Genesis Motor North America’s Chief Operating Officer Claudia Marquez sat down with Flat Six Media’s Owner and CEO Jason Stein at the 2023 Automotive Forum of New York today to chat about her first 18 months with the brand.
Marquez credits the keys to Genesis’ early success to its people, citing the hard work ethic “from our executive team to the engineers and everyone at headquarters to dealers. Everyone feels a part of who we are.”
The past year and a half has been a whirlwind for Marquez, with the carmaker investing in opening new plants and stand-alone retail facilities, launching two new electric vehicle models in 2022 and a third EV model in 2023. Regarding EVs, Marquez adds that the past year has strengthened their commitment to have an all-electric line up by 2025 and become a zero emissions brand by 2030.
Ironically, she admits that one of the biggest challenges and opportunities is being a new luxury brand. While they are working to grow awareness and a community around the brand, at the same time, “We don’t have a heritage like other brands, and that gives us some great opportunities,” she says. “We’re new, we’re different, we’re Korean.”
Marquez says that the OEM’s business philosophy is to align everything with customer expectations. “We try to be very humble. We recognize the importance of taking care of dealership owners and customers,” she says.
Signs are pointing to this credo’s success. The OEM had its best year ever in 2022, its best quarter in the first quarter of 2023 and expects 2023 to be another record year. Genesis has also received numerous accolades, including the G90 being named the 2023 Motortrend Car of the Year and Best Luxury Car of 2023 by Cars.com, as well as six models winning Car and Driver Editors’ Choice Awards.
As for the future of this young brand, Marquez says they are always thinking about the future and challenging what is possible. “We’re adjusting to the new way of living,” she says. “We need to be fast, we need to think fast.”
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