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Hyundai to launch a luxury brand in China
By Yoann Besnard on 18 March 2008 | 
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Hyundai has announced it will launch a luxury in 2010. The news doesn’t come as a surprise until you learn that the new brand will be launched exclusively in China.
"In 2010, we will officially launch our luxury brand name and logo along the lines of Toyota's Lexus, Nissan's Infiniti and Honda's Acura. All of our luxury models will have the new badge," Young-Key Koo, chief representative of Hyundai Motor China for sales and marketing, told Gasgoo.com.
This is not the first time the Korean carmaker is considering launching a new luxury brand as it was rumoured that Hyundai seriously thought about doing it in the US for the new Genesis saloon. However, the carmaker had decided to sell under its name as launching a new brand in the US was too expensive.
Launching a new brand in China is an ambitious plan and a smart move as the current automobile market is still at an early stage where carmakers build their brand image. The news doesn’t mean Hyundai will focus on cheap models. Indeed, Koo said that Hyundai will pursue its goal to move upmarket in China by revealing more luxurious new models in the future. The cheap models will likely be sold under the Kia badge in China.