Hyundai pushes into premium class with new sedan

GENEVA: Hyundai is aiming to push into the premium class car market with a luxury sedan it unveiled at the Geneva auto show.

The Korean company's i40 D-class sedan was designed at its R&D headquarters in Germany specifically for European tastes. It includes such features as heated and reclining front and rear seats, heated steering wheel, and an active demisting system.

Fast-growing Hyundai is outpacing the European market, posting a 4.7 increase in registrations in 2010, to more than 358,000, from the previous year. That's in a market that fell by 4.9 percent. It was led by the i30, which had its best-ever annual sales of 115,000 units.