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A $71,000 Hyundai? Automaker will display Korean-spec Equus in U.S. dealerships to gauge interest
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Hyundai may decide to offer the ultra-luxury Equus in the U.S. if it
gets a good reaction from the not-for-sale cars it plans to display at
100 U.S. dealerships.
Although Hyundai is best known in the United States for inexpensive economy cars with long warranties, it has also won strong critical acclaim -- including a Car of the Year award -- and decent sales results with its $35,000 Genesis sedan.
But the Korean automaker doesn't want to stop there.
Hyundai has been selling an even larger and more expensive luxury sedan, the Equus, in its home market and in the Middle East for the last decade and recently gave the car a full redesign that it thinks puts it on par with the best Mercedeses and Lexuses.
The automaker hasn't committed to selling the new Equus in the U.S., but it brought the car to the New York Auto Show last month and now plans to display the car in its U.S. dealers to gauge American interest in an ultra-luxury Hyundai.
A hundred U.S. dealers are set to receive an Equus to display, but the Korean-spec automobiles would not be able to be driven or sold in this country.
The new Equus starts at the equivalent of $45,000 in Korea with a 3.8-liter V6 and $71,000 with a 4.6-liter V8. Competing full-size luxury cars do not offer V6s in the U.S. market; any U.S.-spec Equus would likely follow suit. The base prices of such cars range from $64,000 for a Lexus LS460 to nearly $90,000 for a Mercedes-Benz S550.
But although Hyundai has met its sales expectations for the Genesis -- which is priced as an "entry-luxury" sedan -- some critics suggest the automaker is risking repeating Volkswagen's failed attempt to sell a luxury car with its Phaeton sedan. But with Hyundai already successfully selling the Equus in Korea -- the Phaeton was a flop in Germany as well as in the U.S. -- it could be worth the investment to try and sell a few in the U.S. as well.
Check out today's slideshow for more photos of the ultra-luxury Hyundai.
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