Racing Genesis Surpasses Last Year's Sales Volume in Just 8 Months

Genesis Gains Major Popularity Mainly in Korea and the US
Sales Expected to Surpass 200,000 Units This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Genesis, Hyundai Motor Company's luxury car brand, has continued its explosive growth this year, surpassing last year's total sales in just eight months. Genesis is especially gaining great popularity in the United States, successfully pioneering the overseas luxury car market.

According to the automotive industry on the 3rd, Genesis's global sales officially tallied until the end of August this year reached 134,776 units, exceeding last year's total sales of 128,365 units. Considering that the total sales in 2019 were 77,134 units, sales have more than doubled in just two years.

By region, domestic sales until August this year recorded 92,968 units, and overseas sales reached 41,808 units. The overseas sales figure currently only includes the United States, so it is expected to increase further when other regions are included.

Genesis is a brand launched in November 2015 when Hyundai Motor Company officially declared its entry into the luxury car market. Genesis is also an ambitious project led and planned by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung from the initial brand planning stage, including recruiting external personnel and organizational restructuring before the brand's launch.

The encouraging aspect of Genesis's sales increase this year is that the export growth rate has risen much more than domestic sales. Thanks to this, it is expected to shed its nickname as a luxury car mainly sold in the Korean market for domestic use.

Genesis sold 19,981 units overseas last year, but this year, sales have already surpassed 40,000 units by August. Genesis is especially gaining great popularity in the United States, with sales increasing by 190% compared to the same period last year until August. In July, Genesis set a record for the highest monthly sales ever by exceeding 5,000 units sold in the U.S. for the first time.

In February, even though golf legend Tiger Woods had a rollover accident while driving a GV80 and was not seriously injured, the vehicle gained a reputation locally as a safe car, which also contributed to the increase in sales. Genesis announced plans to expand global sales by officially entering the European and Chinese markets this year.

Genesis 2022 GV80

Brand's First SUV, GV80 Gains Popularity, Boosting Domestic Sales

Genesis is also making strides in the domestic market. As of the second quarter, Genesis accounted for 19.8% (39,826 units) of Hyundai Motor's total sales this year (200,682 units), marking the highest proportion ever. This means that one out of every five new Hyundai cars on the road in Korea is a Genesis.

Since Genesis became an independent brand in 2015, its sales proportion within Hyundai Motor was around 10%, but with the great popularity of the brand's first sport utility vehicle (SUV), the GV80, launched in January last year, and the release of the GV70, the SUV lineup has been strengthened, leading to explosive sales growth.

Going forward, Genesis plans to significantly increase the proportion of electric vehicles and target the market centered on eco-friendly cars. At the brand vision presentation held the day before, Genesis President Jaehoon Chang announced that from 2025, new cars will be released only as electric or hydrogen vehicles. Through this, they also revealed a goal to sell 400,000 units annually in the global market by 2030.

Researcher Eunyeong Lim from Samsung Securities evaluated, "Genesis has announced the fastest electric vehicle transition goal among luxury car brands worldwide," adding, "The possibility of rising as a global top-tier brand in the electric energy era is increasing."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.