By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
``Don't count me out'' is the spirit of Hyundai Motor ― previously considered the carmaker of mass produced cheap vehicles ― intrying to tap into the U.S. luxury auto market with ambitious sales goals for its latest sedan.
The automaker aims to sell 50,000 vehicles of the model per year in the world's biggest auto market, John Krafcik, vice president of product development for Hyundai North America, was quoted as saying Wednesday. The Genesis was launched in the United States in June.
Krafcik said the company is targeting what he called ``confident nonconformists,'' who don't stick to premium brands, and the goal is ``reasonably achievable.''
As a premium sedan, the Genesis has several tough competitors such as the BMW 5 Series and Chrysler 300, with the former selling over 27,000 vehicles and the latter more than 44,000 so far this year.
The Genesis saw sales of 1,297 last month, Hyundai said.
Sales are lagging, but the maker still has the positive view that the sedan can be considered on a par with well-established rivals.
``We don't think it's as good as the BMW 5 Series, but we think they can be compared,'' Krafcik said.
Prices of the Genesis range from $33,000 to $42,000, roughly $20,000 lower than BMW's 5 Series. Its coupe model will hit Korean showrooms in December.
Getting away from its image as a cheap bargain carmaker has long been a desperate mission for the Korean automaker.
Hyundai products were given a bad name on the American market ever since the company first exported its compact Excel model there in 1986.
However, over 22 years, things have improved. It reached an accumulated exports landmark of 5 million vehicles to the United States in July last year, selling 750,000 vehicles in 2007 along with its subsidiary Kia Motors.
It is currently the seventh biggest foreign player there, and is looking to get an over 3-percent market share mark for the first time by the end of the year.
But still wanting is an image of being a robust and reliable producer. At the forefront of the image shake-up scheme is the Genesis, which was first unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, January.
Aside from the rivalry issue, Hyundai still has to tackle another hurdle ― the overall slump of luxury car sales.
Premium sedans in the U.S market are struggling lately, with sales down nearly 15 percent in the January-July period from a year earlier. Analysts are uncertain on whether there will be a rebound in the near future.