Genesis pre-orders in high gear

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Genesis pre-orders in high gear

Hyundai Motor’s EQ900, the first car to be rolled out under the company’s new luxe brand Genesis next month, looks to be steering in the right direction.

The nation’s leading automaker said on Tuesday that it has received a total of 4,342 pre-orders for the EQ900 sedan on the first day it started receiving orders, even though it hasn’t revealed the vehicle’s specific features yet.

The amount of pre-orders for the EQ900 is nearly four times more than its predecessor Equus sedan, which received a total of 1,180 pre-orders when it came onto the market in February 2009, and is also more than the existing Genesis sedan, which received 3,331 pre-orders on its first day in November 2013.

“Considering that this is a full-size luxury sedan offered at high price ranges, this has been an unbelievable sales performance,” a spokesman of Hyundai Motor said. “We believe that the success of the existing Genesis sedan [which will be renamed G80 under the Genesis brand] has developed a decent brand power for Hyundai Motor, and our aggressive marketing strategies of Hyundai’s most recent high-end car technology and safety features … are working out well.”

Another good sign is that many of the pre-orders were made by individual consumers. “Traditionally, many pre-orders were made by corporates,” Hwang Kwan-sik, spokesman of Hyundai Motor, told the Korea JoongAng Daily. “But about 60 percent of orders were made by individuals for the EQ900, which is a good sign for us as it means our marketing is working.”

The company said it expects the EQ900 to attract young buyers, but Hwang said the automaker needs more time to find which generation is the biggest consumer group. Traditionally, people over 50 led sales for the Equus sedan, the predecessor of the EQ900, but the company aims to attract more consumers in their 40s.

The EQ900 will be offered in three models; the 3.3 and 3.8 Turbo and 5.0 and will also offer a series of features aimed at affluent consumers. The driver’s seat for example has a smart control system that gives the best seating position by simply inputting the driver’s specifications such as body weight and body type.

The sedan will also offer anti-noise quality by using double-cemented sound insulation glass. The EQ900 will also be Hyundai’s first car to ride with an autonomous driving system known as highway driving assist, which allows the car to maintain distance from a vehicle automatically in front of it.


BY KWON SANG-SOO [kwon.sangsoo@joongang.co.kr]




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