[Genesis G70 News]

It’s the most awarded car the year, but as anyone looking to own one in California knows, those accolades are being wasted if you can’t actually buy one.

But that should all change this week, a Genesis Motors representative confirmed to GenesisG70Forum.com.

There’s been plenty of discussion in our community and social media in general as to why such a highly anticipated and well-reviewed car can’t actually be purchased in the union’s most populous state.

We reached out to Genesis Motors to try and get some answers for our community and here’s what Kevin Smith in the brand’s communications department said:

To paraphrase, he outlined the situation over the past year as Genesis Motors spun off from Hyundai as an independent business unit and legal entity. When they did that, it was necessary to sit down with every Hyundai dealer and give them a choice: either become a new Genesis dealer with a separate dealership and all that entails, or take the brand’s generous buyout offer to relinquish their Genesis license and walk away.

About half of the over 800 US dealers signed on. But it’s not that simple as the process requires setting up Genesis as a brand in each state, and then each dealer would have to get its distributor license from that state. The process took longer in some states than others. And unfortunately for Genesis, one of the longest was the state of California.

With only new Genesis dealers getting shipments of 2019 models that meant existing Hyundai dealers could have an inventory of 2018s still around. And while most customers might not even notice the difference between a 2018 G80 and a 2019 one, the G70 is brand new for 2019. As a result, not a single G70 has been sold in California. But that changes now.

Smith confirmed that Genesis Motors expect to have approximately 4 Genesis dealers open for business in California this week, with more joining over the next two weeks. Shortly he expects to have over 30 dealers selling the new G70 (and the rest of the brand's lineup) in California.

Across the US there are currently more than 225 operational Genesis Motors dealers, with that number slated to almost double this year.

It’s possible you might have already seen a Genesis G70 rolling around the streets of California. According to Smith, that’s because some customers were so eager, they traveled out-of-state to pick one up!

 

[FastG]

Fleet contracts would help in this case because it addresses the issue of moving them even if it means giving fleet operators some incentive.

 

[Roderick]

Good to hear that their dealership network rework is starting to improve allocations. It would be a shame to have the launch of such an acclaimed model muddled by availability issues.

 

[Sheppard]

There seem to be a good number of them within driving distance of me and I think those who want to buy in early will be willing to travel out of state if necessary. Could still be difficult to come across one that's been spec'd the way you want.

 

[FastG]

An important thing to note too is this coincides with rumors shot down of Genesis going after AMG and M, if they were you can bet an aggressive dealer roll out plan would happen

originally from motortrend...

The rumours of a performance-focused Genesis reported by Road & Track were quashed by the brand’s president Manfred Fitzgerald, who told Car & Driver “We’re trying to set our base,” that a motorsports-inspired line is out because first “we have to get the basics.”

 

[Ed Okin]

Where is it? It’s not “this week” anymore. Is it possible “this week” meant “next week?”

 

[Ed Okin]

My earlier post was not meant to be disrespectful or argumentative...just feeling frustrated by the long wait for the G70. Thank you for any info you might have!

 

[FastG]

At some point it will come down to you following up with your dealer for a more precise timeline. They'll know.

 

[Roderick]

The last thing they will want to due is rush out the expansion of their dealer network, without staff being adequately prepped and trained for the G70. Many of them are also adding new wings to their dealership that are separate from Hyundai.