Two and a half years into China, how does Genesys fulfill the "Chinese Dream"?

Lead

Introduction

Whether it is opening up a new luxury market or actively embracing the electrification transition, Genesys is already tied to China. Time will tell.

Author丨Wei Jinqiao

Responsible editor丨 Yang Jing

Editor丨 Jin Penghui

For a long time, the development of luxury brands has never been a smooth road, and in the process of moving forward, the changes in senior personnel will also be adjusted with the changes in the strategic layout of the enterprise. This year, when the competition in the market intensified, we saw too many familiar names leaving familiar positions, including many new forces in car manufacturing, independent high-end or traditional luxury car companies.

Just recently, it was reported that Markus Henne, CEO of Genesys Automotive Sales (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., will leave his post on October 25 to pursue other development opportunities. Wells Lee, chief coordinator of Genesys Automotive Sales (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., will take over the role.

Speaking of Genesys, this luxury brand that has been separated from the modern automobile system since 2015, has challenged those European and American car companies that were once market leaders with a global development posture from the beginning.

After experiencing the test of overseas markets such as Europe, North America and the Middle East, Genesys will naturally not stand idly by for the huge automobile market of China. The increasingly vigorous development of China's automobile market has also brought new possibilities for new entrants, which are probably the most important places for Genesys.

The cultivation of the market is not just talk

For Chinese consumers, Korean ancestry is almost the deepest impression of this young luxury brand in the hearts of Chinese users. Therefore, with the situation at that time, if you want to open up a world in the Chinese market, you must make a hundred times more efforts.

On December 1, 2019, Markus Henne was officially appointed as CEO of Genesys China, responsible for the brand's business operations in China. In order to "get acquainted" with Chinese consumers, since 2019, Genesys has actively participated in every CIIE.

In April 2021, the Genesys brand was officially "officially announced" in China. Since then, Genesys has taken root in this new market in China, and the planning for the Chinese market has also begun to advance rapidly. In the same month, the first Genesys House in China was unveiled in Shanghai; The following month, Chengdu Genesys House opened; In October of the same year, the country's first Genesys Center was officially opened in Shanghai.

Genesys hopes to establish a new business model in China, based on direct sales, assisted by reliable partners and online channels, and strive to present the "Genesys Extraordinary Experience" to Chinese users in an all-round way. In the past two years since entering China, Genesys has established Genesys House in Shanghai, Chengdu and Beijing, opened a total of 17 offline stores in 13 cities, and established a complete sales network.

In terms of products, in just 5 months, Genesys G80, Genesys GV80 and Genesys G70 have been launched. Moreover, in the face of the key changes in electrification transformation, at the end of 2022, Genesys pure electric G80, pure electric GV70 and Genesys GV60 were unveiled, and the 3+3 product layout provided Chinese consumers with richer choices.

When the time comes to 2023, the introduction of new models continues. The Genesys GV70 and Genesys G90 and G90 Executive Extended Editions were launched one after another. Genesys has also fulfilled the brand's commitment to introduce all its models in China.

Compared with other luxury brands, Genesys does not have a long history and does not have the brand power to instigate Chinese consumers just by registering a big name, but Genesys is interpreting the new generation of luxury concepts for Chinese consumers in its own way, thereby building a resonance with consumers.

Therefore, Genesys actively embraced Shanghai Fashion Week, and Genesys Restaurant officially opened before the end of 2021. In the highly competitive market, the BBA top three have firmly occupied the head of the market, but Genesys with a "more than a car" brand image, seems to be more to tell Chinese consumers: luxury brands, should not have only one look.

More to look forward to, more time to expect

Before Genesys, including DS, Alfa Romeo, Acura, etc., there is no lack of niche luxury brands with great personality who want to get a piece of the Chinese market, but many just hold the mentality of "give it a try" and regard this as a cutscene, why is Genesys still firmly rooted in the Chinese market?

On the one hand, it stems from the uniqueness of the Chinese market. In 2020, before Genesys entered China, sales in China's luxury car market of more than 300,000 units were about 3.61 million units, a year-on-year increase of 11.6%, far better than the overall car market sales decline of 6.3%. In the first half of this year, this number has reached 2.23 million vehicles, and the growth rate has reached 19.8%.

When micro-car companies were abandoned by the times one by one, the luxury car market with such a huge market volume gradually became the fastest growing segment after the new energy vehicle market. The resulting market dividend has touched the nerves of all those in the game, and I believe that no car company has reason to convince itself to give up this huge market.

On the other hand, it is excellent product strength. For this, user reviews are the best proof of this. In the 2018 J.D. power Most Attractive Brands list, Genesys broke Porsche's 13-year monopoly and reached the top for the first time.

In 2022, Genesys occupies high positions in J.D.power's Inital Quality Study and Vehicle Dependability Study. Especially in terms of reliability, Genesys surpassed Lexus, which has won nine consecutive championships before, to become the highest-ranked luxury brand.

When a new luxury brand breaks into the market, it has to go through the cultivation period of brand building. Even companies like Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which are household names in China, have gone through various tests to become who they are today after decades of stumbling. Genesys has also said more than once: "For us, sales are not the most important thing, we are currently focusing on brand building." ”

For Genissys, which has only been established for 8 years and has been in China for less than 3 years, how to open up the awareness of Chinese consumers is only one aspect. More importantly, as a highly successful luxury brand in the North American market, entering China is a difficult challenge for Genissys and another experience to verify whether its luxury brand identity can truly be recognized by the global market.

Today's Chinese market is in a critical period of electrification transformation. When the wave of electrification washes everyone who pans for gold in the market, it is extremely fair and cruel, and no car company can be left alone. For Genesys, this is both an opportunity and a challenge.

When the fuel vehicle business has not established enough advantages and most traditional car companies are hesitant about electrification, Genesys, as a newcomer to the Chinese market, has become the first batch of traditional car companies to propose full electrification. At last year's brand vision launch, Genesys said: "By 2030, Genesys will achieve 100% zero emissions. ”

In the face of the encirclement and blockage of emerging car companies such as Tesla and Wei Xiaoli, for luxury brands including BBA, electrification is comparable to the "Pandora's box", and no one can pat their chests to guarantee where they will go.

Therefore, whether it is opening up a new luxury market or actively embracing the electrification transition, Genesys is already tied to China. With the gradual completion of brand building, Genesys has taken a key step in market development, the seeds of the market are germinating, and it seems that it is time to give this young brand a little patience and time.

Time will tell the answer to all this.