The Hyundai Genesis and upcoming Equus sedan have proved that Hyundai is capable of producing competitive luxury models that can compete with the best from BMW and Mercedes, but one problem is that buyers still have issues with the “Hyundai” name. Hyundai is still thought of as a budget brand, although that view is changing slowly. Hyundai is mulling the idea of creating a luxury brand that would be called Genesis and would compete with Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc.
In addition to creating a separate brand, Hyundai may also release a new BMW 3 Series fighter and a luxury crossover that would compete with the Lexus RX.
Currently there are three possibilities for the Genesis brand: creating a subbrand called “Genesis”, which would be sold in the same dealer network as Hyundai, but in a different area of the showroom; keeping the cars badged as Hyundais; or the most ambitious and expensive move would be to spin off the Genesis brand into separate dealer facilities like Lexus and Honda’s Acura brand.
For now, Hyundai is going to see how well the $58k Equus does before it makes a decision…
Full Story: Wall Street Journal
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