LOS ANGELES — Hyundai Motor America has chosen Randy Parker, a Nissan executive and former chief of Infiniti sales in the U.S., as vice president of national sales.
Parker most recently was division vice president for Nissan's light commercial vehicle sales based in Yokohama — a post he held for just over a year. Before that, he was vice president of Infiniti North America from February 2015 to April 2018.
His move to Hyundai, effective Thursday, comes on the heels of Hyundai's appointment of former Nissan executive Jose Munoz as global COO and CEO of Hyundai Motor America last month. Munoz was chairman of Nissan North America from 2016 to 2018.
Parker will be responsible for sales and distribution of Hyundai vehicles in the U.S., including sales strategies and dealer relations, Hyundai said. He'll also oversee the brand's seven sales regions and report to Hyundai America COO Brian Smith.
"Randy has built a career on leading teams, working collaboratively with retailers and implementing sales strategies that deliver profitable growth," Smith said in a statement.
After Parker took over Infiniti's North American operations, the brand's U.S. sales rose to 153,415 in 2017, up 15 percent compared with 2015. Volume dipped to 149,820 the year after.
The last executive to formally hold the vice president of national sales post at Hyundai Motor America was Derrick Hatami, who left in June 2017. At the time, Hyundai said it would begin a search for Hatami's successor immediately. In the interim, Sam Brnovich, southern regional general manager, would "support the overall sales organization."
The Hyundai brand's U.S. sales in 2017 fell 13 percent to 664,961 units, and they were relatively flat the following year. However, they are up 1.7 percent through the first four months of this year. In addition, new product in the crucial crossover segment is in the pipeline. The company will bring the Palisade large crossover to market this summer. Meanwhile the subcompact Venue crossover arrives this fall.
