Genesis’s creation of a stylish product lineup since its U.S. launch in 2016 has helped fuel the premium brand’s steady growth, but keeping up with traditional rivals in a competitive luxury market will require refining the ownership experience.
That means luring car buyers away from traditional luxury vehicle manufacturers, keeping Genesis customers loyal and creating a network of luxury dealerships for the brand.
“Our biggest challenge right now is meeting new customers and introducing ourselves, but when you experience Genesis, it’s a really cool thing,” Ash Corson, Genesis’ director of product planning, told Automotive News in August.
Corson said the brand’s approach to loyalty is two-pronged: delivering the right product at the right time and developing what he calls a “support infrastructure” tailored to customer needs.
The introduction of performance variants for dedicated electric models under its new Magma sub-brand, a recent update to its core 80 Series vehicles and the addition of hybrids to each model range are all designed to grow the portfolio across multiple dimensions.
The infrastructure also includes home chargers to support Genesis’ growing lineup of electric vehicles, free connected services such as an in-vehicle Wi-Fi hotspot, and digital platforms that enable easy engagement between customers and the brand.
“It’s an important part of building loyalty and retaining customers as Genesis continues to grow its brand presence,” Corson said.
Corson’s team is planning which models Genesis will launch so that it has what returning buyers want “when they’re ready to upgrade their mobility options.”
Genesis’ first electric performance variant under the Magma sub-brand will be the GV60 Magma, likely landing in late 2025. A three-row electric crossover based on the Neolun concept, expected to be called the GV90, will round out the brand’s current people-mover portfolio. The crossover is expected to arrive in mid-2026.
Genesis’ parent company, Hyundai Motor Co., recently announced it will add two hybrid systems to the brand, with a hybrid offering in every model line — except for dedicated EVs. The expansion of electrified options will help bridge the transition from internal combustion engines to all-electric powertrains.
Genesis initially said it would stop selling new internal combustion engines by 2025 with a goal of becoming all-electric by 2030. But the pace of electric vehicle adoption has slowed, and the shift to hybrids will help Genesis adapt to changing consumer preferences.
The brand hasn’t confirmed where hybrids fit into its long-term vision, but it’s clear that Genesis’s view on electric vehicles has softened.
With just three leasing cycles under its belt, the 9-year-old brand still relies heavily on winning over customers.
Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi — the German rivals the brand aims to compete with — outsell Genesis by a long shot. In 2023, Mercedes and BMW will surpass 350,000 vehicles in the U.S., and Audi will report sales of 228,550. Genesis’ sales fell just under 70,000 vehicles last year.
“The U.S. is not a growth market, so it’s hard to say whether Genesis can match German sales levels,” Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility, told Automotive News.
S&P Global Mobility estimates that U.S. auto sales will close 2024 roughly in line with the 15.6 million achieved last year, but will remain below pre-pandemic levels. The industry sold 17.1 million vehicles in 2019.
Brinley said Genesis doesn’t need to match Mercedes-Benz, BMW or Audi in volume to be as good at product. “They’ve almost closed the gap in terms of driving dynamics,” she said.
“Dealers and how they treat their customers will make a difference,” Brinley added. “It’s clear that Genesis is focused on building a strong luxury brand and dealer network rather than chasing high sales volumes.”
Genesis’ performance in the U.S. so far has been driven by strong vehicles. Following the launch of the GV80 midsize and GV70 compact crossovers, sales jumped more than 200 percent to 49,621 in 2021.
The brand’s first dedicated EV, the GV60, arrived in the U.S. in 2022, helping boost sales by 14 percent to 56,410. Deliveries of the Electrified GV70 — an electric crossover — and the G80 began last year, and sales rose 23 percent to 69,175.
Through August, Genesis sales rose 3.1 percent to 45,401. A refresh of its 80-series model lineup, including the addition of the GV80 coupe, which embodies “athletic elegance” in design and engineering, is helping to boost sales. The automaker is also focusing more on retail customers than fleet customers.
Genesis declined to provide a forecast for 2024, but a spokesperson said further growth is expected.
Genesis’ biggest opportunity is to expand and improve the dealer experience. This includes the number of dedicated dealers as well as their geographic coverage.
“Dealers are a key touchpoint for the customer, not just looking at vehicles or purchasing them, but also for repeat visits,” Corson said. “Vehicles are becoming so feature-rich and option-rich, particularly in these emerging digital spaces, having that initial touchpoint in a dedicated environment is really important.”
In 2022, after six years of selling vehicles through Hyundai dealerships, Genesis opened its first store in Lafayette, Louisiana. The brand opened its first East Coast dealership in 2023, a 20,000-square-foot flagship store in Marlton, NJ. Today, there are 56 glass-enclosed, upscale Genesis stores spanning 26 states.
The retail network was reduced to 227 as of Aug. 1 from 254 dealers late last year, according to the company. A spokesman said several dealers voluntarily decided the brand may not be the best fit for their market or business. Genesis expects the network to have more than 100 standalone dealerships when all is said and done, he added.
“Genesis has done a great job of separating itself from Hyundai, even though it started out as a Hyundai model,” Sam Fiorani, vice president of automotive data firm AutoForecast Solutions, told Automotive News.
Genesis’ rear-wheel-drive models differ from vehicles in Hyundai’s lineup, which are largely front-wheel-drive, Fiorani said.
The premium brand also underwent corporate expansion to gain more autonomy from Hyundai.
Corson, who took over Genesis’ product planning role in late 2023 after more than a year at Hyundai Motor North America, is part of that shift. Before joining Genesis, he spent more than a decade at Toyota and Lexus.
“My position represents Genesis’ dedication to growing from where we are and where we want to go,” Corson said.
Other changes include the appointment of former Mercedes-Benz executive Drew Slaven as CMO and Hyundai Motor veteran Troy Saito as director of sales operations. These dedicated resources, along with standalone dealerships and a growing product portfolio, will help Genesis write its own story.
Compared with the long legacies of Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Genesis started at a deficit, Fiorani said.
“We need to open a path without generations of models in our past,” he said.