EUROPE continues to be the prime target for Far Eastern car marques, with their new-vehicle assault on the market here continuing unabated.

Hyundai will soon be squaring up to the Ford Focus, with its small family hatchback, the i30, bringing the benefits of a full-strength five-year warranty to the C-sector.

Designed at Hyundai's European research and design centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the production version of the new i30 hatchback is on show at this month's Geneva Motor Show.

First seen at the Paris Motor Show last September, as the Arnejs (pronounced Ar-nez) concept, the car shares a fair amount of technology with sister car the Kia Cee'd, which has just been launched into UK dealers' showrooms.

Hyundai called the car FD before the Geneva unveiling, and it forms a significant milestone in Hyundai's development of a stronger brand identity.

Clues to the seriousness of the Korean manufacturer's challenge to traditional Western manufacturers for a greater market share lies in the fact that this will be the first car from the Korean manufacturer designed specifically for Europe, and it arrives in Britain this summer, around July time.

The car will be launched first as a five-door hatchback and later as an estate model.

But the firm's UK managing director, Tony Whitehorn, admits: "Geneva marks a significant turning point in the history of Hyundai, which has grown at a phenomenal rate in its relatively brief history to become the world's sixth largest motor manufacturer.

"The launch of the FD, combined with the imminent arrival of a 300,000-unit European manufacturing facility at the European headquarters in Germany, signals our development into a mainstream European manufacturer with serious intentions."

Hyundai also unveiled a crossover-SUV concept at Geneva, built from advanced plastics and designed to be both environmentally friendly and extremely safe.

Kia, meanwhile, will be parading an estate version of its new UK hatchback arrival, the Cee'd. The Cee'd Wagon will also appear this summer.

Trim levels and pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date.

The 4.5-metre long estate has an unusually long wheelbase and Kia says it will offer class-leading passenger and luggage space, strong equipment levels, and state-of-the-art active and passive safety.

British buyers will be able to choose from three equipment levels, S, GS and LS, and several petrol and diesel engine choices.