The Trend Towards Luxury Car Downsizing as Evidenced by the 2011 Hyundai Equus

Nowhere in the new car marketplace is it more apparent that people don't want to spend as much money on a new luxury car as when you look at the success of Hyundai with its affordable Genesis luxury sedan. How could it be that a company that launched in the United States in 1986 with a $6,995 hatchback suddenly be the purveyor of premium four wheeled automotive metal?

Priced at around $38,000 very well equipped, the Genesis is a solidly built luxury cruiser that also excels in being roomy, quiet and packed to the gills with electronic goodies. Oh yeah, and it has that epic 10 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty. Because isn't the greatest luxury not having to worry about your future? Hyundai apparently thinks so.

But will Hyundai be able to pull of the same trick with its $55,000 plus Equus super luxury sedan? Although the South Korean firm only plans to sell from 2,000 to 3,000 of these large, chrome laden luxury cars each year in the United States, there is a big difference in expectation between the MSRP's of the Equus and Genesis sedan.

Hyundai's logic regarding the Genesis sedan was that it was an affordable alternative to the BMW 5-series, Mercedes E-Class and Lexus GS sedan that closely mimic it in size. But is this a realistic assertion that BMW 5-series drivers might seriously look at a Hyundai? Isn't it more likely that the Genesis stole customers from Cadillac, Acura, Infiniti and Lincoln?

If Hyundai did steal some customers from BMW they were more than likely going to buy a basic model and decided they could get more for their money by purchasing a Genesis. Now, the issue with the Equus is that there isn't a huge corresponding leap in features with the Equus when you compare it with a top of the line Genesis.

For instance, the Equus comes with the same 4.6 liter Tau V8 engine that you find in uplevel Genesis sedans and also looks startlingly like its smaller sibling. The interior of the Equus, unfortunately, also has less character than the strikingly minimalist cockpit of the Genesis sedan.

Sure, you can order your Equus in full South Korean Prime Minister spec with individual rear seats (with a massage function), but how many upper middle class families are going to want that? How many captains of industry (who are chauffeured) do you know that would enjoy an individual massage chair in his or her new car? I can guess there probably aren't 3,000 of them.

Source: Hyundaiusa.com
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