DETROIT MOTOR SHOW: Genesis to beat world’s best

Hyundai says its new range of Genesis-badged luxury cars will not only match the best in their respective classes, but beat them.

The first motor show appearance of the standalone brand took place earlier today at Detroit’s North American International Motor Show (NAIAS).

Unveiling the new G90, president and CEO of Hyundai North America, Dave Zuchowski confirmed the company’s ambitious targets and a commitment to unique platforms and drivetrains for the brand.

“It is our intent to take on the very best luxury brands in the world, and to beat them with even better product. Period!” he told the Detroit crowd.

“We are 100 per cent invested. We believe that a critical distinction for a true luxury brand is a commitment to specific platforms and powertrains.

“Others in this segment have opted for platform-sharing efficiencies with decidedly mixed results. We will simply not make that compromise for the Genesis brand,” he stated.

The G90 launched at NAIAS is an S-Class sized flagship sedan that is built on a brand-new platform. The next Genesis model to hit showrooms will be a facelifted and rebadged version of the current Mercedes-Benz E-Class sized car, which will be badged G80.

The following all-new Genesis will be a mid-size “[BMW] 3 Series fighter”, says Zuchowski. Dubbed the G70, it’s also expected to be the first N-badged high-performance Genesis. A coupe version of the same car will likely be teased via a concept car at the New York motor show in March.

Zuchkowski confirmed “X3 and X5” sized crossovers are also in the cycle-plan.

It was Zuchowski who poured water on suggestions Genesis would launch as a standalone brand at the 2014 Detroit show. Since then stronger sales of the existing Equus and Genesis models have buoyed Hyundai and Zuchowski’s sentiments towards Genesis.

With the six models outlined above expected to be in market by 2020, the US boss believes the time was right for the launch.

But even as the likely largest markets for Genesis models, North America's Hyundai boss is keeping a lid on things. Zuchkowski says stand-alone dealerships may have to wait.

Indeed, he says the ability to keep the stand-alone brand within the Hyundai dealer network, at least initially, is also important.

Hyundai Australia sources say the local Genesis experience will very likely parallel the US plans.

“This is not 'announce a plan, flip a switch and all of a sudden we’re Lexus and we’re selling vehicles in a separate distribution channel'. That is not what this is at all,” Zuchkowski told motoring.com.au.

“This’ll take five years to get where we want it to be. We’re going to have this BMW 3 Series fighter. In 2017 we’re going to have a Genesis coupe. We’re going to have crossovers. We’ve going into new segments we’re not in right now.

"As we do that, those products aren’t going to all Hyundai [US] dealers… About half of all dealers sell Equus right now… So largely the focus and commitment on premium vehicles will come from guys who have the Equus covered.

“We think over time, say at the end of 2020, in large markets, say Miami or New York or Chicago or LA where the luxury volume is high, there’s going to be enough volume and enough profit opportunity for the dealers for them to raise their hands and say ‘I’ve got all these brands under one roof, I can do more, I can separate Genesis’.

“I think in five years we’ll have a hybrid of stores; completely stand-alone Genesis stores in some markets with large volume; we’ll have stores that have a separate showroom maybe with shared service facility; we’ll have our existing model which is showroom within a showroom with shared facilities,” he stated.

“So it’s still connected to the Hyundai brand in the short-term. We think it will strengthen the [Hyundai] brand.

“We’ve still got a very big brand gap between how we’re perceived [in the US market] versus Honda and Toyota and Nissan. We were not about to take our eye off that ball and closing that gap, in order to launch a premium brand,” Zuchowski said.