Randy Parker, the CEO of Hyundai Motor America, joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, a weekly syndicated multicultural automotive program, for a one-on-one conversation.
Last summer, Parker, who is a seasoned executive in the industry, earned the keys to drive the fifth largest automotive brand in the United States based on sales volume, after decades of grinding his way to the top.
While many automakers are still struggling in term of sales to return to pre pandemic levels, that hasn't been the case for the Hyundai brand. In 2019, Hyundai ended the year at 688,771 units, which was the last full year of normalcy for the world, before the disruption of the pandemic.
Almost three years later, under Parker's leadership, the brand's sales soared despite inventory issues to 724,265 in 2022, taking market share away from other brands, as the entire industry sales shrunk. Prior to being promoted to the CEO seat, the collegiate athlete was the brand's first Black vice president of sales.
Black Executives In The Driver's Seat
Besides Hyundai elevating its key Black talent, moving Parker to a key position post George Floyd, Infiniti and Lexus appointed Black men to lead their brands too.
And as it relates to EV start-ups, two Black men are wearing the CEO hats, at the Ohio-based Lordstown Motors and the Georgia-based Derek Automotive, which was birthed by a Black man.
Conversely, 'The Detroit Three,' General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which was formerly the Chrysler Corporation, have lost ground in terms of Black talent in the C-suites, leading automotive brands. General Motors, who was once a diversity leader in the industry with the Black community, appointed Roy Roberts as the first Black executive in the nineties to run Pontiac-GMC, a major automotive brand. During Roberts era, he went on to become the highest-ranking Black executive in the industry.
Ironically, while Black men have made progress inching closer to the CEO seat, running a major automotive manufacturer, that's hasn't been the case with Black women despite the group registering a slightly larger share of new vehicles in their name in comparison to Black men, when based on traditional households, according to the latest data provided by S & P Global Mobility.
With that said, in both a radio and an extended video conversation, Hyundai Motor America's first CEO joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com for a wide-ranging discussion.
We'll address everything from vehicle affordability, as the average price of a new-vehicle transaction price is expected to top a whopping $50,000, to the TikTok hot wiring thefts impacting older model Hyundais to the major investment the Korean automaker has made in manufacturing EVs in the United States.
Furthermore, we also talk about the future of gasoline-powered vehicles to Hyundai's stance on child labor when working with their suppliers to what it means to be a Black CEO for Hyundai.
How To Tune In And/Or View The Radio Conversation
Hyundai Motor America CEO conversation airs on SiriusXM and our radio affiliates: Saturday, May 20 thru Thursday, May 25!
To tune in and/or peruse the radio schedule, click here.
Auto Trends with JeffCars.com's TV Conversation with Randy Parker
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1 comment:
Great article!
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