Hyundai Motor will start selling its first luxury crossover, the Veracruz, in the U.S. market in December.
The new seven-passenger people mover, slotted in above the Santa Fe, is intended as competition for higher-end SUVs and crossover vehicles.
The Veracruz was formally introduced on Thursday in its home market, and the first official images were released on Hyundai's Web site.
The vehicle clearly is a sibling of the Santa Fe, with softly flowing lines and a fuller figure. It is equipped in the Korea-market version with a 3.0-liter diesel V6 engine that makes 240 horsepower. The full-size CUV will be aimed in the U.S. market at such upcoming domestic entries as the Saturn Outlook and the Buick Enclave, as well as larger Japanese competitors like the Mazda CX-9.
Next year, Hyundai hopes to sell a total of 85,000 units of the Veracruz, including 65,000 in the United States and other markets outside Korea. The automaker has announced no plan so far to build the CUV in the U.S. plant that currently makes the Santa Fe.
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