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By Eileen Falkenberg-Hull
Senior Editor, Autos, Travel and Lifestyle
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At a table on the second floor of the Nationales Automuseum in Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach, Germany, Luc Donckerwolke, president and chief design officer of Hyundai Motor Group, the Genesis brand's parent company, cannot hide his excitement about the future of the brand he helped create a decade ago.
In 2023, the company surpassed 1 million total vehicles sold. Genesis global sales are up 17.4 percent year over year in 2025, with the U.S. serving as the company's strongest market.
"We have managed to generate a lot of income with relatively small amount of cars. That means we've been profitable, and we have been able to be efficient," Donckerwolke said.
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He continued, "The first generation [of cars a company creates] is always easy to do. If you have made a first mistake, then that's big trouble. But if you make it right, the second one is where everybody starts to get involved... It's time now to protect. I always say we will be stable after five or six generations of Genesis, when I will be not working anymore for Genesis."
Hypothetically, he added, "we can say that in 30 to 40 years [is] that Genesis is stable. And even there, things can happen."
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The Genesis brand is more than just cars. It's gone from strength to strength, setting new sales records, opening stand-alone brand showrooms, even serving as the title sponsor of some of professional golf's most well-respected events, including the Genesis Scottish Open and Genesis Invitational.
In addition, motorsport is becoming a stronger part of the Genesis brand's DNA. The Genesis Magma Racing team is trialing in the European Le Mans Series this season, ahead of its official debut in 2026.
Next year is positioned to be a pivotal one for Genesis on many fronts. In addition to motorsports, the company is readying to debut and launch the new GV90 SUV. The long-anticipated three-row, seven-seat model will target the Cadillac Escalade as its main competition in terms of the level of luxury it delivers to customers, Donckerwolke told Newsweek.
But it won't cost as much as an Escalade, he noted.
The model will take cues from the Genesis X Gran Coupe Concept, which is based on the G90 sedan, with just two doors and a finely detailed cabin designed to showcase what's possible in the next generation of Genesis interiors.
This will carry over into the GV90, Donckerwolke confirmed, with materials that best what Cadillac and its American rivals currently offer in their top-of-the-line SUV models.
Genesis recently previewed the GV90 with the Neolun Concept SUV, which was a profile in elegance rather than overt athleticism. Don't worry, Magma performance fans, Donckerwolke explained: the GV90 will have a Magma version when it comes to market. "But it will certainly not be orange," he said. Instead, he said, fans can expect to see interior and exterior detailing in orange instead.
Prospective GV90 Magma owners would be able to expect "the best of the best models," Donckerwolke said. "It will be more power, more performance, but at the same time more luxury."
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