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Genesis cars win accolades, offer value — so why are sales so bad?

My high-school buddy Brent Cormier was so smitten with the Genesis G80 when he saw it at an event I hosted at SXSW in 2016 he bought a used 2013 Hyundai Genesis a short time later and fell in love with the car. "It surpasses my every expectation," said Cormier, a self-described "renaissance man" who owns and runs a real estate agency with his wife Laura, is a food service executive chef and part owner of Austin-based Thin the Herd Guitars. "I was locked into Mercedes and Audi for 10 years," he added. "And felt trapped in an endless pit of maintenance costs." After owning the Genesis over the past two years — including using it as an Uber and Lyft driver to earn extra cash — Cormier learned what some frugal luxury sedan buyers and a handful of car reviewers have discovered: Genesis offers great bang for the buck compared to other premium brands and can compete with the best in terms of performance, features and comfort. Hyundai's luxury brand also earned a prominent third-party endorsement last week when for the first time Genesis topped J.D. Power's 2018 APEAL study, surpassing German luxury-performance icon Porsche. The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) "measures owners' emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes," ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale. In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that bumped it up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche — and past BMW, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Cadillac, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking. Last month, Genesis also topped J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey (IQS) for the first time this year. And both its models were awarded Top Safety Pick Plus ratings by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, among 11 Plus ratings in all for Korean vehicles. Despite high J.D. Power rankings and great reviews, Genesis U.S. sales were off 50 percent for the first six months of 2018 compared to 2017, and in June Genesis sold only 796 vehicles — the first time U.S. numbers dropped below 1,000 in a month. Part of Genesis's APEAL and IQS success can be attributed to its small product lineup: just two models, the G80 and G90 sedans, with a third, the 2019 G70, launching later this year. And while those numbers may help in J.D.

Volvo Cars, Northvolt to build battery plant with 3,000 jobs

Northvolt's new facility in Skelleftea, Sweden.   STOCKHOLM — Automaker Volvo Cars and battery manufacturer Northvolt will build their joint battery plant in Gothenburg, western Sweden, the two companies said on Friday. The new 50-gigawatt-hour (GWh) plant will create up to 3,000 jobs and make battery cells specifically developed for use in pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars, the Sweden-based companies said. Operations will begin in 2025. The two companies said last year they would form a joint venture to develop batteries, including setting up a gigafactory for production and a research and development centre, a total investment of about 30 billion crowns ($3.3 billion). Northvolt and Volvo said former Tesla executive Adrian Clarke had been appointed to lead the production company. "He comes with a long experience from Tesla as well as around how to build these type of factories," Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson, who also previously worked for Tesla, told Reuters. Volvo Cars head of engineering and operations, Javier Varela, said access to fossil-free energy, skills and infrastructure had been factors for choosing Gothenburg, Volvo's hometown. Competition for talent is fierce, with most battery engineers based in Asia. Tesla and Asian companies such as LG and Samsung SDI are also setting up factories in Europe. Northvolt's gigafactory in the Swedish town of Skelleftea assembled its first battery cell at the end of December, making it the first European company to design and manufacture a battery in Europe. Carlsson said it was running as planned, although he said global supply-chain problems, semiconductor shortages and the COVID-19 had made it more of a challenge. "It has not been the easiest of times," he said. Volvo Cars, majority owned by China's Geely Holding, aims to sell 50% pure electric cars by the middle of this decade and fully electric cars only by 2030. Northvolt, whose biggest shareholder is Volkswagen, has so far receive more than $30 billion worth of contracts from customers such as BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar.  

2023 Volvos get mild-hybrid engines, XC40 and S60 see styling tweaks

For 2023, Volvo's entire lineup will now feature both mild-hybrid assist engines and Google Android-based infotainment. Additionally, a couple of models are getting some styling updates. As for powertrains, the XC90, XC40 and V60 Cross Country are finally getting base engines with Volvo's 48-volt hybrid assist. This means that every Volvo on sale will have some level of electrification as standard, and of course plug-in hybrid and full-electric versions of some of its models continue to be offered. The Google Android-based infotainment system's availability is also expanding to the gas-powered XC40 models as well as the S60 and V60 models. As with electrification, this update means every Volvo has the same kind of infotainment. The perks of the new infotainment system include the ability to run apps and features such as Google Maps and Voice Assistant natively in the infotainment system, instead of needing to use a phone. It also enables over-the-air updates so that older models can still have the latest functions. Rounding out the updates are some styling changes for certain models. The S60 and V60 models get new grilles and rear bumper inserts. The XC40 features new headlights, front bumpers and grilles. New colors and wheels are on offer for all models, and Volvo has dropped trim level designations for all cars. The updated Volvo models are going into production with availability this summer. Pricing has not been announced yet. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.