Hyundai Finally Fills U.S. Marketing Position

Hyundai Motor Co. has hired Dean Evans, former marketing chief at Subaru of American Inc., to be its head of marketing in the U.S. He will begin his new job on Aug. 17.

Evans succeeds Steve Shannon, who quit the post last November. Shannon had replaced Chris Perry, who left after eight months to become General Motors Co.'s vice president of U.S. marketing.

Last year Hyundai sales growth in the U.S. slowed to less than 1% in a market that expanded 6%. Sales growth this year is running at about half the pace of the American market overall. Analysts say growth has been hindered by a lack of production capacity and a skimpy lineup of crossovers.

Evans, a big fan of digital marketing, is likely to push Hyundai into more online advertising and non-traditional promotions. His career has included dealership management and marketing work with sales software companies.

His most recent post was CEO of LotLinx Inc., a California-based provider of software used by dealers to match their inventory with likely sales prospects. Evans joined that company seven weeks ago.