Genesis Looks To Heritage To Move Forward

It’s an imposing building, poking up from the Suji landscape. A large box encased by full-length zigzag metal panels.

This is the Genesis Suji Showroom, and everything about the building’s architecture and design has been carefully thought out. It’s a relatively new flagship store that shows the direction, identity, and purpose of Genesis as an automotive brand. 

As far as automobile manufacturers go, Genesis is still an infant. Although Hyundai-badged Genesis models have existed for over 15 years, the luxury brand as a stand-alone entity has only been around for roughly a decade. Initially out to prove the brand could hang with the established luxury marques, Genesis utilized a mix of conventional norms and moderate innovation.  

But things are changing. Korea is currently in a movement of self-rediscovery. After a push for modernization, there’s an increasing push for reestablishing the country’s heritage and traditions. Genesis is on a similar trajectory, embracing the brand’s unique position as the only luxury brand from Korea.

No longer needing to establish itself, the brand is now looking to carve out a more defined, unique identity. 

Genesis Suji

The massive building in Suji is the brand’s largest-scale standalone showroom in the world. With 53,723 sq ft of floor space spread across four levels, the brand claims there are 40 or so vehicles on display at the showroom. Everything about the building and experience is carefully scrutinized and very deliberate. 

Inside, the high walls are finished in a rough concrete-like material, designed to resemble bleached wood, complete with grooves and knots. It’s all influenced by traditional Korean architecture and materials.

The first floor has a large open area where Genesis can showcase the brand’s latest and greatest offerings, along with an open lounge and the vehicle handover ceremony room. A good chunk of the building is also occupied by a massive multi-story car elevator, which is like a giant vending machine for Genesis vehicles. 

Taking the people-elevator up a floor reveals what I’ll call sedan world. Every version of the brand’s G70 and G80 models are neatly lined up on opposite sides of the floor, including the G70 Shooting Brake, which I spent far too much time ogling over.

Dividing the two line-ups are rows of doors mounted to a half wall, which showcase the various exterior paint colors as well as interior color/trim/material configurations for each model. 

The 3rd floor follows the format of the 2nd floor, but this time showcases the brand’s GV60 and GV70 SUVs. It’s up on the final floor, where customers can find the brand’s flagship models, the G90, GV80, and GV80 Coupe.

Vehicle Handover Ceremony

Stepping back on the main floor, there’s a separate room that Genesis uses for what is called the vehicle handover ceremony. It’s another nod to traditional Korean customs and philosophies. 

The black room contains curated ambient sound, a few orange couches, and multiple large screens. The largest main screen has the customer’s name displayed on it, with an arrangement of flowers usually located below it. 

At first glance, this is all the room appears to offer. On the far wall, a series of three screens are located near the ceiling. This isn’t actually a wall at all, as a series of tinted windows can slide and open up, revealing two similarly sized rooms. 

The furthest room contains the customer’s car, along with two large robotic arms that house cameras. The latter are part of a robotic pre-delivery inspection to ensure all is good, displaying images it captures on the three screens in the lounge. Once the inspections are done, the car autonomously drives onto a rotating floor in the middle room, where it spins 90 degrees to exit the building. 

This service was initially an exclusive perk of buying the flagship G90 luxury sedan, but now it’s utilized for all Genesis models. This handover process can take an hour or more depending on the customer, so it is best to clear some time on the calendar before attending. 

Times are a Changning

While this exact process is not used worldwide as of yet, many elements from the ceremony and vehicle curation are used in North America. It’s all part of the trajectory shift Genesis is currently on as the brand matures. No longer trying to match competitors to establish the manufacturer as a legitimate luxury brand, Genesis is now working hard to create a unique identity that separates the Korean luxury car company from the crowd.

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