Hyundai launched its own luxury brand Genesis 6 years ago. Here’s how it plans to battle BMW and Mercedes

• Genesis, under Hyundai’s corporate umbrella, has been its own luxury brand since 2015.
• Its innovative new models and all-inclusive pricing options have given the brand a strong start.
• Several insiders at Genesis shared insights into the brand’s longevity and competitive edge.

I got a lot of questions when I drove around in a Genesis press unit for my job. Folks genuinely wondered what it was. When I responded with, “It’s a Hyundai,” I was faced with silence.

Indeed, there’s still a lot of confusion around what Genesis is supposed to be.

In case you haven’t been keeping up, Genesis is no longer a single model within Hyundai’s lineup. Since 2015, Genesis, which remains underneath Hyundai’s corporate umbrella, has been its own luxury brand in the same way Acura, Infiniti, and Lexus are to Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.