The Power of 'Imwoncha'... Why 1 in 10 Domestic Cars is a Genesis

Kaizu Data, Analysis of Genesis New Registration Status Since 2015
Steadily Increasing After 2.8% in the Following Year... Rising to 9.4% This Year
Increase in High-End Car Consumption and Demand for Company Executive Vehicles Also Up

In November 2015, Chung Eui-sun, then Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Company, announced the launch of the Genesis brand at the brand declaration ceremony.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hyundai Motor's premium brand Genesis has been found to account for nearly one out of every ten passenger cars sold domestically. About half of the new cars were registered as corporate vehicles.

According to data compiled by Kaizyu Data Research Institute on the annual new registrations of the Genesis brand, the number of new registrations from the beginning of this year to August reached 89,131 units. Considering that the total number of newly registered passenger cars during this period was 946,849 units, this accounts for 9.4%. This figure includes both domestic and imported car brands.

Genesis was first introduced in 2008 as a high-end mid-to-large sedan model and was launched as a separate brand in 2015 targeting the domestic and international middle class. At that time, global manufacturers such as General Motors (GM) with Cadillac, Toyota with Lexus, and Nissan with Infiniti were enjoying considerable success with their high-priced premium brands. The year following the launch of the Genesis brand saw about 43,000 new registrations domestically, accounting for 2.8%, which was considered a smooth establishment.

Genesis booth set up at the Busan International Motor Show held in July this year

Since then, sales have steadily increased, and in 2020, Genesis achieved annual domestic sales of over 100,000 units for the first time, raising its market share to 6.4%. Last year, new registrations reached 137,837 units, accounting for 9.2% of all passenger cars, and the upward trend has continued this year. The increase in demand for high-end products is attributed to revenge consumption trends following COVID-19.

Additionally, demand for executive vehicles from large corporations around the year-end and New Year personnel reshuffles also contributed. Over the past eight years since the brand's launch, about 550,000 vehicles have been newly registered, of which approximately 240,000 were registered under corporate or business names. This accounts for over 43%, meaning nearly half of all vehicles are for corporate use.

The wagon variant of the Genesis mid-size model G70, the G70 Shooting Brake. This model was first sold overseas and is the most recently launched among Genesis models in Korea.

By model, the mid-to-large sedan G80 accounted for nearly 270,000 units, representing 48.6% of total new registrations. Typically, this model is provided to executives below the CEO or president level in large corporations. Following the G80, the Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) GV80 accounted for about 70,000 units (13.1%), and the slightly smaller GV70 accounted for about 60,000 units (10.6%). Among individual buyers, those aged 50 and above made up about 55% of purchases.

The proportion of corporate purchases of Genesis vehicles is the highest among domestic car brands. However, compared to imported luxury brands, it is relatively low. According to new registration data from the Korea Imported Automobile Association, 94% of Rolls-Royce buyers were corporations up to July this year. Other ultra-luxury and supercar brands such as Lamborghini (83%), Maserati (76%), Bentley (76%), and Porsche (66%) showed similar trends. Mercedes-Benz, the top-selling imported car brand domestically, also had over half (53%) of its purchases made by corporations.

The best-selling mid-to-large sedan from the Genesis brand, the G80. From top to bottom are the 1st to 3rd generation models.

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