Genesis brand launch delayed in Australia - again

The long-awaited launch of South Korean luxury brand Genesis has been delayed yet again - this time, the launch is slated for June 2019.

CarsGuide understands Genesis’ Australian operations have hit a bump in the road yet again - the latest in a number of setbacks in the lead up to the launch of the brand, which, at last measure, was due in March this year. Before that, it was due in Australia in November 2018, which itself was a delayed launch date.

The latest setback comes on the back of a multimillion-dollar retail store fitout in Pitt St, Sydney, which hasn’t gone as smoothly as the company had hoped.

The brand is aiming to have its first established shopfront presence, known as the Genesis Studio, open in Pitt St Mall.

“Due to ongoing issues relating to the building fitout of the Sydney Genesis Studio the decision has been made to push the launch date back to June 2019,” said Hyundai Australia public relations manager, Guido Schenken.

The Genesis Studio in Sydney will be the company’s first standalone point of sale in the country, and it’s entirely backed by the factory - there will be no dealerships, only stores, or Studios as the company labels them.

The prestige arm of Hyundai is set to launch with the Genesis G70 sedan, a model that competes with the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. An all-new version of the G80 (which will replace the Hyundai Genesis) will follow later this year or early next, and there’s a GX70 mid-sized SUV on the cards, too - that model will fight against the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes GLC.

Some competitor luxury offshoots have rushed to Australia in the hope of cashing in on our market’s rich taste for premium models. 

Due to ongoing issues relating to the building fitout of the Sydney Genesis Studio the decision has been made to push the launch date back to June 2019.

“Our vision is long-term. We only have one opportunity to launch the Genesis brand in Australia so we are committed to doing it the right way,” Schenken said.

Automotive pundits will no doubt look at the limited success of competitor luxury brands such as Infiniti (which amassed only 649 sales in Australia in 2018, down 16 per cent on the year prior), Jaguar (2679 sales in 2018: up 7.9 per cent), Land Rover (10,089 sales in 2018: down 23 per cent) and Lexus (8819 sales in 2018: up 0.2 per cent). 

It’s clear Genesis won’t be looking to sell 10,000 units in its first year, but the company is certainly playing it safe before it launches its push in the Aussie market. 

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