As recently as five years ago, maybe even three years ago, if you’d told me that Hyundai was bringing its posher sibling, Genesis to the UK in a bid to steal premium family car sales from the likes of BMW, Audi and Mercedes, I’d have told you they’re doomed. As doomed as a doomed thing with doomed pods attached.
And you need only look at recent sales figures for some of the German trifecta’s existing rivals – Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Lexus – to understand why. For decades, Deutschland’s Finest have hoovered up European sales of posh family haulers, leaving little more than scraps for the rest to fight over. It barely even matters if the opposition makes a superior product, such is our proclivity for German metal. The Alfa Romeo Giulia for example, is a brilliant executive saloon. In my opinion, it’s better to drive than its equivalent Merc and Audi, and more characterful than BMW’s 3 Series. And no one is buying it. Why? Because when you buy a premium car, you want everyone to know it’s premium. And if you want everyone to know it’s premium, it has to have a German badge at the end of its bonnet. For now.
But with all that being said, today in 2022 I am cautiously optimistic about the Korean Genesis brand’s future in Europe. Because – and if you watch my videos, you’ve probably heard me make this little speech several times before – there has never been a better time to challenge the old guard. Their position at the top of the food chain has never been more vulnerable.
Why? Because this transition from petrol to electric has had the intriguing side-effect of dramatically leveling the automotive playing field. Ultimately, it will result in a significant reshuffling of the unwritten car brand hierarchy, as manufacturers navigate their complicated metamorphoses with varying degrees of success. Some posh brands we currently revere will fail to transition fast enough, or with sufficient conviction, and pale into insignificance. Some may disappear entirely. Others, who have lagged behind historically, will leapfrog the opposition and establish themselves as the new ‘it’ brand by committing wholeheartedly to EVs early, and getting really good at this new ball game before their rivals have even started playing. Some already have. Like Genesis’ parent company, Hyundai.
And herein lies my cautious confidence in the future of Genesis. It is the sub-brand of a brand that is doing everything right at the moment. A brand that has committed to electric early, learned from its mistakes, steadily improved its recipe and, as a result, now builds what I consider to be one of the finest and most desirable family cars, electric or otherwise, on sale today: the Ioniq 5.
All those learnings, all that research and technology will be available to Genesis as it stages its attack on the trio of German marques. German marques who, admittedly, do appear to finally be starting to take this electrification lark seriously. But they are already well behind. I wouldn’t bet the house on it, but just between us mates, I think they should be afraid of the impending Korean onslaught. I think Genesis could be here to stay.
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About the author
Jack is a London-based presenter, writer, and expert in all things automotive. A lifelong car fanatic and recovering petrolhead, Jack is a fully converted EV evangelist these days and, prior to joining Fully Charged, spent two years launching and fronting a new EV media brand called Electroheads.
