Genesis has big plans for the future, including the launch of a new battery-electric vehicle that will carry forward the startup brand’s ongoing effort to redefine the luxury segment.
Genesis Motor America CEO Mark Del Rosso noted during a conference call via zoom organized by Detroit’s Automotive Press Association that Genesis in its five-year existence has done what many observers thought was impossible. Genesis has been number one in the J.D. Power’s IQS survey for the past four years, Del Rosso said.
“Cachet is as important as cash,” Del Rosso said, when discussing the brand’s emerging fan base of millennial and younger cohorts who have different notions than their parents or older siblings of what constitutes luxury.
(Genesis unveils teaser look at new GV70 SUV.)
“It used to be luxury was all about the shiny object,” Del Rosso said. But that is changing, and luxury now encompasses elements such as service and other elements such as free maintenance, he said. “Luxury mobility means providing highly personalized customer experience,” he said.
Although Genesis continues to operate from showrooms in Hyundai dealerships, it is still determined to offer the very best retail experience even during the COVID-19 pandemic when digital sales and the kind of delivery service Genesis already put in place became a necessity, he said.
Del Rosso expects to open the brand’s first standalone store in the next 12 to 18 months. “We’re looking forward to it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Genesis is in the process of expanding its product line with the launch of a new sedan, the G80, and two new sport-utility vehicles: the GV80 and GV70. Luxury SUVs have outsold luxury cars since 2016, and sales of luxury SUVs are expected to continue to expand well into the coming decade.
(Genesis set to double line-up in next 12 months.)
However, Genesis also continues to embrace sedans with the introduction of the new 2021 G80, he said. Genesis sedans have picked up market share and the growth are expected to continue, he said. “While the sedan segment is shrinking, we’re still gaining share,” he said.
“We really feel our products are gaining all over the world,” Del Rosso added. “All of our designers have done a tremendous job.”
The eye-catching designs that have defined the Genesis product line are evident in the designs of the brands new products, he said. In addition, the brand’s vehicles will continue to feature a full array of the very latest technology.
The 2021 G80 and GV80 will reach showrooms in November, while the GV70 will appear early next year.
Genesis also is preparing for the introduction of a new battery-electric vehicle, according to Del Grosso, who said he was not prepared to offer any details about the Genesis BEV just yet.
(Genesis offers closer look at GV80 — its first SUV.)
Del Rosso, however, said Genesis has no plans for a hybrid or plug-in hybrid. Instead it preferred to emphasize the BEV because it fit the brand’s forward looking perspective. “It makes a statement that there is an intelligence behind the brand. We felt it was important to make the leap forward to a BEV,” he added.
