Hyundai Motor, which has sustained strong sales in North America, has tapped Mark Cato to serve as the new vice president overseeing dealer network development and management in the U.S. market.
Hyundai Motor (005380) said through its U.S. unit on the 25th that it recently promoted Cato, who had served as executive director of dealer development, to vice president of dealer network development. Cato will oversee the development of the North American dealer network for the Hyundai and Genesis brands and work to expand the company's sales footprint.
Cato has built a career spanning more than three decades in the auto industry. He joined Nissan's U.S. operations in 1992, where he handled dealer network duties, before moving to Hyundai Motor in 2011. He has delivered results across a range of areas, including retail sales process improvements, sales satisfaction, market representation, and strategy and dealer development.
Randy Parker, chief executive of Hyundai Motor's North America regional headquarters, said Cato "has played a critical role in building the strongest dealer network in the industry for Hyundai and Genesis and in continually advancing relationships with the retail sector." Parker added that Cato is "the right person to ensure the company's dealer network remains competitive going forward."
Hyundai Motor continues to grow in the United States, its largest market. The automaker sold 984,017 vehicles there last year, including Genesis models, setting a record for a third consecutive year, and posted a first-half record of 489,656 units this year.
On the strength of those results, Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating its U.S. investment. The group will spend $26 billion in the United States through 2028 to expand vehicle production as well as steel and parts supply chains and to secure a foundation in future technologies. The group currently has annual capacity of about 1 million vehicles in the United States, through the Hyundai plant in Alabama (360,000 units a year), the Kia plant in Georgia (340,000 units a year) and Metaplant America (HMGMA, 300,000 units a year), and plans to raise that to 1.2 million.