Hyundai plans on giving a boost to its brand reputation by launching a new global luxury car brand called Genesis, which will spin off from the rest of its lineup.
The South Korean automaker announced Wednesday that the new brand will include six vehicles, two of which are already available, by 2020, according to CNET. The two sedans currently on sale are a sports coupe nearing the end of its lifecycle and a 2-year-old sedan.
Rumors about a larger Genesis brand began when Hyundai unveiled the Vision G Concept over the summer, as the vehicle looked like a coupe-version of a Genesis sedan.
The company plans on making the new brand stand out from others by giving it its own emblem and a separate customer service experience. It will also have former Bentley and Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke create a design for the brand.
"The new model lineup will distance itself from the traditional technological overload of brand-focused competitors," Hyundai said in a statement, adding that the new customer experience will be more personalized. "Continuing the customer-oriented approach that flows through every Genesis model, sales and service staff will provide rapid and attentive service to customer's requests."
Donckerwolke will aid in developing the Genesis brand by serving as senior vice president, Reuters reported.
The move is also aimed at helping Hyundai target higher profit margins, as the company is looking to get out of a long-running drop in profit.
The new brand will also include an alphanumeric naming structure, with the Equus becoming the G90 and the current Genesis sedan becoming the G80, Car and Driver noted.
Hyundai will sell the Genesis cars in a "showroom within a showroom" at all of its stores rather than in separate dealerships.
The brand's development will begin in 2016, and Hyundai will first market the new Genesis vehicles in Korea, China, the Middle East and the U.S., CNET reported. Marketing will then shift to Europe and other parts of Asia.
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