There are only two survival techniques in the car market: outstanding quality or low price. If the price of a car is high but the quality similar to its rivals, it doesn't sell. If a poor-quality car costs more than its rivals, it disappears. That is the market rule.
Hyundai’s weapon had been a lower price among cars of similar quality. That advantage has gone because of the strong won, so Hyundais are disappearing from the U.S. market.
But even in the face of that threat, the Hyundai Motor Union striked no fewer than 13 times this year. Only one of these strikes, over a pay rise in July, had anything to do with working conditions at the firm. The remaining 12 walkouts came at the behest of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions over such things as opposing legislation on a labor relations road map, blocking a free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. and opposing legislation on irregular workers.
Will these on going labor issues signal the end of Hyundai?
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