Hyundai hopes N. America sales top 500000 in 2008
DETROIT, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS: Quote, Profile, Research)
wants to pass 500,000 vehicle sales in North America in 2008
and hopes to buck projections of weakness in overall industry
performance, a top executive said on Sunday.
“We were at 467,000 in 2007 and we’d love to break a
half-million. That’s what we’ve been trying to do,” John
Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America’s vice president of product
development and strategic planning, told reporters at the North
American International Auto Show.
“If we can get the capacity that we need in the 2-liter and
below cars, we can fill in that hole we have in the bottom end
of our lineup — from a capacity standpoint,” Krafcik said.
Krafcik made the comments after unveiling Hyundai’s first
premium sports sedan, Genesis, at the Detroit show.
Plans are to offer the rear-wheel drive vehicle with V-6
and V-8 engines in the United States beginning mid-year, and
compete with the Chrysler 300 and the Pontiac G8.
But Krafcik said the company aimed at a higher class of
luxury models, like Mercedes E-Class and the Lexus GS, in
design and engineering. He said the sales price will be
disclosed at a later time.
(Writing by John Crawley, Editing by Peter Bohan)
