Establishing a new marque in an already busy market is no easy feat – and, when it comes to the car sector, the company needs something special. Jonny Miller, head of sales, Genesis Motor UK, explains to John Challen exactly what that might be.

Jonny Miller, head of sales, Genesis Motor UK

One might think that a manufacturer entering a market in 2021 would do so with a EV-led agenda.

Not Genesis though. In fact, not even a plug-in hybrid was to be seen when it arrived in the UK. Having made a splash with the big G80, it followed up its product rollout with the ICE-only GV70 and G70 models.

Only next year will customers get to sample battery-powered vehicles from the Hyundai-owned high-end marque. That’s when the GV60 comes to towns, cities and, hopes the Genesis team, everywhere else inbetween.

Jonny Miller, Genesis Motor UK’s head of sales, is confident that the company is doing things sufficiently differently to others to win fans over. For example, there’ll be no Genesis showrooms in the traditional sense. Each customer or driver will be assigned a personal assistant to deal with the acquisition process and everything that follows afterwards. Plus there’ll be subscriptions plans that will offer “stress-free ownership of Genesis cars”.

“There are lots of car brands in the in the UK market and more will appear. To grow organically and actually be a success, we’ve got to do things differently,” admits Miller. “Yes, we’ve got great cars, but everyone’s got good cars. We’ve got to look at it much more holistically and say that customers doesn’t want to buy a car in the traditional way. Having a ‘direct-to-consumer’ approach is a way for us to put a different customer journey in place.”

What are the biggest challenges of being a new automotive entrant?

“The main thing that we will need to get over and find solutions for is the overall process. In particular, the leasing companies have a structure that is not dealer-focused, but it utilises the dealer. We need to be able to give the confidence to sthe leasing company, corporate business and the driver, that buying a Genesis is right for them. Convincing some of the larger, more established process-driven leasing companies is going to be one of our biggest issues.”

How have other new entrants helped paved the way for the Genesis model?

Genesis’ initial line-up offered the existing G80 saloon and GV80 SUV models

“Polestar and Tesla did a lot of work around trying and making dealers understand that actually our approach is probably the future. They are the way they’ve been set up with every other car manufacturer with a franchise network. But, actually, new entrants are coming with a direct-to-consumer approach and they’ve got to then understand how that will work for them. There’s a lot of confidence-building and work we’ve got to do to make them understand that actually it’s not a risk.

“We are focused on the customer. But, in the fleet world, we’ve got to keep two theoretical sets of people really happy: our customer – i.e. the leasing company – and the driver. They might not be buying the car, but they’re driving it, talking about it and showing it off. And we want them to talk about how great it is, just being a user of the car, not even owning it.”

How was the the idea of the personal assistant received by the fleet industry?

“They actually all quite like it. The GPA (Genesis Personal Assistant) is the first point of contact for everything. So if it’s a test drive, they build a relationship and when the vehicle is then delivered, the GPA will take care of that. I think people like the idea that the driver has a communication process and a contact if there is a problem with the vehicle.”

Are you confident that the approach will work?

“Each leasing company had their own ideas of what they’d like from us. So we will need to sit back, assess the situation and, in some instances, we will work as a partnership, but other times we will have to dictate. We would love to be everything to everybody, but we have to do what is right for the Genesis brand. Some of these companies might like it, and some might not. But I suppose that’s the way of the world.”

Who are your conquest sales targets?

The G70 Shooting Brake is now on sale in the UK as the brand’s fifth model here

“We are not necessarily looking at anyone in particular, it’s more a case of working with customers who want something different. We’re not a brand that anyone knows, so it’s a step out of the norm if someone wanted to buy a Genesis.

“That means people who have understood the Genesis model. We are getting people who have very high-end prestige cars, even supercars, buying Genesis products. We’ve also got people who’ve been with brands for a few years, but have not necessarily been absorbed into that brand world.

“We want people to desire and to want to Genesis, not “I chose a Genesis because it was the most cost efficient”, or it was the easiest purchase. That’s not what we’re aiming for.”

Where do you envisage the sales coming from within the Genesis range?

The GV60 arrives in Europe in the next year as the brand’s second electric car, hot on the heels of the electrified G80 saloon

“We don’t really have a target for retail or or for corporate. And to have the ability to launch a brand without a huge focus on the need to shift metal is a real luxury. Having said that, once the new models come to market, I would hope for a 50/50 retail/fleet mix. And I think that will be driven predominantly from our electrified vehicles. In the corporate market, as we know, there is a huge demand and the volume is growing.

“We’re missing out PHEV because we don’t need it. We’re launching the brand with ICE cars, but three EVs will be on sale/available by 12 months from launch: the G80 large saloon, GV60 compact SUV and one more to announce. I’m not allowed to say what it is, but it will give us a great opportunity. And that’s one of the reasons why we don’t need PHEV; we are very quickly going to be fully electrified.”

It’s a competitive market, so how can you make the cars stand out?

“There are some features on the car that are really useful, such as the boot release on the rear wiper and blind spot indicator cameras. It’s not just technology for technology’s sake, it’s actually useful. As well as the blind spot indicators, we’ve got a surround view monitor that not only gives a bird’s eye view, but also one you can spin around the car.

“I think everyone else obviously can use technology, but it depends how you use it to make the car more useful. Not just, ‘Oh look, I’ve shoved an arcade game in the front of my car. Isn’t it great?’ It is, but I’ve got a mobile phone for that!”

WHO’S JONNY MILLER?

Following a business degree, Miller started his career at the Fiat Group running the remarketing operations for the Fiat brand. He then moved across to do the same for Alfa Romeo before being promoted to run all remarketing activity for the Fiat Group.

After Fiat Group, he spent sroughly four years at Glass’ as head of manufacturer sales. Miller then moved to Volvo Car UK where he ran the leasing side of the business for almost four years before joining Polestar in early 2020 as head of sales, before moving to Genesis Motor UK a year later.