South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. launched its
new rear-wheel drive Genesis luxury sedan Tuesday, setting a goal of
selling 55,000 of the vehicles this year.
Hyundai Motor said in a statement it invested 500 billion won
(US$533 million) to develop the car over the past four years. It
sees the Genesis as a competitor to luxury models such as Toyota
Motor Corp.'s Lexus and similar European cars by the likes of BMW AG
and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz.
The car ``symbolizes our determination to enter the highly
competitive arena of luxury cars now dominated by the Europeans,''
Hyundai chairman and CEO Chung Mong-koo said in the statement.
``Genesis will consolidate our position as the leader of the
Korean auto industry and will pave the way forward for our leap into
the global market,'' he said.
Hyundai said it aims to sell 35,000 of the cars in South Korea
and another 20,000 overseas in 2008. It is targeting exports of
45,000 in 2009, the statement said.
Hyundai plans to begin shipping the high-end sedan to the U.S. in
June and also plans to sell it in China during the first half of the
year.
Stephen Ahn, an industry analyst at Woori Investment & Securities
Co., said Hyundai is treading the path of Japanese automakers such
as Toyota, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co., which launched
luxury brands to transcend earlier reputations as solid makers of
quality vehicles.
``I think Genesis could be the next catalyst for brand-value
growth'' for Hyundai, said Ahn, who predicted the company will rack
up sales of about 50,000 for the vehicle this year.
The Genesis has a six-speed automatic transmission and options
for a 3.3-liter, a 3.8-liter or a 4.6-litre engine.
It sells for between 40.5 million won ($43,142) and 52.8 million
won ($56,240) in South Korea.
Depending on engine size and other options, the most expensive
Genesis in the U.S. would cost under $40,000, Oles Gadacz, Hyundai's
chief global spokesman, said last month.
The company announced last week that its global vehicle sales
this year would increase nearly 20 per cent to 3.11 million on
expanded overseas production and stronger marketing.
Hyundai, along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp., is the world's
sixth-largest automaker and has ambitions to crack the top five by
2010.
Both companies have aggressively moved overseas in recent years
by building new plants.
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