Genesis G90 Marks Big Changes for Hyundai

It wasn’t so long ago that Hyundai was just a small brand from South Korea, making some of the cheapest, smallest and best cars on the road. That quality is what helped Hyundai skyrocket into the automotive giant it is today.

At its current pace, Hyundai Motor America (HMA) will sell approximately 800,000 vehicles in 2016. Its Seoul-based parent company, Hyundai-Kia Motor Co., is expected to top 8 million, making it the world’s fifth-largest automaker. Not too shabby for a company that will only turn thirty next February.

If things keep going as well as they have been, Hyundai is set to become a totally different company than the small, scrappy little upstart it was just three decades ago.

The G90 sedan is strong evidence of that fact.

Expected to debut in showrooms next month, the G90 is nearly twice the size of some of the automaker’s early models and will carry a new brand name to mark its unique status: Genesis. The Genesis brand will focus exclusively on the luxury segment. Therefore, the G90 is slated to become competition for the world’s most exclusive, sumptuous automobiles, including the BMW 7-series, Lexus LS and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Hyundai’s reveal of the G90 was certainly a surprise but it wasn’t unexpected. The automaker has been positioning itself to move up the luxury ladder for over a decade, but its kept all plans for a separate, prestige brand firmly up its sleeve until now. With the global surge in the luxury market, the time was finally right for Hyundai to play its trump card. After all, the luxury market has been growing significantly faster than the mainstream market since the end of the last recession.

“We want to be a part of that growth,” said Dave Zuchowski, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, during a media preview of the new Genesis G90 in Vancouver, Canada. “[It was something Hyundai could only do] with a whole brand.”

If the name Genesis doesn’t sound entirely new to you that’s because it was used as the model name for a sedan and a sport coupe which launched as a pair in the 2009 model-year. The four-door Genesis received rave reviews and was named North American Car of the Year by a jury of 50 US and Canadian journalists.

By all intents and purposes this amounted to a successful test run. The two models didn’t quite match up to their European and Japanese competitors at the time, so expect Hyundai to hit back this time with even more distinctive styling and luxurious features. For example, there will be a concierge service for owners: Drivers will be able to schedule service appointments online and have a valet come pick up their cars wherever they are. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Expect more news on the G90 in the next month. Questions? Come ask us in person at Rosen Hyundai today.