The luxury automaker faces a choice: Does it continue as a value proposition compared with its German rivals, or does it push upmarket in search of higher margins?
- Genesis, approaching a decade as a stand-alone brand, is at a crossroads as it works to compete with German luxury automakers.
- At a media event in South Korea, a Genesis executive suggested that the entry-level car, the G70 compact sedan, could be a casualty of the brand’s move upmarket.
- The increasing focus on larger models including the G80, G90, GV80, and GV80 Coupe is part of that push.
The luxury-car market is a highly competitive space, and its customers tend to be fiercely loyal to their preferred brands. Breaking into that market as an upstart brand is a daunting task—just ask Henrik Fisker about the difficulty of pulling customers away from automakers they’ve bought cars from their entire adult lives.
Despite those challenges, Genesis, the luxury arm of Hyundai, has been doing an admirable job for 10 years now.
Looking to shake off preconceived perceptions tied to Hyundai’s early days, the Genesis name was spun off into a stand-alone brand in late 2015. The move allowed Genesis to stand on its own two feet as a genuine luxury brand capable of competing with the likes of BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.
Now, approaching the brand’s 10th birthday, Genesis executives face a decision: Do they carry on as a value proposition, or do they drift upmarket with cars that offer a higher profit margin?
Speaking to media in an event attended by Car and Driver last week, Genesis global product officer Marc Choi explained that there is a push/pull within the Genesis leadership structure for where the brand should position itself. As the cheapest model offered by Genesis, the $44,000 G70 compact sedan is central to those discussions.
“It’s very attractive to think, okay, let’s do a front-wheel drive, $45,000 or below model, but we want to avoid making that hasty decision,” said Choi. “Our goal for the brand is to pull up the brand equity, so we’re resisting at the moment. So even within our lineup, we want to focus on some of the larger products like G80, GV80, and G90 series where we can make more product and equity for the brand.”
And focus on those models it has. In the Middle East, Genesis puts itself into the ultra-luxury sphere with a one-of-one program for its wealthiest customers. For the rest of the world, the 2025 G80 and GV80 both got facelifts, with Genesis adding a coupe version of the GV80 to the SUV lineup. Just last week, Genesis executives told us that Prestige Black versions of the G80, G90, GV80, and GV80 Coupe are making their way to the U.S. later this year. At the same time, Genesis revealed a pair of coupe concepts based on the G90 sedan. While the brand wouldn’t commit to production, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them go on the market eventually.
Given that focus, we’re back to the leadership group’s decision. “We always consider [the low end of our range], and we want to create potentially a next-generation G70 with a little bit more affordable price range, but we need to compete within our sister brands as well, so there needs to be a kind of balance.”
Sadly, for fans of the compact sedan, more success for the Genesis brand could mean leaving the G70 in the past as the company aims for bigger and better things. That said, we don’t expect Genesis to fully abandon the cheaper end of its lineup, as the GV70 SUV continues to be its bestseller by a wide margin.
