By Chris Haak

08.21.2008

Yesterday, Hyundai announced that it expects to sell 50,000 Genesis sedans and coupes annually, although its specific projections for 2009 have not been finalized. The Genesis sedan, which Hyundai is marketing as a competitor to the BMW 5-series, while pricing it thousands less. The Genesis Coupe has not launched yet, but will be slightly smaller, and will feature a range of engines from a turbocharged four cylinder to a 300-plus horsepower 3.8 liter V6, and will be priced far lower than the $33,000 entry point for the sedan. The Genesis coupe will be positioned as a competitor to the Mustang, Challenger, and 350Z.

Hyundai expects to sell 8,000 Genesis sedans during 2008, and the coupe will be launched in the first quarter of 2009. I find it curious that Hyundai chose to apply the Genesis name to both the sedan and coupe, because although they share the same basic architecture, they are in fact very different vehicles. The coupe is not a two-door version of the Genesis sedan, but is more of a larger rear wheel drive successor to the Tiburon coupe (although the Tiburon will likely be replaced in the next few years by a new front wheel drive vehicle at a lower price point than the Genesis coupe will be priced at). Continue Reading →