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Genesis wants to make you a believer. Hyundai’s new luxury brand has set the ambitious target of attracting up to 10 per cent of the luxury car market with its new models, including the just launched GV80, which is the brand’s first SUV.
Breaking the dominance of the big three German luxury brands - Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi - has long been a challenge for alternative brands including Volvo and Jaguar, as well as Lexus; which the Genesis business model is based on.
It has taken Lexus, Toyota’s luxury arm, the better part of three decades to be seen as a serious alternative to the German trio, but the Japanese brand can now consider itself a rival in most key segments.
The last mainstream brand to launch a premium off-shoot, Nissan’s Infiniti, flopped in the local market after failing to attract any significant interest from local luxury buyers.
Genesis officially launched its Australian operations in 2019 with the G70 and G80 sedans, which are currently attracting just 0.9 per cent and 2.1 per cent market share in their respective segments.
So, what does success look like for Genesis in Australia given its lowly starting position and the struggles of both Lexus and Infiniti? Genesis Australia CEO Jun Heo is confident the arrival of the all-new GV80, new-generation G80 and others will find favour with local customers and is setting a lofty target.
“If you ask us how can we can quantify market share, we expect success as a brand in Australia... as a first step, 10 per cent market share of the luxury market in Australia,” he said. “We want to be ambitious.”
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Asked what the timeframe was for this “first step”, Mr Heo didn’t add any details but said the key to achieving it will be treating the customers it does attract the right way.
“We want to go there directly, but it’s up to our customer reaction,” he explained. “Obviously with our wonderful product, we can go there very fast, but we cannot say when we can touch 10 per cent, 20 per cent, we have no idea. That’s up to our customer experience.”
Which is why Genesis wants to make its customers believers in the brand, spruiking both the cars and the brand’s extensive aftersales experience, which will include free servicing and concierge-style car collections and drop-offs for services.
“I think first and foremost customers that are more ambassadors, in a way,” said Genesis Australia spokesman Bill Thomas. “I think we need our customers to love the vehicles and be some of our key salespeople in that way… If they love the car, they’ll talk about it.”
He added: “I think the focus is on customers. That customer get what they need, making sure that their time is valued, that their experience is right. That’s a long way towards being successful.”
Genesis’ national marketing manager, Stewart Parnaby, said his goal was to have “Australia’s proudest owners.”
While ambitious, Mr Heo is confident that Genesis has learned lessons from both the long-term success of Lexus and the short-lived failure of Infiniti.
“We know [it will be hard],” he said. “The people that launched Genesis did a study, in the United States and European markets we learnt some lessons. Those lessons weren’t free. We’ve learnt a lot of things. Before we launched the Genesis brand in Australia last year, we learned a lot of things. We’ve studied, we’ve analysed the customer.”
And Mr Heo and his team are in it for the long haul, admitting there is no fixed date for when Genesis needs to start making a profit in Australia.
“We’ve taken a deep breath,” he said.
“It’s a long journey. We already know that.”
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