Perspective

This is a brand that has managed to gain 39% market share during the worst automotive climate in decades, remained profitable, and drove tremendous awareness and consideration of its brand. At the same time its primary competitors are mired in substantial losses in revenues, market share, and brand consideration.

The ability to maintain this success will now appear to be Hyundai's largest challenge. Staying the course can be difficult when confidence is high. Missteps most commonly occur for a rising car company due to overconfidence. Oftentimes success is blinding.

Upstart manufacturers have been plagued by overconfidence over the history of the industry. A prime example is the Volkswagen brand. It delivered on the promise of reliable, affordable, fun-to-drive vehicles for many years in America. But in 2002, corporate ego got the best of VW when it introduced the Phaeton, a high-end luxury sedan with a $70,000-$80,000 price tag attached to it. It failed miserably in the market and took resources away from the core products that were highly successful for VW. VW has since learned from its mistakes and recovered nicely, but it paid handsomely for the mishap that was Phaeton.

In a similar effort that could also be destined for futility, Hyundai will bring the Equus to market in 2011. (Meaning they'll begin promotion in 2010). Equus is a high-end luxury sedan with a $50,000-plus price tag, representing a complete departure from the product suite that Hyundai possesses today. The Equus is meant to be in direct competition with Lexus LS, Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series. This appears to be a huge leap of faith considering the average price of a Hyundai is below $30,000, and the average price of a Lexus, BMW or Mercedes is north of $60,000. It all sounds very Phaeton-esque. And while VW recovered from the Phaeton debacle, one can ill-afford billion-dollar mistakes in a 10-million unit auto economy.

Frequently when car companies, or any company, find a formula for success, they begin to believe that the formula is impenetrable. Instead of building on the momentum they've created, the Equus could ultimately become a distraction for Hyundai and take away from the positive developments of 2009. Can the Equus ultimately deliver on stealing market share away from dominant luxury brands and avoid the fateful path of Phaeton? We'll find out in the next 12-24 months.

Hyundai is rolling while most others are at a standstill. Hyundai also has a very bright future ahead if they are able to stay the course — building quality vehicles and continuing to market successful programs that are consumer-friendly. The hope from this fan of smart automotive marketing is that overconfidence won't blight the path ahead for Hyundai.