Auto brand equity: To each his own.

Economic Times (New Delhi, India), April, 2005

Byline: Aarti Razdan

Apr. 20--For a brand that's built itself as a leader in the auto market, the impending entry of a player using its brand name in a totally unrelated category might be a cause for concern.

But at Hyundai Motors, it was the wrong concern: what it had to deal with was non-stop enquiries about the Hyundai Electronics brand that launched recently.

They both have the same Korean parent, the Hyundai Corporation, but are two entirely independent businesses in India, as indeed they are internationally. Interestingly, Hyundai Electronics is the second Korean company to take on a new category with an already established brand name -- the FMCG market saw the entry of LG Care last year.

At Hyundai Electronics, chief operating...