Starting today the luxury cars market can count another item, as Hyundai’s new sedan, called Genesis, seems to be ready to face older, powerful rival brands such as BMW or Lexus and others.

Taking into account that Genesis will be the South Korean car maker’s first luxury car lineup, it appears that Hyundai wants to mark a real second “genesis” through this new smart car.

Hyundai announced that it would launch Genesis in South Korean on Tuesday and in the United States in June 2008. The South Korean car maker seems brave enough to push forward this $30,000-plus sedan model into the crowded field of luxury cars market, where quality is a must and image matters the most.

Although it is obvious that common people will never even dare to compare a BMW to a Hyundai model, Hyundai Motor Co. has high hopes for the future. By volume, the company represents the world’s No. 6 car maker, including its Kia subsidiary.

Hyundai said that it would try to convince people to buy its brand new Genesis model by touting that its performance is comparable to German luxury brands; on the other hand, Genesis’ price is lower. Although it hasn’t been yet set, the car’s price is expected to start in the low of $30,000 range, which is indeed lower than BMW AG 3-series sedan’s prices, for example.

Hyundai’s new move is risky, though interesting enough to analyze. Let us hope that Hyundai won’t regret it!