April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong Koo insisted the revamped Equus luxury sedan meet all regulations in the U.S., where Hyundai’s flagship has never been sold. Now the U.S. unit has to figure out how to sell a car that costs as much as eight times more than its Accent compacts.
“The person who just spent $40,000 or $50,000 on a vehicle doesn’t want to sit in the dealer’s service drive next to a kid in his Accent,” said Eric Noble, president of Car Lab, an Orange, California-based consulting firm for automakers. “A level of social stratification is expected.”
Equus, a status symbol in Hyundai’s home market, is unknown to U.S. carbuyers who view Hyundai as a maker of vehicles that sell for less than those of Japanese and U.S. rivals. Still, just as Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus and Honda Motor Co.’s Acura began winning sales from General Motors Corp.’s Cadillac and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in the late 1980s, Hyundai wants a share of the U.S. luxury market to enhance its image and profit.
South Korea’s largest automaker will decide this year whether to bring Equus to the U.S., said John Krafcik, president of its U.S. sales company, in an April 9 interview from the New York International Auto Show, where the V-8 engine sedan is on display. The car went on sale in Hyundai’s home market in March, priced from $48,100 to $79,000 at current exchange rates.
“We are honestly thinking about it,” Krafcik said. The company is already building experience with premium customers from its Genesis sedan that went on sale in the U.S. last year, he said.
To further view the article: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]
__________________ http://www.santafeclubph.com/ "if you want to continue to be the slaves of bankers and pay the cost of your own slavery,then let bankers continue to create money and control credit." Sir Josiah Stamp
Hyundai's $50,000 puzzle!
http://www.santafeclubph.com/
Linear Mode
