Welcome to the Daily 5 report for Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Hyundai Motor America CEO Randy Parker sat down for a Daily Drive podcast interview with Senior Editor Jerry Hirsch at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show. The automaker introduced the Crater Concept, which shows a possible future direction for Hyundai in the increasingly competitive off-roader market.
Parker discussed the Crater and a broad range of other topics. Here are excerpts.
On the Crater Concept: "I think it demonstrates the design direction that we could potentially go in. The market is headed in that direction. Customers want more ruggedness, off-road capability, toughness. We've had some success with our Santa Cruz. ... We feel pretty confident that we can play very well in that space. And if you look at a lot of our products today, like the adventure-ready Palisade XRT Pro as an example, will give you a good sense of where the brand may be headed in the future."
On concerns about transaction prices: "I know that there are a lot of naysayers that are out there about car prices going up and transaction prices are getting higher. But the market is still very, very strong. From the days that I was a district sales manager, the market, with the exception of COVID, never dropped below 16 million. And so we're seeing that, you know, happen again this year as well. I can't predict the future. But what I can tell you is that from a Hyundai perspective, no matter which direction the customer wants to pivot in, from a car or SUV or trim package perspective, we can meet them there. I think that's one of the things that gives me a lot of confidence and why I do sleep well at night is because we do have an array of products that our customers can afford."
On Hyundai's investment in EVs: "We're going to keep our foot on the accelerator. We're going to continue to meet the customer on their journey to electrification. If the customer wants an internal combustion engine, we've got that. You want to move into a hybrid, we've got that. You're in a hybrid, you want to now transition into an EV, we have that as well. And so it's going to be a big part of our strategy going forward. I think that the future is bright when it comes to electrification."
For more, including Parker's outlook for 2026, listen to the podcast here.
That's it for the Daily 5 for this week. To our U.S. audience, Happy Thanksgiving! If you want to view this story on your browser, click here.
— Omari Gardner, director of content and commentary
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