Hyundai Motor's Equus aims at U.S. luxury market

As part of its efforts to break down the low-end image Hyundai Motor has carried for years in the United States, South Korea's largest automaker said yesterday it will begin exporting its premium sedan Equus to America for the first time in July.

The automaker will manufacture the U.S. model in its Ulsan factory nearing the month of release.

The company has mainly exported the smaller versions of its cars, such as the Sonata models in the past.

The Equus will be renamed for the U.S. market. While the new moniker hasn't been decided as yet, there have been suggestions that the new model be named Genesis Prestige.

The company, however, said "Genesis" will not be used in the name, because Hyundai Motor already has a Genesis model in the market.

The automaker introduced its first Equus model in 1999 and in March 2009 released a new version of the car, which has been exported to China since August.

Currently, Hyundai Motor exports the Equus model to more than 10 different countries.

Equus was selected among the 10 exciting cars for 2010 in the United States by Forbes magazine in September of last year, reflecting its popularity with American consumers. Forbes also selected the BMW X5 M and the Benz S400 Blue Hybrid for the title.

Meanwhile, the leading automaker also said yesterday that it plans to manufacture a total of 1.71 million cars this year, a 6 percent increase in number from 1.61 million in the previous year, in its three auto factories in Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju.

That number is the highest since the automaker started to manufacture cars in its Ulsan factory in 1968. In its debut year, the company manufactured 614 cars.

The company said it will also introduce four new models this year.