Genesis rewrites Hyundai story, shedding Honda copycat image

Once dismissed as a Honda copycat, Hyundai Motor Co. is poised to pass yet antother milestone, with its luxury brand Genesis on track to top 1 million units in cumulative sales.

Since its ambitious launch as a standalone luxury brand in 2015, Genesis has led the South Korean automotive group to its position as a high-end carmaker.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on Friday, worldwide sales of Genesis-brand cars reached 946,046 units as of the end of May.

Considering this sales growth trend, cumulative sales are poised to break the 1 million mark later this month, or no later than next month.

Genesis was Hyundai’s debut as a premium brand. It sold just 384 units in 2015, its first year of launch. But its sales surged to 210,000 units last year at home and abroad.

Notably, its sales volume in the US, the world’s largest high-end car market, beat that of Nissan’s luxury brand Infiniti in 2022.

Last year, Genesis sold 56,410 units in the US, higher than Infiniti’s 46,619 units.

Sedans made up about two-thirds of cumulative Genesis sales at 623,802 units, while SUVs sold 322,244 units. Combined, domestic sales have accounted for about two-thirds at 657,933 units.

By model, the G80 mid-size sport sedan was on top of the list, selling 370,759 units, followed by its first SUV model GV80 that sold 160,360 units.

The GV70 mid-size SUV, the G70 mid-size sedan and the G90 full-size sedan each sold several hundred thousand units. Genesis’ first dedicated EV GV60 and GV70’s EV model each sold several ten thousand units.

RIGHT PRICING

Hyundai tapped the US market in 1986 with the compact sedan Excel, but it was derided as a Honda knock-off due to their similar emblems and pronunciations.

In the three decades since making inroads into the US, it developed a reputation for its cost-effective, affordable cars, until the luxury brand Genesis debuted there in 2016.

Last year, its US sales comfortably surpassed 50,000 units for the first time, coming in at 56,410 units.

It is impressive that Genesis achieved this sales growth without depending on hefty discounts, a practice that Hyundai had earlier pursued to woo foreign drivers.

With the launch of Genesis, Hyundai has shifted toward a right-pricing policy, which has lifted the profit margins of the Hyundai Motor Group, which also includes Kia Corp.

The automotive group beat its bigger rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. in terms of operating profit in the first quarter of this year.

Moreover, its operating profit margin of 9.6% almost matched the luxury German brand BWM’s 9.8% in the quarter, while surpassing Volkswagen’s 7.3%, GM’s 6.2% and Toyota’s 5.3%.

Down the road, Genesis will accelerate its electrification through massive investments, while striving to attract young drivers with a range of sporty models.

To that end, it will increase Genesis EVs’ lineup to 17 models by 2030, including the launch of its first coupe model GV80 Coupe scheduled for later this year.

In the January-March quarter, Hyundai sold 1.02 million units. Genesis models and SUVs together accounted for 57.8%.

Write to Jung Dong Noh at Dong2@hankyung.com

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.