Genesis Using Classic Ferrari Strategy To Maintain Exclusivity

Key Takeaways

• Genesis aims to double sales volume by 2030 by will intentionally limit volume.
• Genesis One of One program lets customers create unique cars, but the service is not actively promoted by the brand.
• Genesis is attracting Bentley customers and is creating several unique projects for wealthy clientele.

Genesis has been on a remarkable run since its inception in 2016, introducing six models and 11 derivatives in just over eight years. Last year, it sold almost as many cars as Porsche. But there is still a long way to go. If all goes to plan, it will double its sales volume by 2030. According to Genesis Chief Creative Officer and Hyundai Motor Group President, Luc Donckerwolke, global sales will be limited to 450,000 units a year.

“We are going to have a limit of 450,000, we are at more than 220,000 now. We will extend it but at the moment the main issue is having enough cars,” Donckerwolke told us at the launch of the Genesis Track Taxi Nordshleife.

Supply Will Always Equal Demand

Currently, Genesis sales are strong in its home market of Korea as well as the USA, Australia and China. The brand only entered Europe two years ago, with a tentative start in the UK, Germany and Switzerland. With legacy automakers protecting their turf, getting a foothold in the Old Continent was never going to be easy. In any event, there isn’t enough capacity to build more cars. Not yet, anyway.

“At the moment we have to first start producing the cars in Alabama and Georgia, because we cannot expand the production in Korea,” revealed Donckerwolke. “We are at the limit already. We are constructing all the factories for the Genesis products now. But we will stay exclusive. 450 (thousand) is the absolute maximum that we plan for 2030. More important is that the customer experience is at the right level. But that means that we can afford to not boost production artificially and have cars on stock.”

Genesis 1 of 1 Means Exactly That

Quietly launched in the Middle East at the end of last year, the Genesis One of One Program allows customers to spec their Genesis exactly as they want, with unique colors, fit and finish. Once that order is fulfilled, as the name suggests, it will never be repeated. And this is not a program that Genesis is actively looking to promote, either, ensuring these one-off cars remain even more exclusive.

“The One of One cars that we build, the customers come to us. We don’t even advertise the program. People come to us and say they would like to have a personalized Genesis, and we do it,” Donckerwolke revealed. So far, only a handful of cars have gone through the program, but there is considerable variety: “At the moment, we are doing our fifth G90 long wheelbase for Middle Eastern customers. We also have cars [G90] being done for an American customer, a European customer, and we have two GV80 Coupes for another customer. So, now the program is being extended to all the model lineups. So if somebody wants a GV60, we will do that.”

I spent a few days with a Genesis GV80 last year and a common observation was the car’s resemblance to the Bentley Bentayga, a brand Donckerwolke designed a few models for.

Are Bentley owners interested in the brand that the 2022 World Car Person of the Year is now heading up? It appears so.

“I had someone ask me to make his GV80 in the same specs as his Bentayga First Edition.”

Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis Chief Creative Officer

“We never advertised the fact we could do this. We just want to make sure we satisfy the demands of our customers. It’s a fortunate position that we have.” Genesis will grow its portfolio with the Magma lineup, as seen alongside the Neolun concept, and future models it has yet to announce but which are already in development. As brand awareness grows with initiatives like the Track Taxi and striking new high-peformance models hitting the road, it will have the capacity to meet demand while continuing to offer a tailored service.