The new China-only Sonata LF midsize sedan (Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Co.)
SEOUL, March 22 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., said Sunday it plans to sell 120,000 units of the just-launched new China-only Sonata per year.
“The target customers for the new Sonata in the Chinese market are mainly businesspeople in their mid-to-late 30s, and our aim is to sell an annual 120,000 units there via aggressive marketing strategies,” said Choi Sung-kee, head of Hyundai Motor’s China marketing division.
This particular Sonata LF midsize sedan, released in China on Friday, is a localized model for customers from the world’s largest car market, manufactured and marketed exclusively to meet their culture-specific needs.’
The updated edition is available in three different gasoline powertrains — the 2.0-liter Nu Multi Port Injection engine, the 2.4-liter Theta II Gasoline Direct-Injection engine and the 1.6-liter turbo-charged Gamma engine.
The localized model comes with a mesh radiator grille at the front and an extra 35 millimeters added to the bumper-to-bumper length compared with the previous edition, while the overall width and height of the vehicle have been expanded 30 mm and 10 mm, respectively, to give a more dignified look, according to Hyundai Motor.
Last month, Hyundai Motor sold a total of 103,319 vehicles in China, down 10.3 percent from a year earlier, amid the rise of cheaper options from Chinese competitors, according to data from the Korea Automotive Research Institute.
China’s overall demand for midsize cars this year is anticipated to grow 8.3 percent on-year to 1.54 million units, industry data showed.
(Yonhap)
