One in Three Genesis Vehicles Head to the U.S.... This Year's Growth Depends on Overcoming the Trump Variable

Last year, it was identified that one out of every three completed vehicles of Hyundai Motor's luxury brand Genesis was sold in the United States. With analyses suggesting that sales could reach 80,000 units this year, the biggest challenge is expected to be minimizing the impact of tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.

According to Hyundai Motor's corporate briefing on the 16th, Genesis sold a total of 229,532 units globally last year, of which 75,003 units (32.7%) were sold in the United States. Since Genesis entered the U.S. market in 2016, last year was the first time annual sales exceeded 70,000 units and the U.S. sales ratio approached 33%.

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Previously, Genesis recorded sales in the U.S. market of 16,384 units (12.4%) in 2020, 49,621 units (24.6%) in 2021, 56,410 units (26.2%) in 2022, and 69,175 units (30.7%) in 2023. Genesis also achieved record monthly sales in January and February this year, selling 4,852 and 5,546 units respectively.

There is also analysis that the differentiated strategy in Genesis's brand image and sales approach has been effective. According to the U.S. automotive media Automotive News, the number of independent Genesis dealerships increased sharply to 60 as of January 1 this year, compared to 11 last year.

Last year, Claudia Marques, then Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Genesis North America, said, "When Genesis was first launched, it required a lot of support from Hyundai Motor. But now it is growing, and all functions dealing with consumers are becoming completely independent."

In this year's business report, Hyundai Motor stated, "Since entering the U.S. market, Genesis has surpassed cumulative sales of 300,000 units in eight years, establishing itself as the fastest-growing luxury car brand," and "We are strengthening sales of Genesis, a high-profit model along with sports utility vehicles (SUVs)."

The issue is the tariff barriers announced by the Trump administration in the U.S. More than half of the Genesis units sold in the U.S. are produced at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan plant and exported. Last year, about 24,000 Genesis units were shipped from Hyundai Motor's Alabama plant (HMMA) in the U.S. Expanding local production also requires negotiations with the labor union to maintain domestic workload. In 2021, Hyundai Motor's labor and management agreed on a plan to bring some Sonata and Avante production from the U.S. back to Korea and transfer some Tucson production to the U.S.