Hyundai To Give Genesis Its Own Dealerships

The Genesis brand is shaping up to be a real competitor in the luxury car space. We doubted Hyundai when it first launched the Genesis and Equus, but the company is moving in the right direction to dump its old "cheap car" image. The brand is gaining traction thanks to the recently revealed G70, but still has a long way to go before all of its problems are gone. For starters, Genesis cars are still sold at regular Hyundai dealerships. This is a big problem for several reasons, but Automotive News reports that company intends to fix this issue.

The report claims that Hyundai will spinoff the Genesis brand with its own dealerships by 2020. Genesis General Manager Erwin Raphael said that the brand will establish shop standards by the end of the year that will help the transition. "The reality is, many, many luxury customers tell us they love our products, they're amazing, but I'm not going into a Hyundai store to buy it," Raphael said at the launch of the G70. The truth is that people who are spending anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 on a Genesis do not want to have the same buying experience as someone who is shopping for a sub-$20,000 Hyundai Accent.

When people walk into a dealership to buy a non-luxury car like a Hyundai, Ford, Chevy or Honda, they are asked questions like "how much do you want your monthly payment to be?" and "what can I do to get you out the door in this car today?" These are cheesy questions that aren't befitting of a luxury automaker. You don't see many Lexus or Porsche dealerships hounding customers to run their credit before a test drive. Genesis currently has a confusing sales network where 835 Hyundai dealerships can sell the G80, while only 352 have opted to sell the G90, which requires a special show-room-within-showroom.