Hyundai drives past Toyota

In the category of things that slipped under my radar screen over the past holiday comes this news from Europe: Hyundai and its sister company Kia have outsold Toyota/Lexus/Scion in Europe.

I, for one, am not surprised. Here's why.

Hyundai (and Kia) are building a fan base and gaining market share the same way Toyota did and the same way VW did it before that. They have been building cars that offer the features required in each category with styling that sets them apart from the category leaders, for a price that's significantly less expensive.

It's a simple formula, one that has worked over and over again in category after category. In 2009, Vizio passed Sony for the lead in LCD television sales. It's how Dell overtook IBM in the PC market.

New competitors come into an established market space, offer products with acceptable features and quality, lower prices, and one significant differentiator.

In Toyota's case that differentiator was quality. By failing to maintain that perception with a slew of recalls and unfavorable news stories about product issues, they opened up the door for Hyundai.

How long will it be before Hyundai becomes fat and happy, opening the door for another upstart to change the dynamics of the auto industry again?