G70 US Availability?

[EdP]

But the reviews were based on the G80 and G90, since there aren't any US owners of G70s yet, and certainly not at the time of the CU report. And both the G80 and G90 sales are down. In Korea, all Genesis sales are falling short of projections, including the G70.

Other brands are not doing much better. Auto sales are a bit cyclical

 

[Beefer]

Other brands are not doing much better. Auto sales are a bit cyclical

Other brands are more established. You cannot dance around the fact that Genesis f'd up big time. I am starting to doubt the brand will survive to be quite honest.

 

[devellis]

No, they won't lower their price but it still gives them as well as others to work on competitive strategy. It is not just the higher priced but the equal and lower priced competitors..Maybe you were thinking Avalon but could be tempted to a G70?

They have to keep hundreds of dealers happy too, not a dozen people from this forum.

I think the vague prices that have been mentioned for the G70 provide competitors with enough information to pull together their pricing strategies. And those strategies can certainly be fluid, if necessary. The G70 price will put downward pressure on other cars' prices if the G70 turns out to sell well. And the other brands' dealers can always sell below MSRP if the G70's final pricing is impacting them. The factories can offer holdbacks and other incentives to dealerships that would ease their doing this. Meanwhile, if the competitors' new models come to market before the G70 is priced and available, they have a clear advantage over Genesis. Until prices are set, their value is hypothetical.

There may be good reasons for Genesis not to have released pricing but I'm not persuaded that keeping their cards close to their vests to throw off competitors' marketing strategies is a major factor. But I could be wrong.

I do agree that issues with the dealership network are likely a substantial roadblock and it might impact the final Genesis pricing strategy. Genesis may be pushing for a fairly tight dealer profit margin (relative to what dealers are used to) by setting MSRP closer to what dealers pay for the cars. This would, in a sense, come closer to the Canadian fixed-price sales model by narrowing the range of actual sales prices in the US. The dealers may be balking at that plan and well may prefer more daylight between what they pay for the car and what the sticker price is.

If the dealers win on this, it could be bad news both for them and for Genesis. The brand's biggest advantage right now is value. If they can hold to their projections, it will be very, very hard to get more car for the money within the sports sedan segment. As the price creeps up, that will be less and less the case. There are other cars that I (and others) like as well or better. But right now, they seem to be priced higher, sometimes substantially higher. As the price gap between the G70 and its competition narrows, the Genesis looks less compelling as a choice for all the reasons (brand snobbery, etc.) that we've already discussed here so many times.

Clearly, the whole dealership issue is a mess. Genesis had better figure out a way to resolve it fairly quickly or it could really hurt them. To some extent, it already has.

 

[devellis]

Other brands are not doing much better. Auto sales are a bit cyclical

Good point.

 

[Eljefetonto]

I think the vague prices that have been mentioned for the G70 provide competitors with enough information to pull together their pricing strategies. And those strategies can certainly be fluid, if necessary. The G70 price will put downward pressure on other cars' prices if the G70 turns out to sell well. And the other brands' dealers can always sell below MSRP if the G70's final pricing is impacting them. The factories can offer holdbacks and other incentives to dealerships that would ease their doing this. Meanwhile, if the competitors' new models come to market before the G70 is priced and available, they have a clear advantage over Genesis. Until prices are set, their value is hypothetical.

There may be good reasons for Genesis not to have released pricing but I'm not persuaded that keeping their cards close to their vests to throw off competitors' marketing strategies is a major factor. But I could be wrong.

I do agree that issues with the dealership network are likely a substantial roadblock and it might impact the final Genesis pricing strategy. Genesis may be pushing for a fairly tight dealer profit margin (relative to what dealers are used to) by setting MSRP closer to what dealers pay for the cars. This would, in a sense, come closer to the Canadian fixed-price sales model by narrowing the range of actual sales prices in the US. The dealers may be balking at that plan and well may prefer more daylight between what they pay for the car and what the sticker price is.

