Hyundai creates Genesis luxury brand at right time

Just as Toyota, Nissan and Honda launched their luxury labels a generation ago, Hyundai is hoping the Genesis luxury brand that it will roll out will mean both prestige and profits.

Hyundai just announced in South Korea that Genesis will become a separate brand. At present, it sells a Genesis sedan and coupe as luxury cars under the Hyundai name and a large Equus luxury coupe.

Hyundai officials told reporters that it will expand the brand to include a sports coupe, SUV and two other models by 2020, the Associated Press reports.

Genesis aims to compete with the world's best luxury brands.

As the rich have gotten richer, more have tapped into luxury cars. Sales are soaring.

For the first 10 months of the year, Toyota's Lexus saw 12.2% sales growth compared to the same period last year, while the mainstream Toyota brand was up 3.8%, Autodata reports. