Hyundai Motor has announced an all-new global luxury brand – Genesis. The company claimed that the new brand will deliver ‘human-centered’ luxury through a range of new models featuring the highest standards of performance, design and innovation.
Genesis will be a standalone brand that operates alongside the company’s popular Hyundai marque. Capitalizing on its success in the fast-growing global car market, Hyundai Motor will launch six new Genesis models by 2020 and will compete with the world’s most renowned luxury car brands.
“We have created this new Genesis brand with a complete focus on our customers who want smart ownership experiences that save time and effort, with practical innovations that enhance satisfaction. The Genesis brand will fulfill these expectations, becoming a market leader through our human-centered brand strategy,” said Euisun Chung, Hyundai Motor Company vice chairman.
The Genesis brand seeks to create a new definition of luxury, aiming to provide a new platform for future mobility centered on people.
“The brand’s models will embody four key aspects: Human-focused innovation, refined and balanced performance, athletic elegance in design and hassle-free customer experience,” said the company press release.
The new model line-up will distance itself from the traditional technological overload of brand-focused competitors, concentrating instead on a personalized, hassle-free customer experience. To elevate and differentiate the Genesis brand from Hyundai, a distinct design identity, emblem, naming structure and customer service offering is being established.
Genesis models will be badged with a new wing-type emblem, redesigned from the version used on the current Genesis model to create an even more luxurious look.
The brand will also adopt a new alphanumeric naming structure. Future models will be named by combining the letter ‘G’ for Genesis with a number, 90, 80 or 70 etc, representing the segment.
Woong-Chul Yang, head of Hyundai Motor R&D Center and vice chairman of Hyundai Motor said, “The Genesis models will provide technological innovation, excellent driving performance and luxury to customers. Every Genesis model will be created with the needs of our customers in mind, so the resulting car will perfectly meet their needs without any unnecessary burden or excess.”
The models will be fitted with the latest proactive safety technologies, intuitive convenience features and IT connectivity.
To develop a distinctive and differentiated design for the new Genesis brand vehicles, Hyundai has created a Prestige Design Division. From mid-2016 Luc Donckerwolke, who was previously responsible for the design of Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Seat and Skoda models at the Volkswagen Group, will lead the new division alongside his role as head of the Hyundai Motor Design Center. The work of the new Prestige Design Division will be overseen by Peter Schreyer, as part of his group-wide design responsibilities as president and Chief Design Officer (CDO) of Hyundai Motor Group.
Commenting on the occasion, Peter Schreyer said, “In creating the design signature of Genesis brand cars, we set out to display confidence and originality, creating highly desirable products that present new charm through innovative styling and proportions.”
Initially on sale in the Korean, Chinese, North American and Middle Eastern luxury car markets, the Genesis brand will expand its reach to Europe and other parts of Asia as the model range grows to full strength.