Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Sunday it will launch its luxury G70 midsize sedan this month in a move to strengthen its independent Genesis lineup.
The company expects the addition of the G70 to the Genesis brand will help it establish a stronger presence in the global luxury car market mainly dominated by established German players such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The current lineup is composed of the G90 (or EQ900) flagship sedan and the G80 large sedan.
"With the G70, we are targeting European premium car brands in the midsize luxury car segment," Hwang Chung-yul, senior vice president at the Genesis Project Management Center, said in a media preview event held on Friday.
He picked the BMW 3 series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-class sedan as the G70's rivals.
The G70 sedan will go on sale in the domestic market from Sept. 15 and come in three trims mated with a 2.0 gasoline turbo engine, a 2.2 diesel engine or the top-of-the-line 3.3 petrol turbo, the company said in a statement.
The three models are all equipped with nine air bags, an advanced driver-assistance system and other cutting-edge safety features. The 3.3 turbo model can do zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.7 seconds, faster than Kia's Stinger sports car that can reach it in 4.9 seconds, it said.
The G70 is priced at between 38 million won (US$34,000) and 45 million won.
Other details about the all-new model will be available on the launch date, a company spokesman said.
In global markets, Hyundai said it plans to launch the 2.2 diesel model in Europe within this year and the gasoline-powered versions in the U.S. market in 2018.
"We are also considering launching the diesel-powered G80 sedan which meets the 'stricter' Euro 6 emissions standards," Hwang said.
The carmaker then said it aims to add a fully revamped G80 sedan and the GV80 SUV concept which it unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, to the Genesis brand in the coming years. (Yonhap)