Genesis

Auto blog

2020 Genesis G90 facelift leaked in pictures posted online

An updated Genesis G90 has been teased recently, but this is our best look at the flagship sedan's new styling. The pictures were posted to a Korean forum a short time ago. If you didn't care for the big grille trend that keeps rolling along, then this G90 might not be the one for you. The grille takes up nearly the entire frontal area of the car (it's somehow larger than before) with a silver and black lattice pattern being the most prominent design feature. There are a few vents that extend across the lower portion of the front bumper, too. Genesis devised some distinctive looking headlights for the G90 too — the wraparound style is exaggerated even more by the one strip of light extending beyond the headlight and into the front fender. Out back, the design is completely different from before. Hyundai's luxury arm replaced the smaller, vertical taillights with horizontal ones, stretching from one side of the trunk to the other. It's an increasingly popular design nowadays and seems to suit the Genesis just as well. Many car makers execute this sweeping red strip to make the cars look futuristic, but the chrome/silver trim surrounding the taillights actually make this feel more like a throwback look. Instead of the winged Genesis badge in the center, Genesis appears to be getting more confident in its brand name by spelling it out in wide letters across the trunk. Unfortunately, the badging on the bottom right is unreadable, because it would most likely indicate a powertrain choice. We don't expect there to be wholesale changes in the powertrain options for 2020, but there's always a chance we see an updated engine to go along with the new face. Genesis has previously said it will go on sale in South Korea in June 2019, but a reveal should occur before then. In the meantime, Genesis has the awesome new G70 out to do battle with the 3 Series and others of its ilk.Related video:

2020 Genesis G90 teases its refreshed face

We've known for a little while that Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis has been working to update its midsize sedan, the G80. It has shown up in spy photos a few times, and seems to be getting close to production. As it turns out, it's not the only Genesis sedan going under the knife. There's a 2020 Genesis G90 coming with a thoroughly freshened exterior, and it was teased on one of Hyundai's Korean media sites and on its Korean Facebook page. As shown in the photo above, the nose of the new G90 is much more aggressive than the curvy, swept-back look of the current model. The headlights are low and horizontal. They have slim LED accents that split each headlamp and extend out toward the fenders. The grille appears to have lost its slats in favor of a deep set mesh design. We can't quite make out the shape of the grille, but we expect it will have the pentagonal design seen on the G80 prototype and Essentia concept. Hyundai says the car is an update of the current G90, known as the EQ900 in South Korea until this freshened model launches. As such, there likely won't be major changes to the sides of the car. The rear will probably be updated, possibly with a more curt tail and horizontal taillights like the G80 prototype we've seen. Mechanical changes will probably be minimal, too. The company did note that the car will feature over-the-air navigation updates along with active noise cancellation. The car will be released this coming June in South Korea, and a full reveal of the car will likely occur before then. Related Video:

How Hyundai lost momentum, and will 'take a few years' to recover

SEOUL/DETROIT/CHONGQING, China — At a near-empty Hyundai Motor showroom in the Chinese mega city of Chongqing, the store manager is grumbling about his shortage of customers and a lack of bigger, cheaper SUV models popular in the world's largest auto market. Even with discounting of as much as 25 percent, his dealership was selling barely a hundred vehicles a month, said the manager surnamed Li. A nearby Nissan dealership was selling about 400 vehicles a month, a store manager there said. "The sales are simply poor," Li told Reuters. "Look at the Nissan store next door, they have tens of customers while we just have two." An hour's drive away is Hyundai's massive $1 billion manufacturing plant, which opened last year with a target to produce 300,000 vehicles per year. But with sales weak and the Chinese auto market slowing sharply, the factory is running at roughly 30 percent of capacity, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The sources asked not to be identified because the information was not public. Hyundai, the world's fifth largest automaker, declined to comment on the Chongqing plant's production or the showroom's sales but said it is "closely cooperating" with local partner BAIC to turn around the China business. BAIC did not respond to requests for comment. Hyundai's woes mark a major reversal for the automaker which was an early success story in China as it quickly and cheaply rolled out popular new models into a surging market. In 2009, Hyundai and partner Kia's combined sales ranked third in China after General Motors and Volkswagen. The South Korean duo now ranks ninth, and its market share in China was 4 percent last year, from more than10 percent at the beginning of this decade. Executives and industry experts say Hyundai conceded its once stronghold in the low-end segment to fast-growing Chinese rivals such as Geely and BYD. Foreign rivals not only defended their turf in premium segments but also kept pricing competitive for mass-market models, squeezing Hyundai's positioning as an affordable foreign brand, they said. In the United States, the world's second-biggest auto market, Hyundai's market share fell to 4 percent last year, near a decade low. Hyundai ran into problems in China and the United States for similar reasons: It missed shifts in consumer tastes, especially the surge in demand for SUVs, and it sought higher prices than its brand image could command, four Chinese dealers and half a dozen former and current U.S.

