Hyundai Formally Establishes Genesis Luxury Division

Hyundai Motor Group formally establishes a Genesis Div. that is separate from the overarching Hyundai Motor Co. structure and will be headed by senior vice president Manfred Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald has been the de facto leader of the luxury brand since he moved to Hyundai in December 2015 after serving for 12 years as director of brand and design for Lamborghini.

Formation of the new division is announced the same day Hyundai releases its July and 7-month sales figures, which show declines of 1.8% and 7.4%, respectively.

In the home market, Hyundai’s sales are sizzling. July deliveries were up 25% year-on-year, with 59,614 units. However, overseas sales were down 6.2% to 273,566 units, caused mostly by an anti-Korea boycott in China.

For the seven months combined global sales tallied 2.53 million units, a 7.4% fall from 2.73 million in like-2016.

In announcing the formation of the new Genesis Div., Hyundai says the move was made to enhance response to luxury-car market trends and better meet consumer expectations.

The division will be fleshed out and strengthened. Initially, executives contributing to development and management of the brand are being pulled from various Hyundai departments and melded into the new organization.

The new division has four bureaus. They focus on marketing and brand communication; product strategy and planning; medium and long-term business and brand strategy; and marketing, product and customer experience.

An additional seven teams support the bureaus, including an overseas sales team.

Announcement of the new Genesis Div. follows by one week the decision of Hyundai U.K. to pull the Genesis from its portfolio, citing the brand’s low sales. Only 50 units of the Genesis have been sold in the U.K. since it first became available in 2015.

The new division faces a legal licensing entanglement in the State of Louisiana, in which the secretary of state is alleging all Genesis vehicles sold there were not properly registered and do not meet state certification requirements.

Establishment of the new Genesis Div. seems to imply discrete Genesis dealerships will handle the portfolio, as opposed to present arrangements in the U.S. and most markets where traditional Hyundai dealerships offer the brand. Such details have not been announced out of Seoul or within the various markets.

Establishment of the division also comes just weeks ahead of the unveiling of the Genesis G70, the much awaited midsize sports grand touring version of the brand, which shares a platform with Kia’s already-acclaimed Stinger.

The G70 will sell alongside the G90 fullsize luxury sedan that had its production launch in Ulsan, South Korea, in 2015 and debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January 2016. It was launched for sale in the U.S. in September 2016 as a ’17 model.

The G90 also is available in a long limo version.

The smaller G80 4-door executive sedan went on sale in Korea in July 2016 and in the U.S. and other markets at the end of that year.

There also is a G80 Sport version that uses the same twin-turbo 3.3L V-6 that was developed for the G90.

The new division may give the Genesis greater public exposure than the luxury brand seems to have received in many markets, including the U.S.

In J.D. Power studies released last month, the top-of-the-line G90 was designated the most appealing model in the Luxury Premium Car Segment. Additionally, the Genesis G90/G80 twosome ranked second-highest in the Initial Customer Quality Survey, just behind its lower-bracket cousin Kia, which took first place, and ahead of competitors Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

Hyundai offerings ranked fourth.

Three more Genesis models reportedly are under development, including two SUVs and a sports coupe, as well as eco-friendly variants within the six-model range.