In this episode we are with SangYup Lee, Genesis Global Design Head who shares the insights on how the Korean luxury brand has made huge strides to become one of the best in the segment around the world.
Total Car Score
S5E45 - Genesis surprises all at the Busan mobility show in South Korea
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And this is with Sang Yopli, who is the head designer for Hyundai and for Genesis. And he's got some interesting information about the new products that are coming out. We got to see some products that we do not have in the US that we would love to see in the US, like the G70 shooting break and the G90 Black. Let's hear what he has to say. We spent about literally two years to make a black combination out of this. So, when you look at this Genesis Black, it's not only it has a first appearance, it has a really, you know, it has a badass character. But when you look at clothes to it, you see a lot of sophisticated touches around the vehicle. So, we have a body color, which is actually big black. I want to buy a key signature black, a touch, a big black. Yeah, and a touch by a beak. And then a wheel has a black chrome, but not too shiny. But the level is very important. Every single detail, especially the interior. And the knobs and the buttons and everything has a nice match and tone and tone all the way around there. And it finishes with a very nice inlay, the brass finish. So, it's adding a bit of sophistication and kind of like a presence to the beak. So, what we see, I know this is all blacked out, but what we see, different colors with the same black chrome accents? This is, we're actually looking into it because the response from this Genesis Black, we got really great feedback from the market. And we're, at the moment, we just started selling here in Korea, but we feel very confident in the US market in this wall. Can we write it if you don't bring it to the US? I push myself to make that happen. And then on the top of it, this also gives us opportunity to have different variations out of it. Because a color, you can do so much out of it. And when you design the car, everything is pretty much fixed. And a color is something the customer able to reflect their lifestyle. So, for Genesis as a luxury brand, the black and other option to make them very highly sophisticated, but take the cart under the level where the pushing goes to it. It seems to sort of fit the reductive design. Yes, absolutely. Very well, is that intentional? Absolutely. Genesis design, we are always challenging for ourselves to be more timeless design. This is why we try to do the design elegantly. Elegant design is very difficult for designers because it's all relies on reductive design. Because normally, the designer always wants to add the element instead of taking it out. So, it has always challenging. But this course is the only way the car to be timeless. When you see the beautiful classic car, it's so simple and pure, isn't it? And this is really what Genesis is supposed to do. We are, obviously, when the car gets launched, the first impact is very important. But more for Genesis way, even though cars like five years from now on, the car still looks beautiful as far as time you see it. It's based on our E supercharged engine, which is actually a more performance side of the trim line. So, it's only available in a full spec with a higher horsepower engine base. The two-line motif was inspired by traditional Korean art or architecture, or is that something that just developed? Yes, it is definitely because it's two-line architecture. It has been a model conversation with our CCO Luke, and myself, and the design team, and also brand as well. How can you make Genesis more distinctive? And not in a loud way, but in the distinctive yet is sophisticated. And we're also talking about Genesis being this unique Korean, which is actually what we can do, nobody else's. So, how can you reflect that character into the vehicle? This is how we actually create the two-line architecture. A light architecture is basically the character of the Indian Yang, also the character of duality. And always this duality, you create attention to make it more creative, a source out of it. So, two-line motif is actually something that we carry on to the future, but continuously challenging. So, obviously, two-line is becoming more precise and thinner, more actually spectacular execution towards the future. It's like Porsche 911 has a round headland, but when you look at the internal and execution, every generation the steps are, Porsche Genesis is going to be more like that. So, Volvo recently announced that they're returning to having the states available for sale in the US, every version of the decision. We saw the shooting break yesterday. It's an amazing car. Speedy. Any chance of that coming to the US? I can't talk about this because it is my job security, obviously. But, the car is beautiful, isn't it? Yeah, so, we're actually looking for opportunity, but nothing is official yet. You've got a bunch of votes here, I can tell you that. Going back to the, you know, you talked about being distinctly Korean, what does it mean to express that as a brand? It is a few facets. And, the exterior-wise, we want to have an elegant design to be timeless and to have a tool line as a signature. And the exterior, we're developing the technology, not being just sake of technology, but the how to make a special experience to customer. So, I think it's actually different challenges both exterior and interior, in that sense. The alone really shows what vision of the Genesis interior in the future. Ultimate reductive design, beauty of wise space is a very great philosophy. All the technology is there, but it only comes when needed. Otherwise, you don't show all the way around. And, touches and, element and obsession to detail is there. And, experience what you can do is almost extension of your house. You can feel the beautiful lounge, ultimate sound, with the content you can watch as well, with the coach door. It's actually the coach door without people, it's quite a challenge. And, you guys all know, we don't do the concept car for the sake of concept car. Our concept car has always a very strong production intention to it. So, this is what I said in the presentation. It has been a work with our engineers in the last five years. So, I mean, all the concept car, I would say most of them, they are the pillarless, people are less, but our new ruin is actually very, very serious intention to the production. So, you're 90 years into the brand now, and you really built a lot of traction worldwide, particularly in the US. Formula One racing is a halo for many luxury brands, high performance brands. Can you see a time, five, ten years down the road where Genesis will be involved in Formula One? For me, we have a no plan at the moment, but I think it's very important. Today's presentation we're talking about last nine years is all about, let's say, we mark our territory, what you're supposed to be, the issues, progressive, distinctly Korean, and all the characters of the athletic allegiances and beauty of voice space. Now, it's actually where next year is a ten year anniversary stretch our comfort zone. So, mark the territory is a first step in stretching and expand the territory is the next step. Obviously, an ultimate flagship as a video of a neo-loan concept and also a magma program