Hyundai’s new CEO Don Romano has made it clear: fleet is back on the agenda for the Korean carmaker in Australia. After years of retreat from the B2B market, Hyundai plans to rebuild its presence with dedicated staff, financial tools, and a product strategy designed to meet the needs of fleet buyers.
Speaking in his first local press briefing since taking the helm, Romano acknowledged the brand’s recent decline—from over 100,000 units in its peak year to around 73,000 last year—and set a clear goal to “stop the decline” and rebuild sustainably. Fleet will be a core part of that strategy.
“Fleet has always played an important part in Hyundai’s strategy. It has formed around 20 percent of our business over the last five years and will continue to do so,” Romano said.
Dedicated Teams and Financing Tools
To support the renewed focus on fleet, Hyundai has rebuilt its internal capability.
“We rebuilt our fleet teams, placing Fleet Managers in every region and a full team in our national office, helping us continue our close engagement with all Fleet Managers and Procurement teams,” Romano explained.
There are now nine dedicated fleet staff nationally, with support flowing from the recently launched Hyundai Capital Australia, the brand’s captive finance company. This offers flexible products such as guaranteed future value (GFV) and novated leasing options—critical tools for fleets and salary packaging providers.
“In conjunction with Hyundai Capital, we’re looking at long-term novated leasing, guaranteed future value programmes and servicing programmes to enable our fleet customers to have a complete understanding of whole-of-life costs,” he added.
This is a marked shift from previous management’s approach, which prioritised retail and often viewed fleet—especially daily rental—as costly and unprofitable.
“We see a big difference in passenger and commercial fleet vs daily rental fleet,” Romano clarified. “We believe we are adequately structured and staffed presently, and we have competitive pricing and financial offers to help grow this business.”
A Ute on the Horizon?
In one of the most telling moments of his address, Romano acknowledged Hyundai’s glaring gap in the local product line-up: no ute.
“We’re the only major brand without a ute,” he said. “My goal in three years is to get something, get a production plan in place, get the dealer share of mind up.”
Hyundai is actively exploring options, including a potential body-on-frame model from its Korean factory—possibly diesel-powered—and longer-term solutions that may be supported through a global partnership with GM.
“Step one, Tasman diesel. Okay, change the engine. Okay. Now let’s look at what else we have available from GM. What’s the timing on that?”
While timing remains uncertain, Romano is adamant that his legacy in Australia will include launching a ute or having a locked-in production plan.
A Pragmatic, Local-Focused Strategy
Romano brings global experience to the role, having run Hyundai Canada for 11 years. But his mission in Australia is clear: localise the business and empower Australians to lead it.
“My goal is to build an infrastructure that’s supported by Aussies, by people that are local, that understand the business,” he said.
He also acknowledged the complexity of the Australian market—with more than 70 brands competing—and sees it as a valuable test case for Hyundai globally.
“We’re looking at Australia globally as kind of an incubator for what happens when 70 different brands converge on one country, and how do we handle ourselves?”
Looking Forward, Not Back
While Hyundai may have been missing in fleet conversations for the better part of a decade, Romano’s appointment—and his no-nonsense style—indicates a reset.
“We have all the right people in place, and now they have the resources to address those needs and grow our fleet business,” he said.
With renewed energy, better alignment between product, finance, and customer support, Hyundai appears ready to re-enter the fleet conversation—this time with a more deliberate and customer-focused approach.
Fleet Managers, take note: Hyundai is planning its comeback.
