Hyundai has announced that it will begin selling its Veracruz SUV in the European market starting in October 2008. Introduced earlier this year in the U.S. to compete with the Lexus RX, the Euro-spec Veracruz will be powered by a 2.2L turbo-diesel engine and will sell for about 45,000 euros.
Following the automaker’s new nomenclature, the Veracruz will be renamed the IX 55 in European markets.
Hyundai is being conservative with its IX 55 sales estimate and has set a sales target of only 5,000 units annually. “The brand’s largest crossover will be sold in Europe [to boost our] image and that’s why we are forecasting sales of only 5,000 units,” Rafael Aguillo, deputy director of marketing for Hyundai Motor Europe told Automotive News.
The IX 55 will compete with the Volkswagen Touareg .
