Genesis, Hyundai Motor Company’s luxury brand, received “an exceptional response” from the Qatar market since its launch last year in Doha, according to Mohamed Jaidah, group executive director, Jaidah Group.
“It was really over our expectations and the fact that we got the concept car, GV80, was a plus,” Jaidah told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the 8th edition of Qatar Motor Show (QMS) 2018, which concluded yesterday at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.
The GV80 and other Genesis models (G70, G90, G80 and G80 Sport) were showcased throughout the five-day QMS 2018, attracting a large number of families, visitors and car enthusiasts.
Citing that Qatar remains to be an SUV market, Jaidah said Genesis’ sports models have become more appealing to many customers.
“The G70 with a sports engine and also the G80 Sports, move as we receive them because there is a big demand,” he noted, adding that Genesis plans to launch six lines of products by 2021.
The vision of Hyundai’s chairman and vice chairman to make Genesis a unique luxury car brand makes it “a product of passion,” he said.
“It wasn’t a marketing idea, it was the owner and the chairman of the company who said we need to have a luxury brand, a luxury product that can compete with the best of the best and I think that is the first demarcation,” Jaidah noted.“It is not just to increase the sales because if they just want to increase it they could have gone to a completely different direction.”
“The second one, he said, is the positioning of the brand, they want Genesis to be much more than just a car brand, it is a lifestyle brand,” he said.
Jaidah stressed that Hyundai wants to create such products not only for their company but for their country to show its credibility – exceeding and excelling at delivering luxury.
“It takes time to build a brand, you don’t build it overnight,” he said.“Other competitors took 20, 30 years to build a name, a brand.
“There has been a great interest especially since the GV80, because the concept car was announced in the US last year so a lot of people were aware there is a plan for SUVs who’ve been hearing for a long time asking us when this SUV is coming,” Jaidah said.
He described Qatar, despite being a small car market, as one of the most sophisticated due to Qataris’ love and passion for cars.
“This is why we decided with the Genesis management back in Korea to actually bring the GV80 as an exclusive Middle East and Africa because we know that the Qatar public will appreciate it,” Jaidah added.
Jaidah Group executive director Mohamed Jaidah at the Qatar Motor Show 2018. PICTURE: Shemeer Rasheed
