Launching new vehicles is complicated enough. Launching an entirely new brand is another matter entirely. But that’s the process in which Hyundai finds itself right now with its Genesis brand.
It’s already revealed the new G90, G80, and G70, and will have many more to come. But now it needs the showrooms in which to sell them. And this is what they’ll look like.
What you see here is the first dedicated Genesis showroom, which the automaker itself will open in June in the swanky Gangnam district of Seoul. With 14,000 square feet of floor space, the two-story facility ought to serve as the blueprint for the dealerships it’ll franchise around the world in the coming months and years.
So what does it entail? For starters, it’s not all glass. Hyundai has gone for a more intimate environment: “a private and personal setting that enhances the interaction between the customer and the product.”
The vehicles are on display, of course, and there are further displays showing the colors and interior options available for order. There’s also a “Launch Bay” that serves as the starting point for test drives, with an augmented/virtual reality guide to help drivers embark on five different test routes around the South Korean capital: Urban Green, Urban Highway, Dynamic, K-Road, and Short Course.
The whole space is bathed in soft ambient light panels (instead of glare-inducing spotlights), perfumed with the brand’s signature scent and serenaded by its signature sound – which, we gather, is not that infuriatingly catchy K-pop song that was all the rage a few years back.
“The Genesis brand is a promise – a promise of a new way of automotive luxury,” said brand chief Manfred Fitzgerald. “Genesis Gangnam is the physical embodiment of that promise and how we serve our clientele. Customer experience is vital and we will now work on a global scale to bring many of the aspects of our brand’s flagship store to customers around the world.”
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