Hyundai concept car will ‘shock’ industry

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Hyundai concept car will ‘shock’ industry

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Causing a stir: Hyundai’s new concept car, the Genesis

Hyundai Motor Co.’s concept car the Genesis has been highly praised by an acclaimed U.S. automotive magazine, Motor Trend, which said that the “car is going to shock you.”
A five-page article in the May edition of the magazine said the car is “going to shock GM and Toyota, too. Even BMW and Mercedes-Benz are going to pay attention. Hyundai wants to be the world’s fifth largest automaker by 2010, and the BH architecture revealed by Concept Genesis is a key part of the strategy.”
Hyundai developed the next-generation vehicle, code named BH, for a sales launch early next year and took the wraps off globally in the middle of this month. A mass production model of the Genesis is nearing completion, and Motor Trend wrote that it will differ “very little” from Concept Genesis.
The car will be showcased at the New York International Auto Show on April 4 but not at the Seoul Motor Show, which starts the following day. The model will be powered by either a 3.8 or 4.6 liter engine. It is targeted at the U.S., a Hyundai spokesman noted, for a niche between the Azera, known as the Sonata in Korea, and the Equus large sedan. The Azera is sold at around $25,000-$30,000, so the price of the BH is likely to be around $30,000, the spokesman said.
The magazine article concluded, “It’s worth remembering that barely 12 years ago Hyundai was still a cheap car joke, finishing dead last in a J.D. Power quality survey. Now it’s aiming at BMW and Lexus. And the shock is, no one’s laughing.”
Amid the admiration, Hyundai’s chairman attended his first appeal hearing yesterday after being sentenced to three years in jail Feb. 5 on charges of embezzling company funds and breach of trust. He remains free on bail during his appeal. At the hearing, prosecutors said that Mr. Chung’s three-year term is “too light,” requesting his sentence be lengthened. “If I can have another chance, as there are many challenges that my company is confronted with, I will do my best to overcome them,” Mr. Chung said. “I’m ashamed and have been reflecting on myself a lot.”
More turmoil hit Hyundai last week when tax officials raided group affiliates over a multi-million dollar slush fund scandal involving Mr. Chung’s family. On Monday, police arrested two former Hyundai labor union heads for allegedly leading an illegal strike.

By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]
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