Buoyed by the better-than-expected preorders, South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Co. is hopeful of selling 70,000 units in its all-new Sonata at home this year to reclaim the past glory of its flagship model that in recent has been ridden mostly by taxi drivers.

Sonata is one of the longest-running vehicle brands in Korea. Its cumulative sales topped 8.5 million units last year since its first release in 1985. It lost the top mid-sized seller title from 2009.

The new Sonata in its eighth version is the first full-change model in five years.

The company has received 12,323 pre-orders for the all-new Sonata in just 10 days, raising hopes that the company would meet this year’s local sales target of 70,000 units.

Based on the design concept of “sensuous sportiness,” Hyundai Motor created an athlete, sportier look in the eighth-gen version, adopting a four-door coupe-like silhouette and frame with a spacious interior, a short overhang, sloping roofline and low deck lid.

The new Sonata has also been lavished with its creator’s latest technologies including a smartphone-based remote key that allows users to unlock and start their vehicles via their phones using the near field communication technology. It can be downloaded via a smartphone app and used by up to four authorized people, according to the automaker.

It also is embedded with a built-in vehicle blackbox and voice-activated air control system as well as various advanced driving safety features like forward collision-avoidance assist, blind spot collision warning and lane keeping assist.

The company set up the prices of the all-new Sonata between 23.4 million won ($2,698.81) for the cheapest model and 32.8 million won for the highest trim of the gasoline model.

The new Sonata is expected to hit the U.S. market within the second half of this year, according to the company. Its debut date for Europe is yet to be decided.

By Lee Jong-hyuk and Lee Ha-yeon

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]