Hyundai has long been looking to bring the Genesis brand to India – we first reported about Hyundai evaluating its luxury brand for India in 2019. Later in 2024, our sources even hinted that Genesis could be here by the second half of 2025. While that hasn’t materialised yet, Hyundai India CEO Tarun Garg has now officially reiterated that it is still looking to bring Genesis to India.
“We are also strategically evaluating the introduction of Genesis, Hyundai’s global luxury marque. This aligns with our aspiration to serve the evolving expectations of discerning Indian consumers,” said Garg in a statement in the brand’s annual report for FY2025.
- Genesis’ first product in India likely to be an SUV
- GV80 design has already been patented in India
- Specific launch timeline is still unclear
Genesis India launch details
Last year, Hyundai had setup a team to plan the go-to-market strategy for the Genesis brand in India. Although Genesis has an expansive lineup of sedans, the company is understood to predominantly focus on an SUV lineup for India – it has even trademarked the design of the GV80 here. Genesis also has two smaller SUVs – the GV70 and GV60 EV – which could also be potentially looked at.
Design of the GV80 was patented in India back in July 2024.
The models are expected to arrive as CBUs in the first phase, and then, the SUVs could eventually be assembled at the Hyundai’s factory in Sriperumbudur on the outskirts of Chennai.
Genesis brand positioning in India
If the GV80 is the first product to indeed make it to India, given its size, it will be positioned against the likes of the Mercedes GLE, BMW X5 and Audi Q7 here – right in the thick of the midsize luxury SUV segment. What should give the company some confidence is that the luxury car segment is steadily growing in India.
At just over 1 percent market share, it is still a miniscule of overall passenger vehicle segment in India, but it is growing at a rate faster than the mainstream market, especially so at the higher end of the spectrum. In FY2025, the luxury car segment grew by 3.3 percent compared to 2 percent growth of the overall industry. Genesis could, therefore, be well poised to ride this momentum if brought here at the right time with the right product strategy.
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