Hyundai Motor's luxury brand Genesis beat Mercedes-Benz after four years thanks to high popularity in the G80 and GV80. Genesis beat Mercedes-Benz and BMW to become the top luxury car seller in Korea this year.
According to the auto industry on Aug. 17, Genesis' sales from January to July this year reached 60,005, ahead of Mercedes-Benz (41,583 units) and BMW (29,246 units).
Sales of Genesis jumped 65 percent year-on-year, compared with a 3 percent increase for Mercedes-Benz. BMW increased by 35%. If the current trend continues, Genesis will beat Mercedes-Benz and BMW on an annual basis.
In 2016, the year after the brand was launched, 66,278 units of Genesis were sold, exceeding Mercedes-Benz (56,343 units) and BMW (48,459 units). The sales of G80 partial change model and EQ900 (currently G90) came to 42,950 units and 23,328 units, respectively.
For the next three years, however, it gave up its home turf to Mercedes-Benz, an imported car company. It also lost ground to BMW in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, 56,801 units of Genesis were sold, and they returned to second place after beating BMW (44,191 units).
The G90 (EQ900), which has changed to a new car class, led the improvement in performance by selling 17,542 units, while the sales of G70 also came to 16,975 units. Nevertheless, it lagged far behind Benz (78,133), who set a new record every year.
