SEOUL (Yonhap): Hyundai Motor Co. on Tuesday launched the G90 sedan under the independent Genesis brand in South Korea, with a plan to introduce the flagship model in overseas markets next year. The G90, the facelifted version of the EQ900, comes with a 3.3-liter gasoline turbocharged engine, a 3.8-liter gasoline engine or a 5.0-liter gasoline engine. It has the same eight-speed automatic transmission, Hyundai Motor said in a statement. Hyundai said it will gradually ship the G90 to global markets, including the United States, Canada, Russia, Australia and the Middle East, starting in the first half of 2019. The maker of the Sonata sedan and the Santa Fe SUV plans to complete the Genesis lineup, currently composed of the G70, G80 and G90, by adding three SUV models by 2021, the statement said. The rear-wheel drive G90 starts at 77 million won (US$68,000), and the price goes up to 120 million won depending on options.

In the January-September period, Genesis vehicle sales rose 1.2 percent to 60,093 units from 59,370 in the year-ago period. But G90 sales plunged 42 percent to 7,902 from 13,709 during the same period, according to Hyundai.

The G90 is a face-lifted model of the EQ900. The EQ900 was launched in 2015 as a successor to Hyundai's Equus sedan. Genesis brand models are available in Korea, the U.S., Canada, Russia and the Middle East. Genesis brand cars have yet to advance to Europe and China.

Hyundai has received pre-orders for 6,713 G90s after it unveiled the model on Nov. 8.

The G90 underwent major design changes and now features a wide and deep crest grille, quad headlamps, 18-inch or 19-inch multi-spoke wheels and mufflers that resemble the crest grille.

It boasts the most advanced safety features that have appeared in Hyundai and Kia vehicles. They include rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist, forward collision-avoidance assist, safe exit assist and lane following assist.

Globally, Hyundai Motor sold 3.77 million Hyundai and Genesis vehicles from January to October, up 2.6 percent from 3.68 million units a year earlier.