9:01 am, July 16, 2024
Genesis has experienced ‘lots of growth’ since being brought closer into line with Hyundai, its UK boss has said.
The South Korean firm, which just unveiled its range of Magma performance vehicles at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (pictured), started out in the UK as a brand in its own right in 2021 but was folded into the wider Hyundai firm this year with the pair sharing many services – as exclusively revealed by Car Dealer.
However, Ashley Andrew, president and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis in the UK, has said that the ‘common and shared logistics’ between Genesis and Hyundai has allowed the former to experience a ‘continual increase’ in growth.
Speaking to Car Dealer, Andrew said: ‘You’ve seen over the last few years how the brand has transformed. We looked at the agency partners and the ones we’ve chosen also have Hyundai in their portfolio, which means that we’ve got common and shared logistics.
‘There’s a lot of economies of scale which are not visible to the customer and not visible to the market because the brands are very distinct – it’s kind of a proven concept if you look at Mini and BMW, or Volkswagen Group shared services which also have very distinct brands. So we know that the concept is very effective.’
It is believed that though Genesis and Hyundai have been brought closer together, the two will still occupy separate spaces while sharing aftersales and technical support services. Agency partners, meanwhile, will take over orders and customers depending on geographical location directly from Genesis.
Andrew added that retailers had ‘confidence’ in the decision to bring Genesis and Hyundai closer together as ‘one of the big advantages for the agencies from a technical and service workshop perspective is that it’s the same investment because you’ve got similar technologies.’
He added that the Genesis Personal Assistant programme – whereby owners have a direct point of contact with the brand outside of the traditional dealer role to manage servicing and FAQs, as well as dropping off and picking up cars when they need to be taken for maintenance – will remain in place.
‘The theory of the Genesis Personal Assistant still exists, Andrew stated. ‘The retail partners have Genesis Personal Assistants – some from within the franchise or some from external. This typically works well because the retail partners are agents and they’re not what you would have in a conventional franchise.’
As reflected by recent new car registration figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), Genesis is one of a number of EV manufacturers seeing substantial growth in the fleet sector.
‘We’ve established ourselves on a circa-500 user company supply agreement. What we’re seeing month-over-month this year is a continual increase. So this month, we’re up 20 per cent in that channel compared to last month.’
