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Reuters
SEOUl
South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co launched its first new sedan under the premium Genesis marque in Seoul on Friday, hoping to cement the brand's place in the luxury segment and make up for its lack of a strong SUV line-up.
Starting from $33,000, the sporty four-door offers bang for the buck as it takes on rivals including affiliate Kia Motor's Stinger sedan and BMW's 3 series.
But analysts say the G70 will not solve Hyundai's troubles in the United States, where sports utility vehicles (SUVs) are all the rage and the two previous Genesis-branded sedans failed to take off.
"Look at Cadillac, with just one crossover, the brand is struggling in the US It will be much the same story for Genesis until they can get a crossover to market,"said Dave Sullivan, product analysis manager at US consultancy AutoPacific.
"It's not because the G70 will be a bad product ... The sedan lineup just doesn't match consumer demand."
The G70 debuts in South Korea on Friday followed by the United States early next year. Hyundai has not said when it would enter China and Europe, which are dominated by German premium brands.
"G70 will pave the way for growth and expansion of the Genesis brand,"Executive Vice President Lee Kwang-guk told a media event.
Hyundai Motor expects annual sales of over 60,000 G70 sedans globally.
Hyundai has said the Genesis line-up will grow to six by 2021, with the addition of two SUVs and an electric vehicle.
Genesis division head Manfred Fitzgerald told reporters that the next Genesis model will be an SUV, without elaborating further.
Hyundai's China sales tumbled more than 60 percent in the second quarter due to its lack of a strong SUV line-up and political tensions between China and South Korea over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
In the United States, SUVs made up 35 percent of Hyundai's total US sales from January to August this year, far lower than the industry's 62 percent, according to US researcher Autodata.
The Genesis project is being closely watched by Hyundai Vice Chairman and heir apparent Chung Eui-sun, as he prepares to take over the world's No.5 auto group from his father, 79-year-old Chairman Chung Mong-koo.
