Genesis unveils G80, G80 Sport at Busan motor show

BUSAN - Genesis, the luxury brand Hyundai Motor created last November as an independent brand with the first model G90, unveiled second model G80 and its sport version G80 Sport for the first time at the media preview day for the 2016 Busan International Motor Show on Thursday.

The G80 is a redone version of the Genesis DH luxury sedan from Hyundai Motor. 

Industry watchers said the addition of the two vehicles to the Genesis product lineup could contribute to raising the global presence of Genesis in a short period of time. Genesis has a plan to secure six models by 2020.

The media preview event for the G80 and G80 Sport also saw the debut of two foreign professionals who recently joined Hyundai Motor Group on a mission to nurture Genesis to a globally competitive luxury brand like Toyota’s Lexus.

As the head of the Genesis brand, Manfred Fitzgerald, former director of brand and design at Lamborghini, introduced the design-focused brand vision for Genesis.

“We strive to make a positive difference in the lives of our customers, becoming an important element of their lifestyle. And speaking about creating fascination, it all starts with great design. That is why we are such a design-focused brand,” he said.

Luc Donckerwolke, head of the design center for Genesis, took the podium following Fitzgerald and explained the direction in design for Genesis, based on Genesis’ New York Concept. Donckerwolke, formerly chief designer for Bentley, came to the Korean automotive group earlier this year.

In addition to expanding its product range, the Genesis team touched upon investments in operations, including the creation of design, quality and support units, for the brand development.

Separate from the media event for Genesis at the Busan Motor Show, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, the two auto-making arms of Hyundai Motor Group, also presented new cars with a focus on eco-friendliness, sports utility vehicles and future mobility solutions.

At the media preview for Hyundai Motor, Albert Biermann, who leads the unit for the automaker’s performance car N brand, issued a progress update for its first N car to debut next year.

“The first N car will be based on the Hyundai i30, and we are on track to debut the vehicle next year,” he said.

Biermann said Hyundai Motor concluded a test for the i30 N development car at the iconic 24 Hours Nuerburgring racing event held in Germany last week.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)