Genesis coming in hot with product this year

Genesis dealers are expecting a big year after the coronavirus delayed the Korean luxury brand's product launches in 2020, sending sales plunging. The brand's first crossover, originally scheduled to arrive last summer, didn't show up on most dealership lots until December.

Genesis Motors North America CEO Mark Del Rosso has forecast that 2021 sales will double over the 16,384 vehicles sold in 2020. Retailers will have a full year of sales of the new GV80 crossover and the redesigned G80 sedan and a partial year of the coming GV70 crossover and freshened G70 compact sedan.

But Peter Lanzavecchia, chairman of the Genesis National Dealer Advisory Council and owner of Genesis of Cherry Hill in Marlton, N.J., is even more bullish — he thinks sales could triple.

That's a good problem to have, but it also puts new burdens on dealers, who are still working out of Hyundai stores, and also on the automaker as it works out the logistics of ramping up imports from South Korean factories.

"In the month of December, we already saw the GV80 in many retailer locations double their sales. And there's no reason to believe that's not going to continue or even improve in 2021," Lanzavecchia told Automotive News.

Beyond preparing for new product, some more basic work remains to be done for a growing brand with no standalone dealerships.

For example, Genesis is seeing rising numbers of lease returns after five years on the market, creating a growing presence of certified pre-owned vehicles. And not all of the 350 Genesis dealers are on board with the facilities program, given relatively low sales volume, especially in smaller markets.

"Distribution, fixed operations policy, getting the support that we need for some of the infrastructure items as the certified pre-owned business starts to emerge — there are so many things that we're really seeing for the first time," said Lanzavecchia, who already has committed to a dedicated Genesis facility.