Hyundai to Continue Brand Expansion with New Models

So far, the automotive success story of the decade in most people's eyesis Hyundai. It wasn't too long ago that the South Korean company's main market seller was the Excel, but these days the brand is well on its way to becoming one of the largest automakers on the planet, and is producing vehicles that are so good, they've got Toyota and Honda beginning to break a sweat. Hyundai is continuing this onward and upward path at a rather brisk pace, showing off concept vehicles that might soon be available at a dealer near you. Recently in New York it unveiled the Genesis Concept, a full-size performance sedan that showed off the brand's first rear-wheel drive platform architecture as well as a new modular V8 engine, confirming both predictions and the fears of its rivals. But things are about to get even more serious.

Already, the "BH" architecture that the Genesis rides on has been earmarked by experts as the platform to not only diversify, but raise Hyundai to an entirely new level. In addition to the Genesis, it's reported that a two-door sports coupe similar in size and target market to the Infiniti G35 and Audi A5 will be spawned. Kia will get its own "Genesis" as well, although it'll look different. Finally, Hyundai is considering usingthis platform to introduce its first pickup truck to the North American market. The vehicle would be in the style of the Honda Ridgeline, with a true car-based unibody chassis that most likely will incorporate an integrated frame for payload and pulling capability. The benefits of going this route have paid off for Honda in a number of ways; the Ridgeline offers superior comfort and road-holding compared to its compact and half-ton rivals that use truck-based platforms. Hyundai's truck would also be different in that it would feature the “Tau” V8 engine instead of a V6, and it would most likely be rear-wheel drive based, with four-wheel drive as an option.

But not all of Hyundai's expansion plans include the large “BH” platform, as there are equally important developments on the compact front. Seoul wants to welcome a younger generation of buyer into its family, according to Wards Auto. Up until now the brand has made progress among the more youthful demographic with the most recent generation of Tiburon sports coupe, for its style and performance. There's also the Accent three-door hatchbackwhich is more feature-rich and offers greater power than its only other three-door competitor, the Toyota Yaris. It's now rumored that Hyundai is contemplating putting two additional concept vehicles into production, the HND-4 Veloster Concept that was recently shown at the Seoul auto show, and the HCD10 Hellion compact crossover utility vehicle, displayed at the Paris show.

With a much more powerful and luxurious coupe on the way, a production version of the Veloster would most likely become the replacement to the existing Tiburon. With a fuel-efficient engine and front-wheel drive layout, it would be the veritable successor and one that's more in line with previous generations. Meanwhile, the Hellion would be an easy convert to a production car, considering Kia's boxy and upright Soul concept car was recently confirmed for production. These two vehicles share a similar target audience, although the Hellion takes the form of a little SUV, whereas the Soul is more car-like. Nevertheless, both the Veloster and the Hellion offer bold styling and creative layouts in small packages. It seems that besides targeting Lexus, Hyundai also wants a slice of the Scion pie.