Hyundai's Genesis beats rival Infiniti in US car sales

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group's premium sub-brand, sold more car units in the US last year than its Japanese rival Infiniti.

Genesis sold a record-high 56,140 units in the US in 2022, up 13.7% from 49,621 in 2021, according to Automotive News on Jan. 8. The figures represent the combined sales of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans and electric vehicle models GV60, GV70 and GV80.

Japanese rival carmaker Nissan Motor Co. sold 46,619 Infiniti units last year in the US, down 20.4% from 58,553 in the previous year.

Other Japanese premium car brands also saw a decline in sales volume in the US. Honda Motor Co.'s luxury brand Acura sold 102,306 units in the US last year, down 35% from 157,408 units in 2021. Lexus, Toyota Motor Corp.'s premium brand, sold 258,704 units in 2022, a 15% decrease from 304,475 in the previous year.

In 2021, Hyundai beat Honda in the US market for the first time in its 35 years of business there, thanks to its successful management of the global semiconductor supply chain disruption. Last November, the sedan was named the 2023 Car of the Year by MotorTrend, a prestigious US automotive media outlet.

Hyundai aims to sell at least 20,000 G90s worldwide every year, Hyundai Motor Co. CEO Chang Jae-hoon said at a media event in January 2022. 

"As a luxury car, our G90 is more competitive than Honda’s Acura and Nissan’s Infiniti," Chang said at the time.

Genesis has also surpassed its Japanese and European rivals in the sticker price of its new cars. The average price of a new Genesis was $63,064 as of November 2022, according to Cox Automotive, a global car service solutions provider. By comparison, Infiniti's was $61,852, Acura's was $52,966, Audi's $59,516 and Volvo's $59,085.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Jihyun Kim edited this article.