In order to make an even bigger step ahead in the following few years, Genesis is currently taking a significant step back in the way it retails its cars. The luxury brand, which is owned by Hyundai, ultimately decided to sell its three models through Hyundai dealers for the time being, but only as part of a plan to open 120 standalone Genesis stores across the country by 2024, stocking them with new models as the brand grows the vehicle segments in which it competes.
The company wants to emulate prominent Japanese automakers Toyota, Honda, and Nissan, who over the past few decades have separately developed independent networks of U.S. Lexus, Acura, and Infiniti dealers.
In the future, as we develop our family of automobiles, Kate Fabian, the marketing director for the Genesis brand in the US, said me, “we’ll look to have separate establishments like Lexus and Toyota.” We want to ensure that important dealers can turn a profit while offering the kind of service that high-end customers desire and expect.
Genesis has traveled an interesting path to get here. It was only a matter of time before Hyundai’s Korean parent, which also owns Kia, separated Genesis into its own luxury marque when it became a full-line supplier for the U.S. market with models ranging from econobox sedans to its original luxury models, Genesis and Equus. After that occurred in 2015, Genesis had three vehicles in its range at the end of the previous year: the full-size G90 and G80, the latter of which is based on the original Hyundai Genesis model, and the G70 sport sedan, which was added the previous year.
The GV80 concept that Genesis unveiled at the New York Auto Show a few years ago will be a component of the 2020 SUV Genesis plans to introduce, as well as a second SUV, an electric vehicle, and a high-performance automobile in the following two years.
But unlike with its selection of vehicles, Genesis hasn’t been as direct and steadfast in determining its distribution system. It is obvious that the Genesis model selection will eventually be sufficient to completely occupy any new showroom. However, for the time being, Hyundai has decided that more than 300 current “elite-level” Hyundai dealerships will also be able to continue selling Genesis vehicles as long as they sign a new franchise agreement calling for separate sales and service facilities for the luxury brand. This decision follows some hesitation on the company’s part regarding the strategy.
The fact that Genesis sold only 10,312 automobiles last year, or half as many as it did in 2017, despite expanding its vehicle selection, indicates that the brand lost some sales momentum while its leadership was working all of this out.
The dealer network has taken longer to organize than we had anticipated and more time to get underway, according to Fabian.
But she emphasized that for the Genesis brand to grow over time, the dealer facility and customer experience must be perfected. Luxury has changed to emphasize the experience and respect for people’s time rather of just the brand or badge, according to Fabian. “We want their time with us to be valuable.” This covers both consumer contacts at a Genesis facility and digital brand engagements. “The experience is equally essential to us as the product,”
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not enough dealerships
The majority of luxury brands have dealerships with opulent showrooms and first-rate amenities, as MotorTrend outlined. Dealerships were significantly more popular hangouts before the coronavirus outbreak than neighborhood mechanics’ shops or quick-service auto repair shops.
Despite being Hyundai’s luxury division, Genesis doesn’t have its own showrooms. The ideal scenario would be to establish independent dealers, as Lexus did with Toyota. Hyundai, however, was hesitant to invest a significant amount of money in these businesses without a guarantee of success.
Numerous states have unsatisfactory franchise laws in place, and Hyundai dealers have already fallen behind other well-known brands in the 2020 J.D. Power Customer Service Index, according to MotorTrend.
The automobile manufacturer had to come up with a practical concierge service to transport cars to consumers for test drives. The rest could then be swiftly and easily handled online if the customer wished to finish the sale. The concierge would supply a loaner automobile and take the vehicle for service if necessary.
Did the service take place at a Hyundai dealership? Yes. However, the client didn’t need to be aware of that.
In the yearly dealership census conducted by Automotive News, Hyundai and Genesis both made changes.
The Genesis brand suffered a decline in the total number of outlets in 2021 even if its eagerly anticipated plan for freestanding dealerships is ready to materialize.
Hyundai Motor America modified the criteria for a Hyundai brand store to be deemed exclusive in January 2021. According to spokesman Michael Stewart, dealerships that don’t divide the two brands into different locations and additionally sell Genesis are no longer referred recognized as exclusive Hyundai dealerships. They are currently categorized as dual stores.
As a result, there were 393 exclusive Hyundai brands as of January 1, down 279 from the previous year. Overall, Hyundai had 827 franchises.
The Genesis franchise, which debuted in 2016, lost 31 locations in 2021, or 9.2% of its network. Genesis had 306 franchises when the year began. According to Genesis spokesman Jarred Pellat, as of last week, its count has decreased to 298. In Lafayette, Louisiana, the first independent dealership for the brand is anticipated to open this week.
However, Genesis’ throughput last year more than tripled to an average of 154 new vehicles sold per franchise. Sales of Genesis tripled in 2021 as well.
