Shanghai, June 4 (Gasgoo.com) A Hyundai 4S store in Beijing said that Rohens (or Genesis), the first rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan of Hyundai Motor, will go on sale in China on June 26, at a price of about 40,000 yuan ($5,770). The car will come to the Chinese market in four models: 3.3L GL, 3.3L GLS, 3.3L TOP and 3.8L TOP. Hyundai 4S stores in Beijing have begun to receive orders for the Rohens car with a deposit of 10,000 yuan for each.
Rohens, the Chinese version of Hyundai's luxury sedan Genesis, made its China debut at the 2008 Beijing auto show in April. Hyundai launched the sedan in a move toward the high-end market segment to take on leading brands like BMW and Lexus. Hyundai reportedly benchmarked the BMW 5-Series sedan during the Genesis / Rohens' development; the Genesis body-in-white exceeds BMW's in torsional rigidity by 14%, and has more interior volume than Mercedes Benz E-Class and BMW 7-Series.
Hyundai Rohens’ body shell is rich in ultra-high-tensile steel. Hyundai Genesis Coupe is lighter than the Infiniti G37, and its chassis is also 24 percent stiffer in bending rigidity than the BMW E46 M3. Rear-wheel drive provides a 55:45 front/rear weight distribution.
Features of Rohens include Smart Cruise Control (SCC), Adaptive Headlamps, Driver Information System, and a Harman/Becker Lexicon Audio System. Other features include push-button start and electronic stability control.
Hyundai Motor started production at its second manufacturing plant in its Chinese joint venture Beijing Hyundai in April, doubling the company's production capacity to 600,000 units.