Genesis' new car sales figures prove SUVs are the way to market success in Australia

The Genesis story in Australia has been a slow burn - not exactly the six days it took in that Genesis - but it’s starting to prove there’s a market for its niche offering of luxury-focused models built from platforms and mechanicals of Hyundai and Kia’s making.

While some luxury brands are faltering or managing to just hold sales steady through this year compared to last, Genesis is continuing its strides of growth, having already eclipsed its previous year’s total sales (1039 cars, then a record) in just seven months with 1061 sales.

Last year, Genesis took nine months to reach 755 sales to do the same for its 2021 figure of 734. Not only is the brand on the rise, but its pace is increasing.

For comparison, at this time last year Genesis was sitting on about half the sales it is this year to date - just 552, and it should be noted that almost none were electric cars.

This year, of the 1061 cars sold so far by Genesis, 634 are GV70 SUVs - highlighting the importance of the mid-size SUV segment - but 57 of those are Electrified GV70s. That’s up from the total 309 GV70s sold by the same time in 2022.

Add these to the 142 units of GV60 electric SUV the brand has sold throughout 2023, plus even the six Electrified G80 sedans, and 205 of Genesis’ sales this year have been electric cars, almost one in five of its cars sold.

Of course, these cars arrived late last year - by July in 2022 only three electric G80s and 12 GV60s had been registered for delivery here, likely for their respective launches.

While the rise in electric car sales is impressive, Genesis’ figures this year compared to last really do prove SUVs are paramount when it comes to sales success.

While the G70 sedan and Shooting Brake held steady with figures year to year (42 sold both years-to-date for the sedan, from six up to eight for the wagon), and the G80 dropped off slightly (39 down to 28), all three SUV models are up significantly this year.

The aforementioned GV70 rise is a total 325 more than it was last year-to-date, while the GV60 has actually been on sale this year and racked up 142 sales so far.

Even the older GV80 large SUV has sold 64 more units this year than last, up to 208 from 144.