Will Genesis hurt Lexus?

[Levi]

they definitely are a threat to Infiniti. My brother owns Infiniti and hears from other owners they will have a close look at Genesis. Less the case of Lexus because their main selling point are hybrids.

 

[mikeavelli]

they definitely are a threat to Infiniti. My brother owns Infiniti and hears from other owners they will have a close look at Genesis. Less the case of Lexus because their main selling point are hybrids.

Infiniti is its own worst enemy lol. There might be some poaching but no mass exodus. Seems most buyers of Genesis are previous Hyundai and Kia customers. As it should it’s a natural progression.

To their credit they are the only Asian brand to still be in the mid size space (G80) and the G90 offers a V-8 option.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Thread is 4 years old. The answer is a resounding NO.
In Europe the answer is NO.

They have a nice product but they aren’t a threat to much anyone.

Definitely they're not scaring anyone as far as marketshare.

Hope ex-Toyota/Lexus/Audi guy Mark can right the ship. That Lexus foundation that he first learned will be needed to fix that dealer network now that they have the product. The guys that first led the brand at the beginning were clueless, and ended up alienating their dealers. I don't think any luxury brand was launched better than Lexus. If I were Mark, all the Genesis employees should be reading The Lexus Story. Heck, even send a copy to Korea because reading is fundamental.

 

[flipside909]

Definitely they're not scaring anyone as far as marketshare.

Hope ex-Toyota/Lexus/Audi guy Mark can right the ship. That Lexus foundation that he first learned will be needed to fix that dealer network now that they have the product. The guys that first led the brand at the beginning were clueless, and ended up alienating their dealers. I don't think any luxury brand was launched better than Lexus. If I were Mark, all the Genesis employees should be reading The Lexus Story. Heck, even send a copy to Korea because reading is fundamental.

The problem with their dealer network is some are just shoehorned into existing Hyundai dealerships. Lexus had a fully executed plan from the sales, service and parts departments and it shows. Also having the right people from the start is key.

 

[Levi]

kind of difficult to have a dealership plan, when the industry plan is to close them and do everything online. i doubt the onslaught of Chinese BEVs will have dealers in Europe.

Remember when Nokia and Sony had stores? Now only Apple has stores.

 

[mediumhot]

Infiniti is its own worst enemy lol. There might be some poaching but no mass exodus. Seems most buyers of Genesis are previous Hyundai and Kia customers. As it should it’s a natural progression.

To their credit they are the only Asian brand to still be in the mid size space (G80) and the G90 offers a V-8 option.

Infiniti is dead. Like you said in the other thread they went from FX35, the greatest gray import car on the planet, to being on life support with FX55. At this point if Nissan comes to this forum and gives us the keys to Infiniti badge I'm so damn sure that all of us here would do much better job than what they've been doing so far. They've been run to the ground, so sad.

 

[spwolf]

kind of difficult to have a dealership plan, when the industry plan is to close them and do everything online. i doubt the onslaught of Chinese BEVs will have dealers in Europe.

except it is not.

Chinese BEVs will even more sell like crap in Europe. They are pretty expensive, there is no competitive advantage vs Tesla and they will not invest billions into network. By the time they launch properly, all manufacturers will have 30-40 EV models on sale.

Problem with Genesis is not the product - looks great! Problem is everything else, Hyundai does not want to pour money into it, rather compete with product and price. That does not work, as we see 5 years later.

Doing something stupid in Europe where you launch in 3 cities across the 30+ countries, is just stupid. Nobody is going to buy them.

 

[flipside909]

kind of difficult to have a dealership plan, when the industry plan is to close them and do everything online. i doubt the onslaught of Chinese BEVs will have dealers in Europe.

Remember when Nokia and Sony had stores? Now only Apple has stores.

Apple stores are still busy and successful, even if people are buying online or doing in-store/curbside delivery. I don't ever remember a Nokia store in the USA.

 

[Sulu]

kind of difficult to have a dealership plan, when the industry plan is to close them and do everything online. i doubt the onslaught of Chinese BEVs will have dealers in Europe.

Remember when Nokia and Sony had stores? Now only Apple has stores.

I believe that you are over-generalizing. The smartphone and automobiles are 2 completely different industries.

Nokia, Sony, and LG, Samsung and other brands build smartphones that are essentially the same (all Android smartphones). Few people go shopping specifically for a Nokia smartphone or Sony smartphone; they go shopping for a smartphone, any smartphone, and so it is better that they can go somewhere where different brands of smartphones are available to compare. The buyer probably goes home with the model that is on sale. Stores selling only 1 brand won't do well in this type of market.

Apple, however, is different. Apple is unique and is seen as the luxury brand of consumer electronics, just as Genesis is unique and different from Lexus, and different from each of the other luxury automotive brands. Buyers of luxury-branded products do not go shopping for the cheapest product, they go shopping for a brand. A brand is more than just a badge; it is a lifestyle that people want to be immersed in. A brand-specific store is a necessity in this market.

