Hyundai Motor America Inc. in Fountain Valley is looking for a new marketing chief after former Vice President of Marketing Steve Shannon left in mid-November.
“Steve has achieved a number of key accomplishments in his leadership of the company’s marketing efforts over the last three years,” Hyundai Chief Executive Dave Zuchowski said in a statement to Automotive News. “We appreciate his significant contributions to the growth of HMA.”
Shannon joined Hyundai in 2011 during John Krafcik’s tenure as chief executive. Krafcik stepped down last December.
Shannon served in various roles at General Motors Co. during his 25-years there: He was executive director for marketing and product planning for the Cadillac division; general manager at then-subsidiary Saab Automobile USA; general manager for the Buick brand; executive director for marketing services for the General Motors brand and GM Europe; and marketing director for Saturn.
Hyundai said Shannon left to “pursue other opportunities.”
Automotive News reported that the company had been questioning his marketing plan in recent months amid cooling U.S. sales.
Hyundai sold 50,081 vehicles in October, a 6.5% decrease from same period last year, according to New Jersey-based market researcher Autodata Corp. The automaker’s 10-month sales were up 1% over year-ago numbers to 607,539 cars and light trucks. U.S. new-vehicle sales rose 6.1% in October to about 1.28 million.
