Hyundai's New Luxury Brand Proves a Hit

Hyundai sold more than 2,000 units of the new Genesis EQ900 luxury sedan in January.

The company launched the Genesis brand in November last year in a bid to carve out a slice of the luxury market.

Hyundai on Monday said it sold 2,194 Genesis EQ900s in the first month of the year, compared to average monthly sales of 863 last year for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, a chief rival.

The success came amid a five percent on-year decrease in domestic sales of other new cars the same month.

Industry insiders say that makes it likely Hyundai will reach its target of selling 20,000 EQ900s worldwide this year.

The EQ900 costs W73-W117 million (US$1=W1,204).