The retail price of Hyundai Motor Co.’s new Genesis luxury sedan will be higher than that of BMW AG’s 3-Series in the United States, an executive of the South Korean carmaker said Monday. Last week, Hyundai Motor launched the Genesis in South Korea, its first foray in the high-end segment to compete with BMW’s 5-Series, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus GS.

Hyundai Motor hasn’t yet set a price range for the new model, which will be available for sale in the U.S. in June.

In South Korea, the Genesis is selling at a price of between 40.5 million won (US$43,150) and 53.8 million won, depending on accessories and engine types.

“The prices will be set around April, but they will be higher than those of BMW’s 3-Series,” said Lee Hyun-soon, president of Hyundai Motor’s R&D division, on the sidelines of an auto industry fair here.

The Genesis with a 4.6-liter engine will retail at a price higher than that of BMW’s 5-Series, Lee said.

The Genesis is Hyundai Motor’s first luxury model, aimed at shaking off its image as a producer of cheap first cars.

Launching the new model in South Korea, Hyundai Motor said it expects to sell 55,000 of the vehicles this year, 35,000 at home and 20,000 overseas in the U.S.

Some analysts, however, remain skeptical over Hyundai Motor’s move into the luxury market, citing an expected decline in U.S. auto sales this year because of sluggish demand on the back of higher oil prices and rising defaults on subprime mortgage loans.

Starting today the luxury cars market can count another item, as Hyundai’s new sedan, called Genesis, seems to be ready to face older, powerful rival brands such as BMW or Lexus and others.

Taking into account that Genesis will be the South Korean car maker’s first luxury car lineup, it appears that Hyundai wants to mark a real second “genesis” through this new smart car.

Hyundai announced that it would launch Genesis in South Korean on Tuesday and in the United States in June 2008. The South Korean car maker seems brave enough to push forward this $30,000-plus sedan model into the crowded field of luxury cars market, where quality is a must and image matters the most.

Although it is obvious that common people will never even dare to compare a BMW to a Hyundai model, Hyundai Motor Co. has high hopes for the future. By volume, the company represents the world’s No. 6 car maker, including its Kia subsidiary.

Hyundai said that it would try to convince people to buy its brand new Genesis model by touting that its performance is comparable to German luxury brands; on the other hand, Genesis’ price is lower. Although it hasn’t been yet set, the car’s price is expected to start in the low of $30,000 range, which is indeed lower than BMW AG 3-series sedan’s prices, for example.

On offer would be everything from haute hatchbacks and green tech hybrids to adrenalin-dripping super premium luxe models. Not to mention the world’s cheapest automobile, the Rs 1 lakh people’s car from Tata Motors. As usual, the biggest action will be in the small car market where global best-sellers will rub shoulders with locally-developed tarmac scorchers. Maruti Suzuki will kick off the action with its Splash and A-Star concept, though the latter would be a predominantly export model. In the premium hatchback category, the Swift, Getz, U-VA troika will face competition from the likes of the Skoda Fabia and the Fiat Grande Punto, though all eyes would definitely be on the Rs 1-lakh car.

The mid-size market would sizzle too with debutantes like the i20 from Hyundai, Logan-spawned Sandero from Renault, the Jetta from Volkswagen and the Linea from Fiat. Add to that the Swift sedan and the new launches cover every price point in that segment. The Fiat Bravo and the Mistubishi Lancer Gallant will keep the debut buzz alive and kicking in the mid-size premium segment. But some of the sexiest newcomers next year will be 4×4 muscle-flexers. While Mitsubishi is all set to bring along its Outlander sports utility vehicle (SUV), GM will roll out its Captiva, Hyundai the Santa Fe and BMW the X6. So if you like your vehicle BIG and MACHO, you’ll have plenty to choose from next year. In the luxe car space too there will be plenty of action with the all new C Class from Daimler and the BMW M5 & M6 expected to be the star eye candies. Of course, Indian car majors have lined up a range of locally developed beauties — including both new platform products as well as makeover versions.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), for instance, will launch its new multi-utility vehicle Ingenio while Tata Motors will roll out the next generation Sumo and the new pick-up truck Xenon (besides the Rs 1-lakh car). Current best-sellers like the Santro, Indica and Toyota Innova will also see an alternative avatar thanks to the growing demand for CNG/LPG options. At the higher price bracket, several hybrid options will debut, including the Honda Civic, Tata Indica and M&M Scorpio SUV. Okay so there will a rush of new models; but will they be affordable? More or less.

Car makers are eyeing the big excitement generated by these new launches to grab incremental sales in a market that hasn’t been too perky this year. Which means every debutante will pack in better quality and features at an attractive price to grab the most eyeballs and footfalls. And that would include both international models as well as the locally developed lineup. Some of these cars will premier in India first, like the recently-launched Hyundai i10 and Maruti SX4.

As increasing competition force car makers to bring latest launches to this market, the first premiered in India tag will become a common one. The 1.4 million unit strong Indian passenger car market will display more than 100 potential models at the Auto Expo in January though many of them are slated for an entry beyond 2008.