Hyundai grabs Lamborghini man to drive Genesis Brand

Photo Manfred Fitzgerald Hyundai Genesis

Manfred Fitzgerald – the man Hyundai has tasked with building the Genesis brand

Hyundai has hired former Lamborghini Director of Brand and Design, Manfred Fitzgerald, to lead the new Genesis premium brand to credibility.

Hyundai has done a sterling job transforming itself from cheap as chips Korean car maker to a real mainstream challenger to the likes of Ford and VW – never mind the Japanese brands – but now it has, potentially, an even bigger challenge on its hands – getting the world to accept its Genesis brand a a proper premium marque.

Turning the Genesis brand in to Hyundai’s equivalent of Toyota’s Lexus is going to be no easy task, although the first ‘luxury’ Hyundai – the new Genesis G90 – does offer a lot of promise, even though it seems a bit generic; a sort of ‘everyman’ luxury car.

But changing perceptions is going to take more than just building credible cars, it’s going to take a real branding effort.

So Hyundai has hired Manfred Fitzgerald – former head of Brand and Design at Lamborghini – to head up the drive for credibility at Genesis, and he certainly seems to have the right credentials.

Hyundai say the Fitzgerald played a pivotal role in transforming Lamborghini in to a proper luxury car brand in his 12 years at Sant’Agata, and they’re looking to him drive brand strategy and marketing for Genesis alongside Luc Donckerwolke (former Bentley man), and with Peter Schreyer (Chief Design Officer) looking keeping a watchful eye on their efforts.

Hyundai are certainly pulling out all the stops to give the new Genesis brand every chance of succeeding. It’s going to be interesting to see how it all works out.