News at last! Genesis stopped bringing in cars from Korea to the US back in March, letting the 2018 model year inventory fade away. This also worked with the Annual Hyundai Motor Group Labor Strikes which, now typically, causes the RWD cars to pause production until wages are negotiated again.
During the hiatus, Genesis US has been applying for the right to license franchises and has been accepted in 40 out of the 50 states (good luck, Midwest). The final states should be worked out by the end of the year, but now Genesis can begin having the 800 Hyundai dealers sign new contracts or accept a cash buyout for any efforts lost in launching the premium line since 2009.
All of this should cut the number of Genesis providers down to less than 400 nationwide (which is the same number of Hyundai dealerships already selling G80s and quadruple the number of stores Genesis was thinking). The initial Genesis gleaning should be finished by February.
Genesis has confirmed production of the Essentia in order to act as a halo model for the brand. In the mean time, the 2019 Genesis G70, G80, and G90 will start delivering this month. Pricing should be out soon.
A facelifted G90 sedan will likely be revealed in Korea in November, and an all new G80 sedan will probably be shown around March or April. Then there is the Mercedes GLE-sized Genesis GV80 SUV whivh should be appearing next year.
All of this should make for a surprisingly fresh restart for fledgling Genesis, which has stumbled over every stick on the boardwalk so that, hopefully, the path will be clear of hurdles for its customers.