Hyundai Motor Co. announced that it will launch a new standalone luxury car brand called Genesis, as the South Korean carmaker seeks to move upscale and to target higher profit margins.
The brand will likely compete against Toyota Motor Corporation's Lexus or Nissan's Infiniti.
Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman Euisun Chung said, as reported on Auto news, the new Genesis will target upscale buyers who are savvy, affluent progressives, who are reasonable, progressive, and young.
Chung said that the new Genesis brand was created with a complete focus on customers who want smart ownership experiences that save time and effort, with practical innovations that enhance satisfaction.
According to Bloomberg, the announcement that was streamed from Seoul to the media at Hyundai's U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, California, comes two weeks after the company reported profit declines on seventh consecutive quarter due to slump in deliveries in China, Rusia and Brazil.
The company is counting on the new Genesis to help boost revenue.
Hyundai's shares rose 2.2% to 166,000 won after the announcement. Its the highest intraday level since October 5.
The new Genesis cars, according to Reuters, are also created as the Chairman Chung Mongkoo has the ambition to take the automaker more upmarket.
The company has reached out to Luc Donckerwolke, a former chief designer at Volkswagen Group, to join the firm in first half 2016 as a senior vice president to work on Genesis models and Hyundai cars.
The new Genesis brand uses a rear-wheel-drive platform as its significant design elements. The design allows premium style proportions with a long hood and pretty short front overhang.
The brand starts global sales next month with the all-new Equus that will be renamed as G90 sedan.
Another model set to follow next year is the new Hyundai's Genesis sedan that will be renamed G80. A third sedan the G70 will follow to be launched a year later, and by 2021 Genesis will have a total of six rear wheel drive models including a midsize crossover and SVU.
The brand's new cars will not carry the Hyundai label but simply the Genesis logo. The Genesis brand would be sold through its own separate channel in the future. But for the near term, there would have to be "Genesis showroom" inside Hyundai's existing showrooms.
For the new Genesis brand, Hyundai also has developed a twin turbo, 3.3 liter V6 engine that will provide an efficient yet powerful vehicle in the Genesis family.
Hyundai is also expected to unveil a redesign of its luxury sedan Equus for model 2017 at New York Auto Show next year.
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