Ex-Hyundai CEO Krafcik joins TrueCar board amidst IPO plans

Fri, 04 Apr 2014

Former Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik has had a tumultuous year. Last June, he won the Automotive Executive of the Year from DNV Business Assurance. Then in December, he suddenly announced he was stepping down from his leadership role at the Korean automaker on January 1, with some suggesting it was because the company's sales growth was too far below forecasts. Now, it looks like the exec has landed a new role on the board of directors of online car shopping website TrueCar.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Krafcik's role will be to build relationships with automakers and dealers, but the job at TrueCar won't be full time. Since leaving Hyundai, Krafcik has also been doing consulting work in Silicon Valley. "It's helped me understand what I might want to do, full, full time. I am just taking things at the appropriate pace," he said to the Journal.

Krafcik, who is widely considered one of the industry's top executives, took the helm at Hyundai America in 2008 and led it to an increase in sales and market share. He was with the company when it won North American Car of the Year awards in 2009 and 2012 for the Genesis and Elantra, respectively.

TrueCar is working to change the way cars are sold by interfacing with buyers and dealers to arrive at no-haggle pricing on cars. A new report by Automotive News suggests that the company is on the verge of an Initial Public Offering. TrueCar has filed its intentions with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, with the IPO to be managed by Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. Back in November, values for TrueCar as high as $1.5 billion were floated, but for its IPO, it's seeking $125 million.

By Chris Bruce