifications of a passenger car for the improvement of aerodynamic performance, based on the CFD analysis results. YF SONATA, a passenger car of Hyundai Motors Company, plays a major role as the baseline car in this research. Representatively, three parts(trunk rear edge, side rear edge and rear undercover) are modified in a small range in order for the total outer shapes not to be changed enough so that the modified car is not considered different, compared with the baseline. Specifically, using computational fluid dynamics, aerodynamic drag reduction is accomplished maximally about 11% in this research. Finally, it is proved that although the range of changes of the rear body shapes of a passenger car is very strictly confined, by changing a small range of rear body shapes alone the enhancement of aerodynamic performance of a passenger car can be significantly accomplished.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.26-35
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• 2012

This paper investigates the influence on the aerodynamic performance of a passenger cruising very fast by some specific car body parts such as side mirrors, wheel arches and wheels designed hardly regarding aerodynamics. The magnitude of the contribution of each part is analyzed via on the CFD simulations. YF SONATA, a sedan of Hyundai Motors Company, plays a major role as the baseline car in this research, representing all passenger car. The CFD analysis condition consists of 6 different cases depending on whether each part exists or not. According to the CFD results, there were confirmed that additionally to the body parts' own drag, the car body went through somewhat the consequential increment of the drag by them. Among the 3 parts, wheel is the magnate that not only has the maximal drag but drives the drag of the passenger car to increase most steeply and the next is the side mirror.