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Published on November 14, 2007

The Hyundai TQ will be imported from South Korea and can seat 12. It is known as the H-1 in other markets.

"The price will be between Bt1 million and Bt1.1 million. Since we will have both a manual and an automatic, our customers will be two types. The manual version will be for use by tour agencies and transport companies, and the automatic version will be aimed at big families," said marketing manager Vigrant Amatayakul.

The TQ will come with a 2.5-litre diesel commonrail engine that will produce 174 brake horsepower at 3,800rpm and 392Nm of torque at 2,000rpm.

In its price range, the TQ will compete with vehicles like the Toyota Commuter and Ventury.

The advantage of the TQ is its coil-spring suspension, as opposed to leaf springs in its competitors. Hyundai asserts this will provide class-leading comfort.

The manual version will come with cloth interior and is designed with transport in mind. The automatic transmission, on the other hand, will come with leather seats and a DVD player and is aimed at higher-income customers.

The TQ features two sliding doors, one on each side, and an interior in which the seats can be slid forward or backward. At the expo, there will be a special offers for the first 60 buyers.

The South Korean auto-maker officially announced its re-entry into the Thai market in July.

Hyundai Motor (Thailand) is a joint venture between Japanese trading company Sojitz and local investors.

President Yoshizumi Kurata said registered capital was Bt400 million and that it was the first Hyundai distributorship run by Sojitz in Asia.

The company has 60 staff. Sojitz operates Hyundai distributorships in Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia and Argentina.

The company previously said it would launch three models in the fourth quarter. With the addition of the TQ, the total is now four.

The Sonata mid-sized sedan will be assembled locally at the Thon Buri Automotive Assembly Plant in Samut Prakan, which also assembles Mercedes-Benz cars for DaimlerChrysler (Thailand). The two other models will be the Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle and the Coupe two-door compact sports car, both to be imported as completely built-up units from South Korea.

The Sonata has 40-per-cent local content, said Kurata, adding that there was also a vague plan to export the cars elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

The exposition will be held at Muang Thong Thani's Challenger Hall and starts on November 30.

Vijo Varghese

 The Nation

Ultimate in Luxury

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