Lexus will always outsell any Genesis equivalent simply because they have the superior dealer network and inventory to match. The only time this wasn't the case was with the GS (compared to the G80), which was axed anyway because the ES cannibalized all its sales.
Biggest issue right now is supply, and think the new G90 will be another (at least for certain months) if Genesis can get enough inventory here.
When sold as the Genesis sedan (larger dealer network), it handily outsold the GS.
G90 may be at the top of the range, but it is basically just a limo that wealthy Koreans buy to be chauffeured around. Halo car of the brand it is not, especially when performance is considered. When most car guys think of BMW, what pops up first? The 7-series? I doubt it. It is cars like the M3 that folks associate with the Bavarian brand.
As for the Lexus IS, paleez... that poor thing is basically unchanged since 1999. It would be like Genesis still sells the same G70 largely unchanged in 2042. Infiniti is no better. The G-series or later renamed Q40/60 has its major redesign in 2007. They still sell because these are more established name brands and have far better dealer networks than the young upstart Genesis that was only formally branded in 2015.
The G70 line is as important to Genesis as the 3-series is to BMW. It might grow and expand, but it is most definitely not going away.
The real halo car for Genesis is yet to come - mostly likely in the form of a performance coupe, hinted at with the X-Concept. No detail on its powertrain, other than being "EV-based". That, to me, is the fun one to watch for in the near future.
G70 sales have nowhere been where HMG was hoping for.
Aside from scant sales in Korea (where it's the lowest selling model, handily getting outsold by the G90), here, the G70 still gets outsold by the ancient IS.
Furthermore, only until recently, the G70 was handily outsold by the
Stinger, sold under a mass market brand and having a far less popular bodystyle (fastback).
While BMW is mostly known for the 3 Series, it's not its halo model) and the G70 is nowhere as important to HMG as the 3 Series is to BMW.
If HMG saw the G70 as being important, they wouldn't be doing a 2nd refresh like what ToyoCo has done for several Lexus models.
And instead, would be accelerating the development of the next gen model like what they have done for the Grandeur (which is facing stiff competitor from the K8).
Sight unseen, the new Grandeur already has
60k+ preorders (that's far more than the entirety of G70 sales worldwide).
Like I had said, the halo right now is the G90, and and maybe the GV90 when it arrives.
Other than that, it could be the midsize - door GT that has been in the works in various forms.