If the dealers win on this, it could be bad news both for them and for Genesis. The brand's biggest advantage right now is value. If they can hold to their projections, it will be very, very hard to get more car for the money within the sports sedan segment. As the price creeps up, that will be less and less the case. There are other cars that I (and others) like as well or better. But right now, they seem to be priced higher, sometimes substantially higher. As the price gap between the G70 and its competition narrows, the Genesis looks less compelling as a choice for all the reasons (brand snobbery, etc.) that we've already discussed here so many times.

Clearly, the whole dealership issue is a mess. Genesis had better figure out a way to resolve it fairly quickly or it could really hurt them. To some extent, it already has.

Agree with this 100%. This my same view on where Genesis stands in the current market. They have a chance to be very competitive with their value, but the longer they wait the more muck they drag across the brand they’ve built thus far and risk losing much of its early potential. They already nailed the car itself, but their PR and sales distribution is a current nightmare.

 

[Ed Okin]

Sedans sales continue to decline in favor of SUVs. As the co-owner of my wife’s 2nd Hyundai Tucson, I can attest it is a very good car and has all the advantages of a medium SUV. The G70 will get attention for sure, but to the majority of buyers, a sedan is not in their future.

 

[Eljefetonto]

Sedans sales continue to decline in favor of SUVs. As the co-owner of my wife’s 2nd Hyundai Tucson, I can attest it is a very good car and has all the advantages of a medium SUV. The G70 will get attention for sure, but to the majority of buyers, a sedan is not in their future.

That’s why Genesis’s next car is set to be the GV80 to get into the crossover game. I’m not an SUV fan but that thing looks pretty sweet.

 

[Lee55]

I am located in the southeast US. I spoke with a local Genesis dealer who said that the Genesis network is finalizing dealer licenses in Texas and Florida...and they may even have just been approved in the last week, he was not sure. These two states are the last 2 holdouts, and once licenses are approved there, then the cars (which are already in port) will begin to be shipped to the dealers. This could be within the next 2-4 weeks. I asked if they had their allocation sheets yet to show what they are receiving in the first shipment, and he said they did not. He sounded legit. He said he would call me within the next 2-4 weeks as he finds out more details.

The reality is that I think I am going to order my G70 as soon as they will accept orders, and just be patient. I do have a leased vehicle that ends next May, so I have time to order and wait for shipment.

 

[larrymg1]

I am located in the southeast US. I spoke with a local Genesis dealer who said that the Genesis network is finalizing dealer licenses in Texas and Florida...and they may even have just been approved in the last week, he was not sure. These two states are the last 2 holdouts, and once licenses are approved there, then the cars (which are already in port) will begin to be shipped to the dealers.

Appears we have conflicting information?

I just talked to the guy at my local San Jose dealership. He claims he's the Genesis rep at his dealership and he's driven the car during a recent visit to Fountain Valley, CA (US Headquarters). His estimate is that we won't see the G70 on lots in CA until Q1 next year due to the fact that CA doesn't yet recognize Genesis as a separate brand to Hyundai for 2019; details are "being worked out". He said they had 35 cars allocated and stored locally, but they all were recently sent to the 38 states that are ready to sell Genesis in preparation for the launch soon. He says that CA is the only state not ready at this point; the other 11 states are not even registered for Genesis sales (hard to believe). I told him about the NFL advertising campaign and that if CA couldn't participate in the launch, they'd lose a huge amount of sales to competition. He agreed and was not happy about that. The only good thing was that he said they do NOT mark up any cars beyond MSRP at their dealership. So when they're ready to sell, it would start at MSRP or less.

 

[Lee55]

Oh, I agree...we are all getting conflicting information. We will not know anything until it actually happens...in any case, I don't want any vehicles that have been sitting in ports for months. I will wait, and if the issue persists into 2019 and orders cannot be placed, I will just buy something else.

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[larrymg1]

Oh, I agree...we are all getting conflicting information. We will not know anything until it actually happens...in any case, I don't want any vehicles that have been sitting in ports for months. I will wait, and if the issue persists into 2019 and orders cannot be placed, I will just buy something else.

