Hyundai to make luxury sedans in China

Hyundai Motor Co is weighing plans to build its new luxury Genesis cars in China to overcome import tariffs that add 25 percent to the sticker price and are seen as inhibiting the company's ability to compete with locally made BMWs and Audis.

South Korea's biggest automaker still needs to reach an agreement with a local partner, said Cho Won-hong, Hyundai's chief marketing officer. BAIC Group currently makes the Sonata and Elantra in a joint venture with Hyundai, though Cho would not say whether the two sides were discussing Genesis production.

"China has a high tariff and that makes our vehicles more expensive than competitors, which makes it difficult to be profitable," Cho said. "There are a lot of issues that need to be solved before we could go in. But we will definitely go in."