[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor said on Oct. 11 it plans to launch a new large sport utility vehicle in the domestic market next month to boost sales.

The automaker expects the new SUV, which had the project name “HDC-2 Grand Master Concept,” will compete with upcoming SUV rivals such as Kia Motors’ Telluride and GM Korea’s Traverse, a company spokesman said over the phone.

Hyundai has not finalized the name of the new SUV, he said.

To strengthen its presence in the competitive SUV market, Hyundai plans to launch the GV80, the first SUV model of its luxury Genesis lineup, next year.

In the January-September period, Hyundai sold 3.36 million vehicles, up 2.7 percent from 3.27 million units a year earlier.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)