2019 Genesis G70 gets exact same base price as BMW 3 Series

The Genesis G70, the smaller, entry-level luxury sedan of the lineup, goes on sale this week and starts at $35,895 including destination charges. That just happens to be the exact same base price as a 2018 BMW 3 Series to the dollar. We see what you did there, Genesis. Anyway, the base G70 comes with the turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder that makes 252 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, as well as plenty of tech gizmos for that price. Whereas you'll have to pay extra to get driver assistance features like adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist in other luxury cars, those and a whole suite of features like them are standard in the G70. If you're like us, though, the trim you're probably most interested in is the row-your-own four-cylinder Sport model. This car starts at $38,895. So for $3,000 you'll get the limited-slip differential, Brembo brakes with performance pads, a sport exhaust system and 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped with Michelin PS4 summer rubber. Genesis tosses in a few other cool bits from higher trim levels like full LED headlights, the Lexicon 15-speaker audio system, a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel plus heated and cooled front seats. That's a pretty good deal, especially when you take into account how much we liked driving the darn thing. Of course, the price only goes up from there. The cheapest you'll be able to get the 3.3-liter turbo V6 is $44,745 — a good bit more than the four-cylinder. Optioning all-wheel drive onto any of the trim levels that aren't one of the two launch editions will set you back an extra $2,000. Speaking of those launch editions: The Design Edition builds on the top-tier Prestige trim and gives you an exclusive green exterior with cream colored leather seats for $51,245. There are some matching green accents on the interior, as well as a steering wheel wrapped in Italian leather. The Dynamic Edition is much cooler, and is based on the Sport trim, but this comes with the boosted V6 and eight-speed auto. Genesis played with the suspension tuning for this one in addition to using performance brake pads and summer tires. "Upgraded thermal capacity" is another feature listed, but we'll get back to you on exactly what that means once Genesis tells us. Both the Design and Dynamic launch edition cars will be limited to 400 each. Besides these limited edition trims, all G70s with either four or six cylinders are available in the following trims: Advanced, Elite, Prestige and Sport.

Hyundai Motor Group promotes heir apparent

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group promoted heir apparent Euisun Chung on Friday to a role of overseeing the conglomerate, moving him a step closer to succeeding his octogenarian father as head of South Korea's second largest group. Chung, 47, who will assist his father and group chairman Mong-Koo Chung, was appointed as executive vice chairman to respond to "deteriorating global trade issues and changes in competitive dynamics in major markets," Hyundai Motor Group said in a statement. Chaebols like Hyundai and Samsung Group, which have grown into global firms from the rubble of the 1950-1953 Korean War, are undergoing a transfer of power to third- or fourth-generation leaders. "In his new capacity, Executive Vice Chairman Euisun Chung will oversee the entire Group's operations, aiding and reporting to Chairman Mong-Koo Chung," the statement said. The appointment also comes as Hyundai battles tumbling profits, mounting pressure from activist shareholders to improve its governance, and amid South Korea's trade tensions with the United States that threaten to disrupt its production plans. "This is a good sign," Park Yoo-kyung, a director at Dutch pension fund APG Asset Management, said of the appointment. "This will enhance transparency about who is controlling the group and who is making key strategic decisions," she said. Generational shift The junior Chung, currently vice chairman of the group's crown jewel, Hyundai Motor Co, has stepped up in recent years, attending motor shows and government meetings with business leaders on behalf of his 80-year-old father who has made few public appearances. Shares in Hyundai Motor ended up 0.8 percent on Friday, and affiliate Kia Motors fell 0.3 percent in a wider market that rose 1.4 percent. Chairman Chung, the all-powerful boss, has presided over Hyundai for about two decades, transforming the company into the world's fifth-biggest car maker along with Kia Motors. Hyundai is now struggling to reverse slowing sales in China and the United States, where the company has suffered due to its delayed response to booming demand for SUVs. The appointment is part of an effort to "improve future competitiveness and secure future growth engines" at a time when the auto industry is undergoing major changes, the group said. The junior Chung has led the group's efforts to develop future vehicles such as autonomous and connected cars, as well as Hyundai's fledging premium brand Genesis.

