Genesis, Hyundai’s premium brand, isn’t strictly new to the UK. The Hyundai Genesis executive saloon arrived in 2015 as a BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class rival. When it was axed from Hyundai’s UK line-up in 2017, only 50 had been sold in the market.
Yet just four years later, Genesis is back – and it’s now a full stand-alone premium brand, Hyundai Motor Group’s intended rival to Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It’s a brazenly ambitious undertaking, and not just because of the history of that earlier Genesis saloon. Introducing a premium brand in Europe is a hugely tough task. The best-case scenario would be something similar to Toyota’s Lexus brand, which has taken considerable investment and decades of patience to become fully established in the UK, with sales still dwarfed by those of European rivals. The worst-case scenario? Infiniti, Nissan’s premium offshoot that finally gave up on Europe in 2019.
Genesis bosses are well aware of the task they’re facing. Tyrone Johnson, Genesis Europe’s vehicle development chief, says launching in the region will be “our greatest challenge”. Dominique Boesch, its Europe boss, calls the region the “spiritual home of the premium car market”. But he says: “We believe we have the ingredients to stand out.
Certainly, Genesis has laid the foundations for success and its Hyundai Motor Group parent has shown an ability to take incredible strides in the past decade with the Hyundai and Kia brands. The creation of the N performance division and the success of its electric models show Hyundai can thrive in new markets, and cars such as the e-Niro, i20 N and Ioniq 5 showcase its progressiveness.
Hyundai’s success has come from steady, calculated progress – and the same approach is being taken with Genesis. Boesch says the brand has been “working for many years” on its European launch plans, while starting in other regions. Genesis first launched in the US and its home market of South Korea in 2016 and has since expanded to the Middle East, Russia and Australia. It recently launched in China, and European operations will begin in the UK, Germany and Switzerland this year.
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@geed You're a little off the mark. Infiniti was Ghosn's baby and made sure there was investment. The issues with Infiniti lay in the wider business.
A new saloon is always to be welcomed.
I'd definitely consider a G/GV70. Great looking cars.