With the Indian luxury car market on the cusp of hitting a record high, Hyundai Motor Corporation is looking to launch its premium, luxury brand Genesis in the country, most likely by late 2025. Sources say, Hyundai has set up a new team to craft a plan for the market launch of the Genesis brand in India. Our sister publication Autocar Professional learns the predominant focus of the Genesis brand in the country will be on SUVs. This corroborates our report from a while back that said Hyundai was keen to bring its Genesis luxury arm to India.
- Genesis will take on Lexus, Audi, Mercedes and BMW in India
- India innings likely to start with two CBU models
- Local assembly planned at a later stage
Genesis expected to start India innings with SUVs
At present, the go-to-market strategy is being defined and the company is studying the potential of launching the GV70, GV80 and GV90 SUVs (the last one has yet to be launched globally) in the market. “The decision to enter the luxury car space has been taken and the company is now moving to the execution space,” added sources. The models may come in as CBUs in the first phase, and then, the SUVs will eventually be assembled at the company's factory in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai.
An email sent to Hyundai Motor India with queries did not elicit any response.
Genesis SUV line-up: a quick snapshot
The Genesis GV70 is a direct rival to the Mercedes GLC and the Audi Q5. The current-gen of this SUV has been around since 2020 and received a mid-life update recently. It comes with multiple petrol, and petrol-hybrid powertrain options.
The second model which could come to India is the GV80, which is one of the more popular Genesis SUVs around. The GV80 also made its debut back in 2020 and got a mid-life update recently. Hyundai also introduced an SUV-coupe based on the GV80 called the GV80 Coupe that gets a tapered roofline for a more sporty appearance. The GV80 is a direct rival to the Mercedes-Benz GLE and the BMW X5, among other similarly-sized luxury SUVs.
The brand also has the Genesis GV60 e-SUV that takes on the likes of the BMW iX1 and the Volvo XC40 Recharge overseas. Additionally, the GV90 SUV, which is yet to be revealed in production form, could make it to India at a later stage. This new SUV was recently previewed as a concept and is expected to be a potential rival to the Mercedes-Benz GLS and even the GLS Maybach in the future.
Genesis has sold over one million units since launch
Hyundai’s Genesis brand has crossed a major milestone of selling over 1 million vehicles cumulatively since its market launch in November 2015. Over the last few years, the company has been averaging sales of over 2-2.5 lakh units per annum. Globally, the brand has made rapid progress in key markets like the US, where sales have hit a new high and, infact, its electrified portfolio quadrupled in the last calendar year. The brand is globally present in over a few dozen markets – the entry into India will an important milestone in its global strategy.
The premium brand from the Hyundai Motor Group has set a target to become a zero-emission brand by 2030, with plans of launching only electric vehicles from 2025 onwards, thereby it hopes to pave the way to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.
Indian luxury car market rapidly growing
The Indian luxury car market continues to scale new peaks – this market has been handsomely outpacing the mainstream market. Yet, the share of luxury car sales compared to overall passenger vehicle sales is still very low, at 1.5-2 percent; for the first time in 2024, the market for luxury cars is set to cross 50,000 units. While the industry body has guided for a sub-5 percent growth, luxury carmakers are confident of growing double digits in 2024.
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