Genesis Essentia is not yet headed for production, despite some reports

As we told you a couple of days ago, Erwin Raphael, the head of Genesis North America, spoke to a gathering of Detroit media, saying of the Genesis Essentia Concept, "We are very committed to the Essentia." If adapted to a production car, he continued, it would be "a limited edition" and "a statement car." We took that quote for what it was — aspirational, a strong intent, but not greenlighted. But some in attendance heard that the show car is headed for production. Nope, not yet. Jalopnik cleared this up via a Genesis spokeswoman: "Genesis is pursuing the feasibility of Essentia — but as of now, there's no production confirmation," she said. "Some reporters may have gotten ahead of themselves based on speculation. No timelines to share at this time." But take heart. If — again if — the Essentia were to be produced, Raphael wouldn't peg numbers or prices, just that the performance EV would be more dear than any Genesis on sale right now. The standard production Genesis G90 5.0 Ultimate AWD starts at $74,350 before destination, but the Genesis site quotes an "all-inclusive price from $84,000," italics ours. So it doesn't seem unreasonable to suggest a small-batch electric coupe on a one-off platform with major OEM engineering behind it will step into six-figure territory. And though Raphael and the spokeswoman didn't offer a timeframe, Genesis boss Manfred Fitzgerald, in an earlier interview, said his team was pushing to get the electric coupe built and on the road by 2021 or 2022. So how much diluting of the concept would Genesis designers need to do to satisfy real-world prerogatives? Apparently, not much. Fitzgerald said previously that everything on the Essentia show car is "technically" feasible, although Hyundai design chief Peter Schreyer said the butterfly doors would probably be subbed out for traditional units. The best of the rest could actually make it down the line. Based on our conversation with designers Luc Donckerwolke and Sangyup Lee when the Essentia debuted at the New York Auto Show in March, we figure the pontoon fenders, knife-edge LED headlights, pushrod-like suspension, and that gorgeous quilted leather interior with the floating, full-width screen and layered 3D carbon fiber are shoo-ins. We wouldn't be surprised to see that fully transparent hood become a transparent window in a more conventional hood, and the bubble-glass canopy get more reinforcement.

Genesis G70 about to hit showrooms, as the showrooms are being figured out

Genesis has been around as a standalone brand for a few years now, and it's just about to launch its third car: the impressive G70 sedan, which we first drove back in September 2017 and again last month. The sales process has been unclear, though, and the upstart luxury automaker is hoping to change that. Erwin Raphael, general manager for Genesis, sat down to chat with us and the rest of the media in Detroit about the brand. He cleared up the dealership strategy for the near future and even left us with some intriguing news related to the Essentia Concept. At the beginning of the year, Genesis announced it was going to ditch its Hyundai dealership digs for Genesis-specific dealers. That proved unfeasible not long after, and the brand switched to a strategy of selling the Genesis in Hyundai dealers again. Raphael explained the strategy behind that today. He says that every Hyundai dealer was offered the option to sell Genesis vehicles if they wanted. To do this, they'd need to abide by Genesis' rules. This includes the plan of having a separate facility for sales and service since the buying experience for a G90 is supposed to be vastly different than buying an Accent. Eventually, Genesis wants its cars to be out of Hyundai showrooms and within standalone dealerships. In total, about 400 dealers have accepted the Genesis offer to sell its cars and are in various stages of readiness. Raphael thinks all the dealerships will be registered and ready to sell Genesis cars by March 2019, with standalone showrooms to come later. Every version of the G70 will be on sale this month, though, so Genesis is preparing for what it expects to be its highest-volume car yet. You'll have to wait until early 2020 for the brand's first crossover, though, according to Raphael. It can't come soon enough, as Genesis continues to face sales headwinds with its all-sedan lineup in a time of sharply declining sedan sales. It sold about one-third as many cars in August as it had sold in August 2017. And Raphael hinted that we shouldn't give up on the Essentia Concept quite yet. "We are very committed to the Essentia." If adapted to a production car, it would be "a limited edition" and "a statement car," Raphael says. It would be a bold move for Genesis to come out with an electric supercar or even something like it, but we certainly wouldn't complain. For now, the brand is hoping to get back to actually selling cars, with the addition of the cheaper G70 sports sedan.

