South Korea`s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. said on Friday its joint venture Beijing Hyundai has launched a new edition of the ix35 sport utility vehicle (SUV) in China in hopes to add vitality to its Chinese business.

It is one of Beijing Hyundai’s best-selling models with 770,000 units sold since its first launch in 2010. The new model targets married male drivers in their early-to-mid 30s with a reasonable price and reliable performance.

The new ix35 SUV has an upgraded exterior design that makes it look sturdy and strong and features the largest interior space with a spacious boot and rear seats in its class.

It also comes with improved smart features, including an artificial intelligence-based voice recognition system developed in partnership with Baidu Inc. The system enables real-time navigation on Baidu Map Auto, dual OS-based interactive voice recognition search and Alibaba and WeChat-based in-car payment and music downloading, the carmaker said.

By Lee Seung-hoon and Minu Kim

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