I can also confirm that NOTHING, franchise approval or dealership agreements, have been resolved in South Carolina.

 

[Beefer]

I can also confirm that NOTHING, franchise approval or dealership agreements, have been resolved in South Carolina.

Wow. What a bunch of tools.

 

[Lee55]

I can also confirm that NOTHING, franchise approval or dealership agreements, have been resolved in South Carolina.

I was told that NC approved early August and again that the only know remaining holdouts were TX and FL...there was no mention of SC.

 

[EdP]

I was told that NC approved early August and again that the only know remaining holdouts were TX and FL...there was no mention of SC.

Unless it is from corporate, no guarantee of reliability on any of it.

 

[Lee55]

Unless it is from corporate, no guarantee of reliability on any of it.

And I don't believe anything corporate says any more either because they keep changing their story.

 

[KusaKusa]

If they're still negotiating with dealerships, then the 35k - 50k price range seems really in danger now. No doubt the biggest concern of dealerships is getting their cut of the pie. But maybe Genesis will fold to lower margins than they expected on the G70 if it helps grow the brand and set up for the GV80's success.

But the delays may just be state regulations, and the dealership and price negotiations may already be settled.

 

[larrymg1]

I can also confirm that NOTHING, franchise approval or dealership agreements, have been resolved in South Carolina.

Talk about timing. Just received a call from my dealership's GM in Columbia SC and he updated me with the following:

1. Two of four Hyundai dealerships in their automotive group in SC have reached tentative agreement to become stand-alone Genesis dealers.
2. The state of SC and the SC automotive dealership association have still not resolved the various regulatory and legal issues allowing the dealers who have indicated that they will be Genesis dealer to move forward.
3. My dealer has not received any G80 or G90 inventory in over 90 days. They are acquiring additional vehicles to complete sales from other dealerships. BTW, it is getting more and more difficult due to dwindling inventory.
4. The Genesis Motor regional rep continues to be very vague about providing any details or timelines. My GM is still forecasting 1Q to receive any, G70/80/90, 2019 models. One of their automotive group's Hyundai dealers in Brunswick GA which has not qualified for a Genesis dealership has confirmed that there are multiple units at the Brunswick port.
5. My dealership is committed to continuing to provide their excellent level of service until these other issues are resolved. This includes the Valet service with Genesis vehicles.
6. The GM has no definitive information on whether Genesis will roll out G70's to an unknown number of states and dealerships where regulatory and dealership agreements have been reached.
7. The automotive group's ownership and my GM are needless to say perplexed and anxious.

FUBAR is still the word of the day, week, month, and let's hope not year.

 

[stingermang]

If the dealers win on this, it could be bad news both for them and for Genesis. The brand's biggest advantage right now is value. If they can hold to their projections, it will be very, very hard to get more car for the money within the sports sedan segment.

IMO, this is the crux of the situation. Well stated @devellis. It's the most sensible hand for HMG to play despite possible cannibalized sales between Stinger/G70 lines.

I've also wondered how the shift toward electric cars in this segment overall is going to affect long term price/market. These aren't luxury sports cars or raw muscle cars...HMG is trying to figure some kind of appealing euro-styled harmonic between the two.

I want them to succeed...just don't know if I will be in a situation to hold out long enough. (Not really their fault. I waited a long time for the Tesla and brought this on myself.)

mang.

 

[devellis]

And I don't believe anything corporate says any more either because they keep changing their story.

Good news for North Carolina if it's true. Fingers crossed. Let's hope Texas and Florida get their acts straightened out.

 

[devellis]

Just spoke to someone locally and his records indicate 45 to 60 days before the dealerships have them on their lots and are ready to sell them. This is in North Carolina. He confirmed that the issue has been legal red tape and getting all states squared away. I didn't ask whether "all states" was nationally or regionally. So, late October to some time in November looks like the timeline. Kiss "summer" goodbye. If they get into November, people may be pretty reluctant to cough up the dough for a new car just as the holidays are approaching. This has not gone smoothly, to put it mildly.