Genesis Begins to Break Through: Genesis has struggled to gain luxury market share in its early years, but patience, careful marketing, and its place in the headlines next to Tiger Woods might be changing things.
Genesis has struggled to gain market share, but patience and careful marketing might be changing things.
www.caranddriver.com
Nice and well-deserved article. But read the comments. The Hyundai dealership experience is really hurting the brand (and Genesis corporate isn't helping). The overwhelming majority of the comments are ones like these, praising the cars and slamming the non-luxury buying and servicing experience:
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"Bought a GV80 recently. Not a really pleasant experience trying to find the right model (3.5 Prestige) in the color combo we wanted. Dealers were totally not helpful with that. We have always had Mercedes, Audi, Lexus,... Genesis wants people to believe they are a luxury brand when in fact, they are all housed at the back corner of Hyundai dealerships sold by Hyundai salespeople and I'm sure, serviced by Hyundai service techs. When Honda, Toyota, Nissan,... came out with luxury brands, they built NEW dealerships for a reason; to differentiate them from their economy brands. I feel like I bought a really expensive Hyundai right now. I had some questions about some of the features of this technological wonder on wheels and the salespeople had absolutely no clue what they were talking about except to just make up answers! That lead me to try and contact the Genesis customer service website. I got a case number right away (automatically) and now, 2 weeks later, I'm still waiting for an answer."
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"I have been trying to buy a Genesis G80 for two months. The dealership in my area built a ram shackle hut for it's showroom without any cars. All the cars are on the lot full of dust and covered in plastic."
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"Speaking from personal experience, the biggest hurdle is dealer service!!! ...Genesis (priced $$) vehicles are being serviced at hyundai dealers by hyundai customer service reps and technicians. While that generally means pretty reasonable (for a dealer) prices for service (ex. mount/balance & alignment), the entire experience is exactly the same as bringing in a hyundai accent. Some dealers will designate a specific rep for Genesis customers (they are usually friendlier and more professional), but that's only precious few that decide to. Either way, they don't offer luxury car service other than a loaner for maintenance/warranty. Zero differentiation from Hyundai."
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" '...customers are finding their way to showrooms.' Trouble is they aren't Genesis showrooms. Part of the luxury car business is not just the vehicle itself, but the buying and owning experience, in a nice dealership with the requisite amenities and level of professionalism and service not associated with how lower end cars are sold. While a Hyundai dealer may be able to technically service the Genesis models, the customer is generally going to feel no different that the owner of an Accent or some such. Sorry, not acceptable."
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"1) Genesis needs its own dealerships. 2) Hyundai/Kia platform positioning is a mess by any measure. 3) They just started selling SUVs. Genesis makes solid cars by all accounts. However, they at least need to require separate staff and a dedicated floor space at Hyundai or Kia dealerships."
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"Love my GV80 great value for the vehicle. Hands free driver with key fob parking, stylish head turner with lots of stranger comments including 2 noting Bentley as manufacturer. Dealer and Genesis Connect service awful. Hyundai dealer no help with the complex tech in this vehicle. Genesis Connect can't connect me. Probably better service if I bought a Kona. Long road to luxury branding with service."
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etc.
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