Genesis Essentia Wins 2019 IDEA Automotive Design Award
Past award winners include the Rolls-Royce Dawn, BMW i3, Tesla Model S and the Toyota Prius.
The Industrial Designers Society of America has awarded the Genesis Essentia concept with the 2019 Gold International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) for Automotive and Transportation. The IDEA award is considered one of the most prestigious design awards in the world and the jury of this program selects the winner by comprehensively evaluating various criteria of the nominees, including design innovation, user benefits and also social responsibility.
The Essentia concept, which was unveiled at the 2018 New York International Auto Show, was Genesis’ first electric concept car. Upon its launch, it was recognized for its interpretation of the “Athletic Elegance” design paradigm and for providing a vision for future Genesis technologies.
“We are extremely proud to be recognized by IDSA with the Essentia concept, which shows the Genesis brand’s vision and future,” said Luc Donckerwolke, executive vice-president of Genesis. “For a new brand, each design element becomes a part of its legacy, so our goal is to design a car as well as connect it with the Genesis DNA.”
The battery-electric Essentia features a luxurious look with a simple, clear and sleek exterior design and a custom-tailored interior. The cabin styling is focused on maximizing the connection between the driver and the car and the overall decoration is reduced to combine restraint and futuristic impressions. “We aim to show Genesis brand DNA through designing to reshape the landscape of the existing luxury car design,” said Sang Yup Lee, head of the Genesis Design Center. “This is the foundation of our design philosophy, ‘Athletic Elegance.’”
This is not the first time Genesis has won a noteworthy motoring award since Hyundai launched the luxury brand in 2016. The South Korean marque was the highest-ranked brand in the 2018 and 2019 J.D. Power Initial Quality surveys. Meanwhile, the Genesis G70 compact sedan, which competes with the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A4, was voted the 2019 Motor Trend Car of the Year and the 2019 North American Car of the Year. Not just that, the Essentia itself won the 2018 Automobile Magazine Concept of the Year award.
Unsurprisingly, Genesis USA posted a sales growth of 38 percent in the first half of 2019. However, as you’d know, Genesis is still not a very popular brand. This is why the company’s executives are keen to see the production version of the Essentia. It can become a halo car, much like the Acura NSX and the Audi R8. Admittedly, the second-generation NSX is a sales flop, but it has helped Acura to reposition itself as a premium performance brand. Meanwhile, the first-generation R8 was not only an excellent brand booster for Audi, but also a sales hit for the VW Group subsidiary.