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Genesis wants to move like a startup. Hyundai gives it the muscle to scale like an auto giant.
Genesis launched its first full-size SUV, the GV90, while its parent juggles startup ambition with the demands of a 4-million-vehicle production machine. The brand's COO describes the early years as a startup, backed by Hyundai's integrated manufacturing and logistics network.
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Genesis unveiled its first full-size SUV, the GV90, on Wednesday. The brand sits inside Hyundai Motor Group, which has global production capacity of more than 4 million vehicles a year and owns Kia Corporation. The launch marks the latest step for a luxury offshoot that has grown from a 37-person team five years ago to roughly 200 employees today.
Ted Mengiste, an executive director of sales operations who joined Genesis in 2020, described the early years as "ground floor" work. His team had to build processes, go-to-market strategies, and the reports used to measure performance. "That's tough, but you find some bright minds that are eager to create something new – like a startup," Mengiste told Business Insider. "We were really a startup."
Genesis is not a startup. It draws on Hyundai's multibillion-dollar resources, including a dedicated design center in El Segundo, California, and a commitment to 22 new or "significantly enhanced" vehicles through 2030. Mengiste, who previously worked at Nissan, Infiniti, and Ford, said Hyundai's manufacturing network lets Genesis shift between models and powertrains faster than what he saw at other automakers. The brand also taps into the group's in-house advertising, engineering, and steel production. Its cars leave on ships owned by Hyundai's Glovis logistics arm. "When the cars are done, the ship is waiting right there – our ships," Mengiste said.