840 Hyundai dealerships offered and serviced G80 sedans at the time Genesis made its debut in the United States. 350 of them have the ability to sell and service G90 vehicles.
Genesis selected freestanding outlets instead, hoping to provide a luxurious experience. When Hyundai offered its dealers the chance to sell the Genesis in exchange for their opening of exclusive stores in the spring of 2018, more than half of them accepted settlement payments.
Genesis had 352 franchisees at the start of 2018 and 178 by the end of the same year. On January 1st, 2020, it increased to 352 and then decreased to 337.
According to Pellat, 20 additional freestanding Genesis outlets are being planned and six are now being developed.
This summer, Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis will debut in the UK, but don’t anticipate any dealerships.
Although there won’t be a dealer network, Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis has announced it would enter Europe this summer, including the UK.
Hyundai introduced Genesis as a distinct sub-brand in South Korea five years ago. Since then, it has been distributed to the US, Canada, Russia, Australia, and the Middle East.
The brand will debut this summer in the UK, as well as in Germany and Switzerland, with an emphasis on internet sales.
There won’t be any joint showrooms or independent dealerships like those used by Lexus, DS Automobiles, and the unfortunate Infiniti in the past.
Instead, buyers will be able to customize and order a G80 saloon or GV80 SUV online, as well as pay for it. A variety of payment methods, such as subscription, will be available.
The ownership package includes home delivery and pick-up for servicing and maintenance work, and each customer will be allocated a Genesis Personal Assistant.
A five-year warranty, five years of maintenance, five years of roadside assistance, five years of courtesy cars, five years of mapping, and five years of over-the-air software upgrades are also included with each car as part of Genesis’ five-year care package.
Genesis Motor Europe has optimized car ownership so that clients need never visit a dealer again, according to the company’s executives, who announced the news of its European launch in a press conference today (May 4).
There will only be three “Studios”—in London, Munich, and Switzerland—that will display the Genesis line and provide sales facilities.
The Studios will be located in malls, with the London location being in the upscale Westfield.
There won’t be any price reductions or haggling, according to Genesis, whether buyers purchase a car online or at a Studio.
The smaller G70 saloon and GV70 SUV will debut in June, followed by the BMW 5 Series-competing G80 saloon and Audi Q7-sized GV80 SUV.
Within a year, the UK lineup will grow to seven models, including the all-electric G80 saloon and two further battery models, one of which will be constructed on an exclusive platform for electric vehicles.
“We are happy to be able to share our unique approach with you, and to deliver such a compelling premium contender to the region, commencing with the launch of the G80 sedan and GV80 SUV in the summer,” said Dominique Boesch, managing director of Genesis Motor Europe.
Genesis is known for its distinctive luxury design, state-of-the-art technology, and high quality service, so we are convinced that European consumers will adore it.
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According to Automotive News, all Hyundai dealerships across the nation that are now selling Genesis automobiles will be eligible to apply to become standalone Genesis dealers. The G80 and G90 will continue to be sold in the approximately 350 showrooms where they are now available, and all dealers who decide to sell Genesis vehicles will be required to sign new or separate franchise agreements. By the end of the next week, those agreements ought to be prepared and delivered to dealers. Naturally, all newly certified dealers will need to set up unique service and retail spaces dedicated to the Genesis brand.
The online journal claims that dealers are already responding favorably to the new strategy since it clarifies their role in selling premium Genesis vehicles. A Genesis dealer in the southern United States, according to our source, praised the decision to reverse course.
The unidentified dealer told Automotive News that by expanding distribution across the country, “you’re going to ease consumer anxieties that they’ll be traveling and not be able to receive service on their vehicle.” “If it works out, it will be fantastic. More sales will increase dealer profitability overall, their dealer network will be strengthened, and all those who wish to sell the product and believe in the Genesis product will be able to sell and service those automobiles. It’s a wise choice, in my opinion.”
The G70 sports sedan, the newest model from Genesis, will go on sale this summer across the country with a choice of eight exterior colors, two turbocharged engines, two transmissions, and either RWD or AWD.
What automaker offers the Genesis?
Hyundai is the maker of Genesis. Hyundai’s luxury vehicle business is called Genesis, and while being relatively new, each new Genesis model is designed with meticulous engineering to provide unmatched levels of dependability and raise the bar for refinement.
Is Hyundai’s luxury line called Genesis?
To compete with luxury brands like BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus, Hyundai formed Genesis as a stand-alone luxury business in 2015. Now, Genesis has joined the ranks of other major automakers that are increasing their investments in electric vehicles.
The business, which represents little over 3% of Hyundai’s entire car sales, announced it would create eight electric vehicle models, with 400,000 units planned to be sold annually globally.
The GV60, which will go on sale this year in South Korea and begin deliveries in North America in 2022, was introduced by Hyundai Motor on Thursday.