By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
South Korea’s leading automakers including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and GM Daewoo Auto & Technology unveiled new concept cars and other vehicles at an ongoing motor show in Los Angeles.
Hyundai Motor, the country’s largest carmaker, said Thursday that it introduced its new sports concept car ``Genesis Coupe’’ during the 2008 Los Angeles International Auto Show at the LA Convention Center.
Company officials said that the Genesis Coupe is Hyundai Motor’s second rear-wheel-drive car following the ``Genesis’’ concept car that made its debut at the New York Motor Show last April.
Equipped with a V6 3,800cc engine and a six-speed manual transmission, the Genesis Coupe boasts a maximum 300 horsepower and can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in about six seconds.
Hyundai Motor plans to churn out the model for the domestic market from late next year and introduce it to the North American market, including the United States and Canada, in the first half of 2009.
Kia Motors, the country’s second-largest manufacturer, which forms the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group along with Hyundai Motor, also introduced its concept cars such as the ``KND-4’’ and ``Soul’’ at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
With the next-generation sport utility vehicles (SUVs), it seeks to improve its future-oriented brand image both at home and abroad. ``All our passion for future design has been put in the KND-4,’’ said Kia Motors chief designer Peter Schreyer.