GENEVA — Fast-growing Hyundai may be best known for its small cars, but its plans to break into the premium market with a new sedan has the big guys looking over their shoulders.
The Korean automaker is not half as well known in Europe as Toyota, for example, and consumers typically associate its cars with affordability rather than luxury desirability. Yet the company has swerved into the fast lane — its sales in Europe have grown far faster than the broader market, unnerving locals, and it is gaining rapidly in the United States. Volkswagen’s chairman, whose goal is to make the German automaker the biggest in the world, says Hyundai is the one company that could foil his ambitions.
The launch of the i40 D-class vehicle at the Geneva Auto Show marks Hyundai’s entry into the accessible luxury segment, where it wants to compete with the Toyota Aventis. The Associated Press
