Hyundai Motor India Ltd could soon introduce its luxury sub-brand, Genesis in India. Unsoo Kim, MD and CEO of Hyundai India, stated in a recent interview, “We have been studying Genesis for India. Our stakeholders also ask me to do that.” On the basis of this statement, we take a closer look at the upcoming premium brand.
Hyundai Genesis: What is it?
Genesis is to Hyundai like what Lexus is to Toyota or Infiniti is to Nissan. It is a standalone sub-brand from the South Korean automaker that focuses mainly on premium segment vehicles. In markets like the US and Europe, the Hyundai brand is more closely associated with affordable and frugal vehicles rather than luxury cars. A relatively new brand, Genesis competes with the likes of BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and Lexus in the international markets. In India it will take on the German trio alongside Swedish and the Japanese brand.
Hyundai Genesis Models to be locally assembled:
In India, importing a vehicle via the CBU (Completely Built Up) route is an expensive affair. This is mainly due to the custom duties that are levied on a vehicle which amount to more than 200 percent. To avoid this, Hyundai is expected to utilize the CKD (Completely Knocked Down) route for its upcoming Genesis cars. In this process, the vehicle parts are imported to the country and assembled locally, bringing the production costs significantly down. This could help Genesis price their models comparatively lower than their rivals, helping them gain a competitive advantage. Unsoo Kim also stated that, “local assembly would be favored as imports would make it unviable. It may not happen this year though.”
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Hyundai Genesis: When is it expected to come into India?
As mentioned, Unsoo Kim also revealed that Hyundai is yet to confirm the Genesis brand’s introduction into the Indian market. Hence, it is likely to enter sometime in 2024 at the earliest with the likes of the G80 luxury sedan and GV80 luxury SUV as their first models.
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