Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest carmaker, has adopted a two-track pricing strategy for its brand new Sonata sedan, asking for a “fair price” for higher trims while strengthening the value proposition for more mainstream models that will be sold in the highly competitive U.S. market, company officials said Friday.

The automaker is offering eight trim levels for the 2015 model year Sonata, two more than the outgoing sixth-generation sedan. It said by adding more choices, consumers can pick the vehicle that best meets their driving needs and budget requirements. The car, already on sale in South Korea, is expected to hit U.S. showrooms in the summer months.

“The upper trim Sonata with high-end convenience features, like advanced cruise control, forward collision warning and head-up display, that are usually not found in the midsize family segment, will be marked up accordingly compared to the outgoing model, while prices for lower trim vehicles will go down and not be changed,” an official, who declined to be identified, said.

Under this pricing scheme, the 2.4-liter Sonata’s top trim has a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $31,575, but the base model with the same engine will cost $21,150. All 2.4-liter models of the midsize sedan use the Theta 2 engine with gasoline direct injection technology mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the front wheels. This engine has been rated at 193 horsepower and 25.2 kilogram meters of torque, and delivers a gas mileage of 11.5 kilometers on regular gasoline.

“The price for the top-tiered car rises from around $30,000 vis-a-vis the previous generation Sonata, although numbers for the base model fall $300 from the comparably equipped GLS trim sold at present,” the insider said.

He said that in comparison to base the 2.4L GDi Style model sold in South Korea, the U.S. model costs $1,400 more, before taxes.

He said this wider price range strategy would allow Hyundai to make decent profit from sales overall while offering more affordable cars with good value in the family sedan segment that makes up 20 percent of all car sales in the United States. (Yonhap)