to the performance side of it, which is very important for market segments, so we're actually stretching, stretching, stretching, but build up on a very strong basis. We don't do like an look to the right, and we just continually move forward to it. So, never know what's going to be in the future, but Formula One, no at the moment. Let me ask you on the way over here. Do you think the youth of the brand is an advantage? Heading into this market against more, you know, sort of established players. Hundred year history and you guys being so young, how do you leverage that youth with the designs and what you guys introduce? Answer to your question is a yes or no. It's certainly been a young luxury brand. We don't have to have a so much legacy in our shoulders. So, I think this is we are more flexibility because when, I mean, I was expertly guys in more than 100 years. You always have the Bible for the brand, with the history, every single car for Bentley in 1919, W Bentley passed the best car and the best in the class. And always catch it and ask yourself, is that Bentley? Genesis, we have a same Bible, but with the blank pages. So, in that way, we can be more challenging brand in that sense. But in the meantime, the other side of it is a brand awareness. So, this is actually very important for us to keep making a mark as a challenging, brand awareness to the market. So, nothing easy, but actually, in a way, as a designer, obviously, it's a great opportunity because not only you design a beautiful car, but also you are building established brand DNA at the same time to fill up the brand Bible. So, in a way, it's really great that our Genesis team and the Mike Song is a very audacious guy and also looked on the book, and on my boss, I worked with him for the last 15 years in the same office, and he is a brand champion and as a media designer. So, the team and the Genesis, I must say, we are the dream team at the moment. What is the secret to your success? You guys have come so far in such a short amount of time. It's incredible. Other automakers that have been in the market for decades longer are stumbling and you guys are succeeding. I don't think we are succeeding. We still got a long way to go, because a young brand is always up and down. We are actually very fortunate and a good acceptance from the market in our first-generation car, but it is very important for a luxury market. We have to consistently challenge more value for customers, because at the end of it, if a customer does not believe in our brand, it doesn't mean anything. So, this is why it's a big challenge for our first-generation based on all real-wheel drive-based cars. This is something we didn't compromise or all line up with the real-wheel-based cars. Second, we are moving towards the EV, but not just being the sake of EV. What value you want the great inside of the vehicle is so important, because... As me, if I think about one of the EV customers, I consider myself, the car is more expensive, because the EV has a battery to it, that doesn't justify it. Why I'm getting more value, I'm getting more pain, having the EV. This is challenging what we have, and we are continuously challenging this. What do you see the difference between the brand perception in North America versus Korea? Korea is a, I mean, the luxury market, we are like 60% of luxury car markets here in North America. So, you see Genesis everywhere. So, the brand awareness side of it, you don't need to worry so much, and we got a very good feedback from customers, but in the meantime, the US, we are still very young brands. Not a lot of people know the brand, the brand legacy and the philosophy around it. So, this is also very important for us to continuously push, because I was in Detroit a couple of years ago, driving GB70, driving around, there is one person, "Oh, the car is so nice, what kind of car is that?" That really shows, we still got a little bit of a gap. You've designed a number of cars in your career, you've worked a couple of different automakers, Genesis feel like home. This is one of the questions I get quite often, because I was in Croatia, in Berlin, in Berlin, in the books where I come to Hyundai and Genesis. And what is your favorite car that you design? That is the question I always get. My answer to that is cars that I'm working on right now. The past is a past. You can live with a past as a designer, because a designer needs to have a challenging spirit. You always need to push forward to it, and when you look back so much, obviously a certain way you look back to improve, but you don't want to live on your past legacy. This is very dangerous for a designer, because of one's very key product that you work on the design. Basically, you're in a comfort zone, and a designer being in a comfort zone is very dangerous. What about the inspiration of Korean culture, Korean history, the paper elements for Windows wall treatments, the floor heating that we talked about? We're seeing more of that. Is that, again, going to that distinctly Korean? Absolutely. We are actually more culture-rich into it, because the floor we're heating, it's also a strong production intention as well, and floor heating is such a great heating system. In the car, we all know that a floor is induction, and it's not really healthy, because with the dust and the dryer throat and everything, floor heating is a really good system, and a lot of housing in the US, you start to see the floor heating, and what is so special about floor heating is EV efficiency is so important. Having a floor heating heat film, a car can be a lot more efficient, especially in the winter time, because you blow the floor induction air all the time. The efficiency really drops, but floor heating, you can really benefit the efficiency of the EV. Of course, you need to have a forced induction, especially when you defrost the windshield, but other than that, the floor heating is absolutely a really good concept for the car. A lot of things are like this, and that interior, please have a seat inside of the nail wound concept, because how you feel the interior atmosphere touches and feels, it's all combination together, it will make our brand distinction in the EV era. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for Genesis, for showing us the Korean experience, showing us why Korean cars have really taken a big chunk of the marketplace, and the Germans are getting pretty concerned. Do you want to learn more about Genesis and what we saw at the Busan Motor Show? Check out Carcoach reports, I'm at Lauren Fix, on all forms of social media. Javier is at Javier Mota, and Carl is at Carl Brower with a K. Thanks so much for listening to our podcast, little car score. You can check us out on our Facebook page. Make sure to subscribe, share it with your friends, we appreciate your time. And great to meet you. Thank you for listening. For more, check us out online at TotalCarScore.com. ♪♪ I am the aggressive progressive Chris Hahn, and 2024 is going to be one of those years. You better be watching, because I think it's going to be moving so fast. You will not know which way is up or down. That's why I do my podcast every Tuesday, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast to get you through this very critical year. Hopefully you're going to listen, hopefully you're going to act, but always download the Aggressive Progressive Podcast. [BLANK_AUDIO]