Upstart GENESIS Brand Aims Straight At The Germans With Plans To Build A Supercar!

Instead of working on releasing a Supercar, Hyundai first needs to spend their time & resources establishing a stand alone dealer network for the Genesis brand.

No it doesn't. Do you know nothing about the pragmatics of starting a business? It's about market penetration.

By not insisting on stand-alone dealers, Genesis will have much faster market penetration. It's not as if Genesis in a stand-alone dealer network will instantly cause people to see it as the equal of Mercedes.

For a new brand, stand-alone dealers often work against the brand.

BMW insisted that Mini be in stand-alone dealers and that forced BMW to have to design a series of models for Mini to be a full-line and that was not successful given how many got trimmed.

Yes, stand-alone dealers should be a "goal" but most decidedly not a "requirement".

Genesis could borrow a page from Maserati and go into shuttered dealers. The local Maserati dealer is in a shuttered Hummer dealer.

As for the future cars...our passenger vehicles and two SUVs over the next five years, I predict the four passenger cars will be:

current Genesis freshened into it's G-name
production version of Genesis New York
replacement for the Genesis coupe
halo sports car

The two SUVs are likely to be 5 and 7 passenger AWD wagons pulled off Genesis RWD platform in much the same way Maserati jacked up a Dodge Magnum and threw on a new body to make the Levante.

I also predict that Genesis will go after the Corvette rather than the NSX because a halo car is only a halo if it sells, gets out into the public, and makes a name for itself. The NSX will never accomplish that.

@ — MDarringer

Not only is your lengthy response a bunch of bunk, but based on your dismal logic, I'm not quite sure that you're actually involved in the automobile industry or truly own Car Dealerships as you've alleged!

Clearly you fail to understand the significant fact that the majority of luxury car buyers, specifically in higher price ranges aren't going to purchase or lease vehicles from a upstart automobile brand like Genesis without dedicated dealerships, professional sales support & repair facilities.

Furthermore Mini produces small compact, low priced vehicles, not expensive luxury cars & Maserati sales are dismal, especially when compared to other luxury car brands Maserati competes with so these examples you've presented are
defective.

Finally, perception & brand prestige is very important within the luxury ranks plus Hyundai has been selling Genesis models without a standalone dealership since entering the North American market 8 years ago & continuing to follow down this path without fully investing in the infrastructure of Genesis will damage it's future reputation & image among consumers.

@monopoly1 are you in the industry? No? Then #STFU. The demographic research says that buyers do not give a spit about stand alone dealers. They care about how they are TREATED. All of the customer research says that.

Besides, most Porsche/Audi/VW dealer are on one lot. They may have separate show rooms, but Porsche and Auid are NOT stand alone.

@ — MDarringer

I think it's you that should "STFU" because your commentary plainly reflects you're dumb as a box of rocks. And unless you can actually cite or post specific studies which backup your premise, I'm calling b@llshit on the "demographic research" claims you've mentioned in regards to luxury car buyers not caring about "standalone" dealerships, which is simply sheer baloney.

Furthermore, despite your continual babbling there are still a large number of specific, dedicated Audi & Porsche dealerships which aren't merged with other VW products plus unlike the Koreans & Genesis the German makes also have a more loyal clientèle base along a history of cachet, status & producing higher end automobiles which allow large scale car companies like VW to lump all their specific brands under one dealer umbrella without customer dissatisfaction or dissent.

mish mash of jaguar and lexus front

Lexus has succeeded without a super-car - what makes anyone think such a vehicle is required.

THe reality is - what Genesis will need is cars superior to the existing competition - INCLUDING interior space - and that are priced substantially lower than the competition. It will then take decades for them to bring their prices in line with the others - but that is the only way they will get an audience. Owners of German premium cars have already shown with Cadillac - that superiority is meaningless.

@TomM Clearly you have forgotten the Lexus LFA.

Genesis will NOT need cars SUPERIOR to the competition. All they have to do is (1) be as good, (2) have killer styling that attracts customers, (3) better quality/reliability/durability than the Germans (easy to do), and (4) slightly advantageous pricing.

You also realize you contradicted yourself, right?

LEXUS Existed for two decades before the LFA - so certainly if a HALO car was required - people waited a LONG time.

In superior to the competition - I actually specified where - in interior space. And I pointed out the mistake that Cadillac made making smaller cars - that simply take up space on dealers lots. And If they make the SAME mistake - they will get no better a result.

