Genesis Brand in Hyundai's Future?

I've covered Hyundai's high-end S-Class competitor here on CarThrottle, speculating on the branding for such a vehicle in a U.S launch. The car is an impressive vehicle but would buyers be interested in spending so much on a Hyundai? Apparently Hyundai might be thinking the same thing as it moves forward.

Hyundai is clearly interested in bringing the Equus to the U.S market. They put the car on display at the New York International Auto Show, and Edmunds' Inside Line has reported the car could be two-to-three years away from a launch here in the United States. An unnamed executive spoke with them and was quoted as as saying "...you wouldn't be far off if you said the car was coming to the United States. Our chairman wants it."

It's a natural thing to bring over if Hyundai really is serious about becoming a luxury player in the U.S market. Every successful car company has a luxury brand. You're free to cultivate an entirely upscale image, and along with that comes the ability to charge higher prices and therefore make more money.

The Genesis has shown that the company can be successful producing a luxury vehicle. Hyundai originally opted against a luxury brand due to the cost of setting up a channel (According to Ward's Automotive, around $2.5 billion) and the cost to individual dealer in creating a seperate one for the Genesis lineup ($5 to $10 million).

Hyundai CEO John Krafcik stated the obvious in a pretty wide-ranging interview with Ward Auto. "It would be like Lexus" he said. Makes sense as the strategy seems to be pretty similar other then the decision to forge ahead (for now) with the Hyundai name. The Genesis name would do well as a stand-alone brand I think.

So while someday Hyundai may turn the Genesis brand into something that can stand by itself, for now the company is pursuing a lineup of Genesis models displayed in an walled-off section of Hyundai dealers. He calls it a reverse of the Scion strategy that Toyota pursued. I think this is a good start, but honestly they'll probably end up taking this all the way once the brand starts to mature and make more money.

It's smart though not to go all-in at first on a venture. Hyundai has been making all the right moves and proving it is an extremely fast learner. It seems the curve keeps getting faster and faster. First the Japanese, then the Koreans. Next, the Chinese?