Some Luxury Buyers Downshift to Hyundai Genesis
04-16-09, 06:54 AM
#35
Lexus Test Driver
The genesis is not there yet, but give em 5 to 10 yr.s & they will be right up there with the leaders. I have driven the sedan & it was impressive with alot V-8 goodness. I would get the Genesis sedan it's cheap.
04-16-09, 07:20 AM
#36
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At the rate Hyundai is advancing I bet they'll get there a lot sooner than that.
04-16-09, 08:02 AM
#37
Lexus Test Driver
I agree, maybe another 3 to 5 years or so. What Hyundai really need is a luxury divsion. How many of you would buy a Toyota GS450h or a Toyota LS460. Branding is sometimes more inportant than the product itself. How many of these rich folks are willing to wait in line at the Hyundai dealer with the Kia owners?
04-16-09, 08:34 AM
#38
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Some Luxury Buyers Downshift to Hyundai Genesis
By Steve Finlay
WardsAuto.com, Apr 14, 2009 8:45 AM
NEW YORK – Conspicuous consumption has taken a back seat during these hard times, and an apparent beneficiary of that is the Hyundai Genesis, introduced last year as an affordable upscale sedan.
Starting at $32,250, it has drawn buyers who until recently might have opted for more costly prestige cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (stickered at $89,350 and up), says John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
Such a downshifting in consumer preferences may be tied to today’s public disdain of perceived excesses, from Wall Street bonuses to corporate jets. If there’s a time for flaunting it, it’s not now.
So, the Genesis becomes an understated luxury for many affluent consumers who want to avoid overt displays of extravagance and status, Krafcik says.
“A huge number of Genesis buyers are coming from premium brands,” he says at the auto show here, where Hyundai unveils its Nuvis concept cross/utility vehicle. It also displays the Equus, a costlier car than the Genesis, but only sold in South Korea, Hyundai’s homeland. Ward’s has reported Hyundai hopes to sell the Equus in the U.S. in about two years.
“A lot of people, who a year ago strove for prestige brands, now want to be less conspicuous, less ostentatious,” he says.
Speaking to journalists, Krafcik cites a hypothetical example of an executive at a financially ailing newspaper choosing not to lease another BMW 7-Series while staffers are making sacrifices to keep the publication afloat.
Hyundai Genesis conquests premium buyers.
He tells of an Aston Martin owner who traded in that ultra-luxury vehicle for a Genesis at a Carlsbad, CA, dealership. “I think it’s a bit of reverse social stigma,” Krafcik says.
There are previous cases of that in automotive history, such as how early Buicks got nicknamed “the doctor’s car.”
Back when physicians made house calls, many of them shunned driving Cadillacs, General Motors Corp.’s top-line car, lest arriving in one would elicit clucks from bill-paying patients. Instead, doctors drove GM’s next-best make: Buick. It offered nearly as many accouterments as Cadillac, minus the high-brow image.
Since the vehicle went on sale last June, Hyundai has sold 6,167 units in 2008 and 3,945 units in the first three months of 2009, according to Ward’s data. Its market share in the lower luxury-passenger car market has climbed to 3.57%.
Along the way, the car has garnered various awards. It was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit auto show. Its V-8 is one of Ward’s 10 Best Engines for 2009.
Genesis has buffed up the overall Hyundai brand, which in the U.S. once was strictly entry-level and a dubious player at that. There’s the story of a Hyundai salesman who, on a demo drive with a customer in an ’86 Excel, had to turn off the air conditioner to conserve enough power to get up a hill.
Ninety-two percent of Genesis shoppers never considered a Hyundai until the Genesis, Krafcik says. “Seventy percent of Genesis owners never owned a Hyundai. So those are all conquest buyers.”
http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/luxury_...nshift_090414/
By Steve Finlay
WardsAuto.com, Apr 14, 2009 8:45 AM
NEW YORK – Conspicuous consumption has taken a back seat during these hard times, and an apparent beneficiary of that is the Hyundai Genesis, introduced last year as an affordable upscale sedan.
Starting at $32,250, it has drawn buyers who until recently might have opted for more costly prestige cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (stickered at $89,350 and up), says John Krafcik, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor America.
Such a downshifting in consumer preferences may be tied to today’s public disdain of perceived excesses, from Wall Street bonuses to corporate jets. If there’s a time for flaunting it, it’s not now.
So, the Genesis becomes an understated luxury for many affluent consumers who want to avoid overt displays of extravagance and status, Krafcik says.
“A huge number of Genesis buyers are coming from premium brands,” he says at the auto show here, where Hyundai unveils its Nuvis concept cross/utility vehicle. It also displays the Equus, a costlier car than the Genesis, but only sold in South Korea, Hyundai’s homeland. Ward’s has reported Hyundai hopes to sell the Equus in the U.S. in about two years.
“A lot of people, who a year ago strove for prestige brands, now want to be less conspicuous, less ostentatious,” he says.
Speaking to journalists, Krafcik cites a hypothetical example of an executive at a financially ailing newspaper choosing not to lease another BMW 7-Series while staffers are making sacrifices to keep the publication afloat.
Hyundai Genesis conquests premium buyers.
He tells of an Aston Martin owner who traded in that ultra-luxury vehicle for a Genesis at a Carlsbad, CA, dealership. “I think it’s a bit of reverse social stigma,” Krafcik says.
There are previous cases of that in automotive history, such as how early Buicks got nicknamed “the doctor’s car.”
