In order for Genesis to get more competitive in the luxury/luxury-sport market, I think they need to get on that SUV thing they said they were gonna come out with, and they need to spice up their current selection of motors. After that, a smaller G70 size coupe wouldn't be a bad idea either. In time I suppose, in time.
But for the current market, I'm also not overly surprised by the numbers.
They're all on the way.
The 1st crossover (G80 based) is due to launch in Korea next year and 2019 in NA to be followed by the G70-based crossover and the entry-level 2-door.
Stated from the start that Hyundai needed to plan for more crossovers (need 3 at the minimum from the start and need to go on from there) for the Genesis brand and seems like there may be a distinct PHEV/EV crossover in the works as well.
And then there's the
halo GT.
Yes, this makes total sense. Genesis is aimed squarely at luxury buyers and favors the luxury experience to "sport". That pretty much spells Lexus. Since the GS is going away - that's going to mean many more Genesis G80 sales in the not too distant future. If the next Lexus LS has a much improved drivetrain and keeps it's price where it's at now - it'll make things hard on the Genesis G90. But let's see what Genesis Motors has in store for us in the future...
And, yes - we need to get those SUVs going...
The G70 will be the 1st Genesis model to focus more on
sport and think that it will make its way up to the G80 and then the G90 (to a lesser extent).
The G80 needs an upgrade on
"luxury" and while the G90 is better, it does as well looking at the LS 500.
Doubt that the LS 500 will have much of a better drivetrain than the G90 (esp. once the G90 gets the new 10 spd AT) - as no more V8 for the LS 500 (replaced by a TTV6). Likely will be a hybrid/PHEV version as well, but the G90 is supposed to get some electrification as well.
I have yet to drive a G80..and maybe the new sport model is quite a bit more sporty
But I will say that the G90 doesnt drive like anything German...its way more Lexus LS than anything else
That being said..Genesis has to have a much lower overall cost to market
Since they dont have the high cost large dealership overhead to deal with
I dont think their sales could support a free standing dealership network like the other luxury car makers have
Luxury sedans are a shrinking market. I think if Lexus didnt have their cross overs you would be seeing some Lexus dealers calling it quits
They certainly cant keep those doors open with low selling cars like what the LS400 has done for the last 2 years
Warren
Of the Germans, the G90 is closest to the S Class in large part due to its weight (tho, the S Class is still more
connected to the road).
As for separate stand-alone dealerships - that's why Hyundai isn't making any demands right now and is taking an
organic approach, letting dealers build out a new dealership when they feel sales can sustain one.
Toyota was subsidizing Lexus dealerships for a while when the brand didn't have much in the way of a lineup.
When Genesis gets the G70, the coupe and the 2 crossovers - should be enough to sustain stand-alone dealerships (at that point, Genesis sales should be around where Acura sales are now).
But there are already a no. of Genesis dealerships who have started to move forward in building out a stand-alone dealership.
