Genesis announced on July 31 that Zhu Jiang will serve as CEO of Genesis Auto Sales (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. This position will officially take effect on August 5, 2024. After taking office, Zhu Jiang will be committed to promoting Genesis' business expansion and progress in the Chinese market.
I still remember that three years ago, Genesis used 3,281 drones to form the words "Hello, China" on the Bund in Shanghai, and announced a high-profile return to the Chinese market through imports by breaking the Guinness World Record. In fact, this is the third time the brand has come to the Chinese market. As early as 2008 and 2014, Genesis entered China as "Genesis" and "Genesis" respectively, but due to sluggish sales, it had to withdraw sadly. However, Genesis did not give up and made a comeback this time through imports, hoping to gain a place in the fiercely competitive Chinese market.
At that time, He Ruisi, then CEO of Genesis, clearly pointed out that the first task for a brand to enter the Chinese market was to create a brand image and determine market positioning. In many public interviews, he has repeatedly emphasized that the key indicators to measure the effectiveness of his work are the results of brand building and the brand's popularity in the market.
However, these expectations of He Ruisi were not realized as expected in the subsequent period of time. According to sales terminal data, Genesis sales in the Chinese market in 2023 are only 1,558 vehicles, and sales in 2022 are only 1,457 vehicles. This is far from the performance results that He Ruisi expected.
So far, Genesis has launched a variety of models in the Chinese market, including g70, gv70, g80, gv80 and gv60. Despite its rich model selection, Genesis still faces challenges in its domestic market. On the one hand, due to its relatively low brand awareness, its brand appeal and cost-effectiveness do not have an advantage in the competition. On the other hand, Korean cars, especially Hyundai brands, are not well recognized in the Chinese market, and their market share is also declining rapidly. Statistics show that from 2019 to 2021, the share of Korean cars in the Chinese market dropped from 4.7% to 2.4%, and by 2023, this proportion will further drop to 1.5%. The sales data of
has never improved, which also led to He Ruisi's resignation in October 2023. Since then, the position has been replaced by Genesis Chief Coordinator Li Zhe.
At the Genesis China all-staff meeting held in October 2023, Li Zhe, the then chief coordinator, announced that in less than 10 months, Genesisā losses in China had reached 1.2 billion yuan. What is even more worrying is that in the three years since it entered the Chinese market, Genesis has suffered cumulative losses of up to 3 billion yuan.
For Genesis, a leader who is good at brand operations is the most urgent need. It is based on this consideration that Genesis chose Zhu Jiang, a talent with extensive experience in operating new brands, to serve as Genesis' new CEO in the Chinese market.
Song Minkyu, global head of Genesis, is obviously full of confidence in Zhu Jiangās joining. He emphasized Zhu Jiang's profound management background in internationally renowned automobile brands and China's electric vehicle industry, and firmly believed that Zhu Jiang's joining would provide strong leadership for Genesis' continued development and business expansion in the Chinese market.
Zhu Jiang has more than 20 years of experience in the automobile industry and has held senior management positions in many well-known automobile companies. The brands involved include NIO , BMW, mini, Lexus and Ford. Before joining Genesis, Zhu Jiang was appointed as the first managing director of Lucid, an American electric vehicle manufacturer in China, in September 2022, in charge of business development in the Chinese market.
Zhu Jiangās performance is absolutely outstanding in the automotive industry, especially in terms of brand building and marketing strategies, with profound professional qualities.In 2003, Zhujiang joined BMW Brilliance, engaged in marketing activities, and served as BMW brand management director from 2008 to 2012. Later, he was promoted to vice president of brand management of mini China, successfully building mini into a representative of high-end personalized cars. In 2013, Zhu Jiang left BMW and moved to Lexus. In 2017, when Zhu Jiang joined NIO as vice president of user development, he was also known as "one of the builders of NIO's marketing system and brand discourse." In addition, Zhu Jiang also served as vice president of Jidu Automobile, responsible for user development and operations.
According to Genesisā previous flag, all models on sale will be pure electric by 2025. But the reality is that it is a bit skinny. The time for full electrification is far from coming. If we still stick to the original plan, we will only drag ourselves into the quagmire. So Genesis began to think about switching to the hybrid market.
Genesis President Mike Song previously said in an interview that Genesis plans to invest in launching more hybrid models next year instead of focusing entirely on pure electric vehicles. But as of now, Genesis' product matrix mainly consists of gasoline and pure electric products, and there are no hybrid models on sale. If you want to launch a hybrid model as soon as possible, you must get hybrid technology from Hyundai Motor Group.
In China, the world's largest new energy vehicle market, Genesis is facing fierce competition and huge challenges. Today, China's hybrid vehicle market is experiencing rapid growth. In the first half of this year alone, hybrid vehicle sales increased by 85.2% year-on-year, far exceeding the 11.6% growth rate of pure electric vehicles. This trend should have provided a favorable development environment for Genesis. However, due to some shortcomings of the brand itself, such as low brand awareness and market acceptance, Genesis' development in the Chinese market has been hampered to a certain extent. limits.
Especially for Genesis, which has been independent for less than 20 years, its brand recognition and price premium capabilities are relatively weak in the Chinese market. Even though the brand has launched models such as g70 and gv80, so far, its brand recognition and price premium capabilities are relatively weak. , its market response did not meet expectations, its performance was mediocre, and it failed to stir up much market ripples.
Faced with the current market environment, Genesis will undoubtedly face many difficulties if it wants to achieve a breakthrough in the Chinese market by adhering to the import model. In order to better integrate into China's new energy vehicle market, Genesis needs to make more in-depth changes.
Uncle Che Summary
As a luxury brand of Hyundai Motor Group, Genesis has tried to enter the Chinese market three times, but its performance has failed to meet expectations each time. In the current increasingly competitive luxury car market, as a relatively niche imported brand, Genesis is facing more severe challenges. For Zhu Jiang, a new official, his new brand strategy is crucial to Genesis' ability to continue to gain a foothold in the Chinese market. However, judging from the current status of Genesis and future product planning, Zhu Jiang is facing tremendous pressure. Perhaps Zhu Jiang's arrival will give Genesis some improvement, but it will not be easy to get to the next level.
