Genesis is finally going west, with the Korean luxury brand planning to open a ‘Test Drive Centre’ in Western Australia by the end of 2021.
Test Drive Centres are also planned for the Gold Coast and Brisbane in the fourth quarter of this year, ahead of the planned 2022 opening of a Brisbane ‘studio’.
That’ll bring the number of studios – Genesis speak for showrooms in prominent locations – to three, following the recent opening of one in Melbourne.
The expansion of the retail network, like the expansion of the its model line-up, couldn’t come any sooner for the upstart brand.
Genesis sold 85 vehicles in June and 84 vehicles in July, though the brand expected to sell “comfortably” more than 100 units in July until Sydney entered a COVID-19 lockdown.
The company still expects to triple its 2020 sales with around 700 units by the end of 2021.
That increased sales volume will be largely driven by the recently introduced GV80 and the new GV70 SUVs, and the updated G70 should also play a key part.
The G70 range will also gain a new Shooting Brake variant in the fourth quarter of 2021.
To the end of July 2021, Genesis has sold 185 examples of the GV80, 45 of the G70 and 32 of the G80.
Though it’s only just gone on sale, the GV70 has already overtaken its sedan siblings with 80 sales.
It’s also within striking distance of the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, which has logged 86 sales this year, though naturally it’s still some ways off the likes of the Lexus NX and the three Germans it was benchmarked against: the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.
Genesis launched in Australia with a single studio in Sydney, with COVID-19 causing delays in the opening of other studios.
It has two Test Drive Centres, both located in the greater Sydney area: one in Parramatta, one in Macquarie Park.
As the name suggests, these retail locations give prospective buyers the opportunity to test drive a vehicle and look rather more like a conventional luxury car dealership.
The studios, in comparison, are in inner-city locations with high levels of foot traffic.
Test Drive Centres aren’t the only way people can get behind the wheel of Genesis.
Rather than using a broad network of dealers, Genesis will deliver cars to prospective buyers for a test drive within 70km of the Melbourne, Brisbane, or Sydney CBDs.
It’s also paired with Ovolo Hotels to offer guests time behind the wheel of a G70 sedan.
