The Genesis of Hyundai’s luxury brand?

It’s all about dropping hints.

Sometimes the most important revelations at auto shows are buried beneath the headlines, or cavalierly floated as trial balloons. A hint at the automakers’ future intentions was slipped into a speech introducing the Hyundai Nuvis concept car at the New York International Auto Show.

In giving the usual generic corporate intro to the new concept car (“sales up in a down market, market share gain,” etc.), acting President and CEO John Krafcik referred to the Korean-market only luxury Equus sedan on the Hyundai show stand and asked the audience to imagine Equus “as the cornerstone of a premium Genesis line” of Hyundai models.

Hyundai already has two Genesis models: The Genesis luxury sedan and the new Genesis sport coupe. Although the two share their V6 engines and basic rear-drive platform, they are aimed at completely different audiences. The luxury Genesis sedan, priced in the mid-$30,000s, competes against a wide range of sedans, from a Toyota Avalon to luxury German marques, undercutting the Europeans by thousands. The Genesis coupe competes with anything from a Ford Mustang to an Infiniti G37 coupe, again undercutting much of the competition’s price.

What do you think? Is Hyundai trying to beat Toyota at its own game, introducing a discount luxury brand to undercut Lexus? And if so, would you buy one?

—Eric Evarts

See Consumer Reports' coverage of the 2009 New York auto show.

Comments

[Sal Collaziano]

I'll buy one. I'm currently a BMW 750Li owner and I've owned a Lexus LS430 a few years ago. Otherwise, I mostly drive Cadillac vehicles. At any rate, I like the Equus - and I wouldn't think twice to buy one if the price was right. This car needs to be on the same technological level as the Lexus LS, Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7-Series - but it must be priced around or slightly higher than a Cadillac DTS or Lincoln Town Car. That's the only way this is going to work. If they go along with this, they'll be able to sell the car for $75k in 5-10 years...

[SAAD KHAN MD]

I think people who are looking for value in luxury cars and have gone beyond the prestige of the luxury badge will accept this car well. I am a current 750li owner and have bought German luxury cars for the past 12 years however if the price is much below the established brands, I will buy! I hope Hyundai can get beyond the habit of making "knockoff" looking cars however. They need to make original designs if they are to command respect.