Hyundai Equus in the US Next July

Hyundai finally decided whether to launch the new Equus in the United States and, according to a report by autoweek.com, the car is expected to arrive in the country as soon as July 2010. Based on the Genesis platform, the Equus will roll into the US with a single configuration, namely a 4.6-liter V8 engine. In South Korea, the car is also being offered with a 3.8-liter V6 unit.

As for the price, Hyundai plans to make the Equus relatively affordable, especially given its two main competitors, Lexus LS 460 and Mercedes S-Klasse. "We plan to keep the price under $60,000," a Hyundai insider was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.

Rumors regarding the US launch of the Equus have surfaced since a long time ago. For example, a source close to the matter said in April the car will go indeed in the United States but hasn't mentioned any official release date.

"You didn't hear it from me. But you wouldn't be far off if you said the car was coming to the United States. Our chairman wants it," the unnamed source commented on at that time.

Speculations continued in May with new reports, this time sourced from Hyundai's officials who revealed they were considering an official US launch. "We have modest expectations," spokesman Oles Gadacz said in mid May.

Hyundai is already present in the United States' luxury sedan sector, with Genesis currently being offered in two versions, as a sedan and as a coupe. The manufacturer sold 6,021 Genesis sedans this year through April, with this particular model being priced at $32,250 for a V-6-powered version and at $42,000 for the top-of-the-range V-8 model.