Hyundai's New Zealand dealers rallied together in Auckland on Friday for their annual dealer awards ceremony, recognising their peers and also to get their first glimpse of the all-new ix35 and Hyundai's new Santa Fe, currently one of the brands most successful models.

The night was spent celebrating a year of growth for the brand despite the grueling market conditions. In latest results Hyundai's market share for the October passenger market saw it achieve 6.69 percent of total passenger sales and also sees it on 8.29 percent YTD. Hyundai's total market share is at 7.02 percent YTD for 2009 selling 4162 vehicles.

One of the big attractions of the event was the presence of the new Santa Fe model. Since its launch in June 2000, just over 2million units have been sold globally and the model has gained steady popularity as a family wagon combining driver comfort and the safety of an SUV while providing great space for families and their gear.

Dealers are excited about the arrival of the new look Santa Fe, particularly with its new R-Series diesel engine which results in the Santa Fe diesel model becoming 10% more fuel efficient yet 32% more powerful.

Just last week this same model outperformed the competition to win the SUV class of the transcontinental Global Green Challenge in Australia, achieving an outstanding fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km in a north to south traverse of the country covering 3,147 Kilometres in up to 40 degrees of heat. The big winner on the night though was Auckland dealer Winger Hyundai based in Greenlane, which picked up no fewer than five awards including the prestigious 'Dealer of the Year'.

Winger dealer principal Grant Vincent said that it had certainly been a tough year for the industry but Winger had been buoyed up by having a prominent brand like Hyundai.

"To get this recognition from our peers is a great way to round out the year; our dealership has moved from strength to strength since we took Hyundai on board and it's great having such a strong performing brand- the whole Winger team is rapt."

Other winners included Gary Cockram Hyundai winning Sales Dealer of the Year, John Bradley Hyundai winning Parts Dealer of the Year, North Harbour Hyundai winning Service Dealer of the Year and Hammond Motors winning Parts & Service Agent of the Year.

Vincent said that, like all the other dealers, he was very excited about the imminent arrival of the new Santa Fe.

"The Santa Fe has had a lot of hype in recent months and it's very exciting to get our first look at it here in New Zealand. Customer interest has been high so we can't wait to get them into the showroom."

Dealers were also treated to a sneak peek of the very first ix35 in the country - the car that stole the show at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the ix35 will be available for sale early next year.

The ix35 is heralded as the new version of the popular Tucson model. Designed in Europe and to be built in Europe, it is the first production vehicle expressing Hyundai's new "fluidic sculpture" design language.

Hyundai Motors New Zealand Executive Director Philip Eustace says the new ix35 is a very exciting Europe-focused model with great design and instant consumer appeal - it can be expected to arrive here early next year.

"We expect to capitalise on the growing market demand for compact family wagons with the introduction of the new ix35. The ix35 will join the revised Santa Fe in a new-look range of SUVs, supporting the significant growth in market share we have achieved this year," says Eustace.