Honda has Acura, Toyota has Lexus, Nissan has Infiniti...and now Hyundai has its own luxury brand, too.
On Wednesday, Hyundai announced that it's turning Genesis into a separate luxury line to "compete with the world's most renowned car brands," according to the automaker. The Genesis brand's goal is to have six vehicles available to the public by 2020, first impacting roads in the United States as soon as 2016.
It's widely being reported that Hyundai will take on an alphanumeric naming system under its Genesis brand — with the Equus sedan becoming the G90 and the Genesis sedan becoming the G80, according to Car and Driver.
Of course, Hyundai got the name for its luxury brand from its current luxury sedan, the Genesis, which has been kicking down the door in trying to compete with some of its rival models from Acura, Lexus an Infiniti in the past few years. Perhaps all it needed was an identity of its own — something that it will have being the flagship vehicle in a brand bearing its name. In addition to the Genesis sedan, and as aforementioned, it's widely expected that Hyundai will move its $61,000-plus Equus (pictured below) into its new luxury division as well.
And expect Hyundai to keep delivering sleek, sexy model designs, as Luc Donckerwolke — previously of Bentley — will spearhead the design to the Genesis brand.
"Luc Donckerwolke will join Hyundai in the first half of next year, as part of our efforts to further strengthen our design," a Hyundai spokesman told WardsAuto.
Donckerwolke designed various Bentley models in addition to the Audi R8, Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo models.
The automaker's spokesperson added to Wards that the Genesis' design will "combine the elegance of movement with an explosion of energy in a style we call 'Athletic Elegance.' Through athletic elegance in design, Genesis cars exude confidence and originality."
