Sunday 11th January 2009

South Korea’s Hyundai Genesis was named North American Car of the Year and the Ford F-150 as the 2009 North American Truck of the Year. The awards were first given in 1994. This was the first time a Korean automaker had won. The Genesis was introduced in concept form at the 2007 New York International Auto Show and was internally designated as the BH model. It was expected to cost $533 million to develop. Hyundai began marketing the first generation Genesis worldwide (with the exception of Europe) in 2008, as a “premium sports sedan”.The second generation Genesis (internally designated as model DH) debuted in Seoul, Korea in November 2013 followed by the 2014 North American International and Toronto auto shows. It is marketed worldwide. The name Genesis reflects Hyundai’s first entry into the luxury market segment.On 4 November 2015, Hyundai officially announced the Genesis brand will be spun off into Genesis Motors, the new luxury vehicle division for Hyundai.The leap into a stand-alone, luxury brand came on the heels of marked success in the luxury market, paired with consumer demand for the Genesis name. The Hyundai Genesis was re-branded as Genesis G80