You’ve seen their cars, you might even drive one. Yet you’ve probably never considered using a Hyundai mobile phone. But the company is entering the UK mobile phone market, and plans to have between 3-5% of it within five years – some high ambitions for an already crowded field.
The company’s plan is to initially use the Advantage Cellular hub. Advantage is a company that spans the entire telecoms chain, so Hyundai can be up and running quickly.
But this venture is actually just an extension of Hyundai Mobile Europe. That’s already operating in Germany, Hungary and Bulgaria and has sales partnerships running in Poland, Italy and France, with more planned for several other countries this year. So far it’s offering 15 different handsets.
Roland Prinz, director of the new Hyundai Mobile UK, said:
"The central location and ability to get set up immediately was the reason for selecting Advantage Cellular, and we can use the facilities here to provide physical stock within the territory, rather than suffer delays shipping from the Far East to our UK customers."
"We are now eager to meet with networks and distributors that have direct routes to market, especially those focusing on the retail sector."
Hyundai plans to offer around 15 handsets a year in the UK, with the first arriving in the first half of 2009.