2020 Genesis G80 shows its face and more in new spy photos

The last time we saw a Genesis G80 out testing, we suspected that it was going to borrow from the GV80 crossover concept and the Essentia sports car concept. These latest shots of the midsize luxury sedan confirm our suspicions now that the car has lost a large portion of its camouflage. It's mostly down to a vinyl wrap, revealing the new grille and much of the body. Up front the car clearly has the parallel light elements and five-pointed grille of the aforementioned concepts. The grille is still enormous, but it's not nearly as tall as that of the current model, which helps make the nose look less bulky. The distinct shape also helps give the Genesis more of an identity compared with its handsome if generic-looking predecessor. Moving along the side shows another cue taken from the GV80 and Essentia: a strong character line that runs from the grille, over the hood and along the flanks. This crease arcs all the way back to the taillights, and it sits just above a shoulder line that marks where the car gets wider. The door handles sit in this shoulder line and are positioned lower than on the current car. Together, these changes help add some visual interest to the G80's sides, and also make the car look lower. At the back, it's clear the G80 will have a more sloping, fastback-like profile. It looks a bit like the hatchback shape of the Audi A7. Whether it will be a hatch or not is yet to be seen. We also get a good look at the taillights, which are quite large and share the same design as the headlights with parallel bars on each side. We can see that the edge of the trunk lid ends in a sort of pseudo spoiler, too. We expect a production model to be shown within a year, possibly two. The car looks like it's very far along in development, so it could show up relatively soon, but the company has also run into delays with models like the G70. Based on these photos, we're expecting this to be a completely redesigned car, rather than just a heavily updated version of the current one. Related Video:

2020 Genesis G80 spied for the first time with GV80 concept cues

Despite scarcely selling cars, and with the G70 only finally about to hit dealers, Genesis continues to plug along, as evidenced by the new 2020 Genesis G80 shown above. The camouflaged car hides minor details, but it can't hide the fresh face with design elements taken from the GV80 crossover SUV concept. There are also some hints that this is more than just a refresh for the Genesis sedan. Up front, the grille and headlights are clearly based on the aforementioned Genesis SUV concept. The grille is enormous, taking up most of the front-end real estate. It also has the concept's pointed lower section. The headlights are also based on the concept, with two distinct elements parallel to each other. Another interesting aspect is the amount of air inlets below and to the sides of the main grilles. They take up most of the rest of the nose. Moving around the side, the roofline and windows look extremely similar to the current G80. Though the little kink in the rear windows doesn't look as steep. Looking closely, it appears the door handles sit much lower on this car than the present G80 model. This all suggests either a substantially updated version of the current iteration, or a totally new car. The rear of the car also departs from the current car with how low the top of the trunk is. The result is a lower, less bulky tail to the new G80. The taillights also look slimmer compared with what's on sale now. If the car continues to borrow from the GV80 concept, its taillights will probably be split into two parallel parts. We expect this car to show up sometime in the next year or two, likely as a 2020 model. There's a chance that it could be delayed beyond that, similar to the G70, which was supposed to launch earlier this year, but is only launching this summer. We also wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of delay to meet the brand's deadline of 2021 to launch its other models — especially some much-needed crossovers. Related Video:

Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.