Hyundai's premium Genesis cars to break 1 million units in global sales

Genesis, the luxury car brand of Hyundai Motor Co., is on the verge of breaking the million mark in cumulative global sales this month in seven years and 10 months after its launch in November 2015.

The automaker on Sunday said the brand sold 983,716 units worldwide through last month -- 682,226 at home and 301,490 abroad. Considering that Genesis’ monthly average sales volume is around 20,000, the million mark is practically assured this month.

Genesis was launched in November 2015 as the nation’s first premium car line under the direct lead of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, then vice chairman, after 11 years of preparation. 

At the time, voices in and out of the carmaker called the move reckless as the company was stressing cost-effectiveness, but Genesis removed such fears with its performance.

Genesis’ share of Hyundai Motor’s global sales also surged from 1.2% in 2016 to 5.4% in the first quarter of this year. Lexus, the luxury brand of Japan’s Toyota, exceeded 5% of its company’s sales 32 years after launch in 1989, thus Genesis’ growth is comparatively much faster.

The best-selling model of the Genesis brand was the semi-large sedan G80, with 380,127 units since July 2016. The luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) GV80 was second with 169,894 and midsize SUV GV70 third with 154,333.
 
Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com