And I think you are wrong that they can overcome their source (Korea) - with slightly advantageous pricing. If you go to a Hyundai dealer today - you know that they cannot sell their cars anywhere near MSRP -they need HUGE discounts - even when their cars are competitive. In car classes where the CACHET of the German manufacturers cannot be merely duplicated - they will need a lot of reasons for people to buy their cars. ANd IF they can build a good reputation - one they go not currently have - for reliability - which will take time - they might be able to raise their prices close to the Germans - but I doubt it will happen in MY lifetime. YOU see - it is not actually producing cars that are more reliable - but it is the PERCEPTION - that has to be overcome as well - and that IS NOT EASY. For years - VW's were perceived to be well constructed cars - when they were actually not as reliable as they were perceived by the consumer. ANd it took DECADES for the Japanese to overcome their initial lack of quality - and be perceived as reliable.

And NO - I did not contradict myself. Cadillac has produced cars that have been reviewed to be equal if not superior to the Germans - and they cannot sell them in any great numbers. Even when the CTS was a larger car than the 3 series -which is was PRICED against initially - it did not outsell the germans.

As far as it being easy to better german and other premium reliability - the more electronic gadgets and features you ADD to cars - the more things to go wrong and being on the leading edge of that - means you have less time to get them right. That is largely why premium cars are less reliable than barebones sub-compacts. THe idea that Geneses would both BETTER the reliability of the Germans AND BE PERCEIVED to be better than the Germans - will most certainly NOT be easy.

@TomM you're not in the retail world therefore your supposition about Hyundai's transaction prices is dead wrong. Hyundai is no more incentivized than Toyota, Honda, Ford, Kia, Chevrolet, or Mazda.

The incentivization (sic) queens are the Chrysler 200, Nissan Altima, and VW Passat.

This could be another nail in the coffin for Infiniti. The right dealer network, design, and service would hit Lexus hard.

@Dr550 I predict Lexus will be just fine. If anything, Jaguar and Maserati will have an even harder time getting traction. BMW and Audi are standing still and they will probably scoff and sneer at Genesis and Genesis will laugh all the way to the bank.

MD, as long as Toyota is ok, Lexus is ok. If Genesis can hit the "30-35K sweet spot" with a ES and RX competitor that will make things interesting. Genesis will have to invest much time and money before they are laughing to the bank.

Lexus is very much in the fight and while the styling may not be pretty, Lexus is clawing at the market.

As for Genesis hitting a "sweet spot" with "30-35K" sales. It already does with with the Genesis sedan.

Hyundai/Kia sell 5-7K units a year on the haphazardly focused Equus/K900 duo which is roughly 1/4 to 1/3 of Mercedes S Class volume, this the G90 should be able to improve on that significantly.

Genesis isn't going after the ES--it should--and I think they'll be very precise in their focus on the crossover.

This is going to be fun....

Especially since Audi will be compromised for gravy train cash for engineering--no doubt--to the big pay outs VW will have to do. Genesis already outsells Jaguar 2.5:1. Cadillac will be hobbled by De Nysschen. Mercedes will be Mercedes. Infiniti will die. BMW "has" Toyota. This will be delish.

It's going to be a LONG time before any successful young person picks a Hyundai over a similarly priced Audi, BMW, or Mercedes, whatever they call it. Might have worked with the geriatric Genesis but their sports sedan is DOA.

You're so WRONG. The demographic research obliterates your arm chair masturbatory idiocy.

Dream on. It absolutely doesn't. You sound like a Hyundai salesman. Lol.

All this rhetoric about a silly looking wannabe Hyundai? Go figure.

Sorry - BUT you are wrong - the basic incentives from the Hyundai may be similar to other manufacturers - but the dealers discount the cars far more than Toyota or Honda or GM/Ford. AS I have pointed out - My brother was a car dealer in the area - and I personally know several Hyundai and Kia dealers.

While you may be correct about individual models - all manufacturers have had cars that did not sell - Chevrolet with the last generation Malibu would be an example - Overall - Hyundai dealers discount all of their cars more. Add in the NEED for a 100,000 mile warranty which most other companies have exited from - and the cars simply would not sell without it.

As far as other companies - the real problem is that there are so many different companies now going after a shrinking set of buyers for sedans (Virtually all increases are in the 4x4 segments) - and few of these cars are really that different from the others. ANd there are enough brands with a storied past - that a car made by a cut rate manufacturer will simply be interpreted as a way of being cheap. All of these cars have only a finite life in regular prices - and as they age - they lose their "charm" and "desirability". People who want a premium sports sedan want a "Name" brand that shows they have class - not one that says "cheap" right from the get go. Genesis will take a LONG time to be successful among those people. THe people they MIGHT get will be those who think that a genesis represents a step up from the Honda or Toyota they would have bought because they could not afford a real premium car!

Why is there a picture of a BMW i8 for a Hyundai article?