Back when physicians made house calls, many of them shunned driving Cadillacs, General Motors Corp.’s top-line car, lest arriving in one would elicit clucks from bill-paying patients. Instead, doctors drove GM’s next-best make: Buick. It offered nearly as many accouterments as Cadillac, minus the high-brow image.
Since the vehicle went on sale last June, Hyundai has sold 6,167 units in 2008 and 3,945 units in the first three months of 2009, according to Ward’s data. Its market share in the lower luxury-passenger car market has climbed to 3.57%.
Along the way, the car has garnered various awards. It was named North American Car of the Year at the Detroit auto show. Its V-8 is one of Ward’s 10 Best Engines for 2009.
Genesis has buffed up the overall Hyundai brand, which in the U.S. once was strictly entry-level and a dubious player at that. There’s the story of a Hyundai salesman who, on a demo drive with a customer in an ’86 Excel, had to turn off the air conditioner to conserve enough power to get up a hill.
Ninety-two percent of Genesis shoppers never considered a Hyundai until the Genesis, Krafcik says. “Seventy percent of Genesis owners never owned a Hyundai. So those are all conquest buyers.”
http://wardsautoworld.com/ar/luxury_...nshift_090414/
It's a nice car, and I'm willing to bet they get a lot of people considering lower end lux models and fully loaded family sedans as conquest customers. But droves of S-Class shoppers flocking to Hyundai? Pure fiction.
04-16-09, 10:23 AM
#39
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Its the perfect car for these times. Most all the luxury of Tier 1 brands without the badge.
This can be "spun" though as maybe 1 S-class got traded in and they are acting like dozens have been traded in
We don't know the numbers.
Having driven it recently, I was very impressed. I mean a Hyundai? Amazing effort.
Oh I'm back so lmfao that Acura can't figure this out buy Hyundai can
This can be "spun" though as maybe 1 S-class got traded in and they are acting like dozens have been traded in
We don't know the numbers.Having driven it recently, I was very impressed. I mean a Hyundai? Amazing effort.
Oh I'm back so lmfao that Acura can't figure this out buy Hyundai can
Oh yeah, it's not quite a sports sedan
04-16-09, 10:51 AM
#41
Lexus Fanatic
I agree, maybe another 3 to 5 years or so. What Hyundai really need is a luxury divsion. How many of you would buy a Toyota GS450h or a Toyota LS460. Branding is sometimes more inportant than the product itself. How many of these rich folks are willing to wait in line at the Hyundai dealer with the Kia owners?
This whole the Genesis needs a fancy different badge or luxury division in order for me to like it or purchase it or justify spending a little extra money on is kind of sad with how people mostly in the US need that fancy badge to convince them to spend extra and the badge seems even more important then the actual car. That badge/prestige attitude is the main reason why the NSX never sold that well even though it was a better car then its competition and why the Supra/300ZX/RX-7/3000GT never sold that well either and led to the death of those cars. It is why Lexus/Acura/Infiniti hold back on many more upscale cars and v10/v12 engines in the US because of this whole badge thing many in the US are so obsessed with and they know 65K+ cars are not going to sell in big numbers compared to Merc/BMW/Bently/Ferrari no matter how good because people start caring more about image and badge at those prices.
If Hyundai sells the Genesis sedan under a luxury nameplate then you can tack on about 10K or more to the price of the exact same car because that is exactly what is going to happen and the Genesis will not seem as great a deal/car anymore at those prices even if it has a nicer badge. If the GTR was sold as an Infiniti then it would be priced in the mid 80's to 90's for the same car. I am certainly not one of those people who wants to pay 10K-20K extra for the same exact car just because of the badge on the back and a nicer dealership, I choose cars to where I hope I spend as little time possible at the dealership anyway and I am not really into paying extra just to wait in a fancier dealership.
Now if Hyundai were to sell a 70-90K ultra lux sedan/coupe or exotic sports
car then a higher end brand would be more justified at those prices but I don't really see the need for a higher end brand to sell sedans in the 30's and 40's and a sporty coupe in the 20's to low 30's and those prices for the same exact car are going to go up significantly if they are sold under a nicer brand. Even if Hyundai started a upscale brand for expensive lux cars and sports cars they would still have trouble selling them at first with this whole brand/image obsession no matter how good they were.
Last edited by UDel; 04-16-09 at 01:10 PM.
04-16-09, 11:00 AM
#43
Lexus Fanatic
Sorry--I'm not buying this marketing effort. He cites to ONE "real" example of an AM owner, and one "hypothetical" (read: not real) example of a 7 Series owner, and suddenly a "huge number" of people are dumping $70-80K+ autos for a Genesis? I highly doubt it.
It's a nice car, and I'm willing to bet they get a lot of people considering lower end lux models and fully loaded family sedans as conquest customers. But droves of S-Class shoppers flocking to Hyundai? Pure fiction.
It's a nice car, and I'm willing to bet they get a lot of people considering lower end lux models and fully loaded family sedans as conquest customers. But droves of S-Class shoppers flocking to Hyundai? Pure fiction.
04-16-09, 11:01 AM
#44
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The creation of a luxury marque is like a rite of passage into the luxury market and even then nothing is guaranteed, and until then many people including I will be unable to consider it a serious luxury contender.
Last edited by JKA.nyc; 04-16-09 at 11:13 AM.
04-16-09, 11:10 AM
#45
Lexus Test Driver
Poeple laugh at Lexus too when they 1st came out, they say its nothing more than a Toyota with leather seat or Lexus is a MB or BMW want to be. The Gensiss is a good start, Hyundai need to continue with the luxury brand comittment. One day people will take a Luxury Hyundai sedan seriously.