 

[IS-SV]

Over 3 years later (since original post here), is it clear that Genesis significantly impacted Tesla?

 

[LS500-18]

The problem with their dealer network is some are just shoehorned into existing Hyundai dealerships. Lexus had a fully executed plan from the sales, service and parts departments and it shows. Also having the right people from the start is key.

My local Lexus dealer is attached to the Toyota sales building, and the service dept is the same drive-thru. You pull in and there are 4 Toyota desks and one Lexus desk beside them. No differentiation whatsoever. The Lexus showroom has taller ceilings though, I suspect it might have just been built on to the old Toyota building since they are all one building technically.

 

[LS500-18]

Over 3 years later (since original post here), is it clear that Genesis significantly impacted Tesla?

I've owned two Model S's, a Jag XJ, and now Lexus LS500. Genesis has been gas-only to this point so zero affect on Tesla.

I drove Teslas for nearly 6 years and at this point I would consider Genesis, at least they are trying hard to build their reputation. Tesla only cares about hype. The LS500 isn't perfect, next time I'm shopping I would consider Genesis and maybe Mercedes. Not BMW due to reliability.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

My local Lexus dealer is attached to the Toyota sales building, and the service dept is the same drive-thru. You pull in and there are 4 Toyota desks and one Lexus desk beside them. No differentiation whatsoever. The Lexus showroom has taller ceilings though, I suspect it might have just been built on to the old Toyota building since they are all one building technically.

That's unusual, and I thought it wasn't allowed under the Lexus franchise agreement. All of the Lexus dealerships I've seen are standalone, and many of them are starting to remodel out of the iconic-but-dated 1990 launch spec buildings into a new design.

Regarding Genesis, I don't think they've impacted anyone yet. They botched the US dealer network (locally if I want to test drive one I go into the Hyundai dealership and find the one person who knows what Genesis is) and haven't launched in Europe yet (although that's at least coming now).

 

[flipside909]

My local Lexus dealer is attached to the Toyota sales building, and the service dept is the same drive-thru. You pull in and there are 4 Toyota desks and one Lexus desk beside them. No differentiation whatsoever. The Lexus showroom has taller ceilings though, I suspect it might have just been built on to the old Toyota building since they are all one building technically.

It depends on the market you're in. If you're in a small town, this usually is the case.

 

[Sulu]

It depends on the market you're in. If you're in a small town, this usually is the case.

Where is this (what country)?

Here in Canada, Lexus started out in corners of the Toyota dealership showrooms 30 years ago but was forced to move out into their own dealerships (with their own, upscale look) a decade or so ago, although they may share service facilities. There are also strict requirements for size of potential market before a new Lexus dealership is allowed to open (so Lexus would not sell in small towns).

The general manager at the Toyota dealership that I used to deal with told me once that he had land available and was ready to build a new building and dealership for Lexus (and there were other luxury brand dealerships in the area, so there was a market) but Lexus Canada would not approve the new dealership.

 

[flipside909]

Where is this (what country)?

Here in Canada, Lexus started out in corners of the Toyota dealership showrooms 30 years ago but was forced to move out into their own dealerships (with their own, upscale look) a decade or so ago, although they may share service facilities. There are also strict requirements for size of potential market before a new Lexus dealership is allowed to open (so Lexus would not sell in small towns).

The general manager at the Toyota dealership that I used to deal with told me once that he had land available and was ready to build a new building and dealership for Lexus (and there were other luxury brand dealerships in the area, so there was a market) but Lexus Canada would not approve the new dealership.

Yup i'm pretty aware of that. I've visited Lexus dealers in British Columbia and Ontario. @krew and I visited several in the GTA together.

Here in the USA, we have 241 Lexus dealers.

 

[mikeavelli]

Well Lexus dealers had to agree to invest in the new look for the brand (more glass and wood and loss of cement and staleness) so that dealer may have to change.
I just visited Lexus of Clearwater which is a tiny dealer and it has the new look.

 

[Gecko]

@mikeavelli Good point! You know I started shopping at Hennessy Atlanta (very old school) but ended up buying from Butler (brand new architecture). Very different experience. I liked Hennessy because it feels like old school, classic Lexus... but I definitely see the new architecture as a bit more sophisticated and "clean" for the brand. It looks great.

 

[spwolf]

That's unusual, and I thought it wasn't allowed under the Lexus franchise agreement. All of the Lexus dealerships I've seen are standalone, and many of them are starting to remodel out of the iconic-but-dated 1990 launch spec buildings into a new design.

Regarding Genesis, I don't think they've impacted anyone yet. They botched the US dealer network (locally if I want to test drive one I go into the Hyundai dealership and find the one person who knows what Genesis is) and haven't launched in Europe yet (although that's at least coming now).

what they are doing in Europe is Zero effort.

 

[mikeavelli]

Seems their U.K launch will be be direct to consumer. No dealerships.

Luxury car brand without ANY showrooms to launch in the UK — The Sun

A LUXURY car firm has signalled the end of car dealerships by launching in Europe without any showrooms.

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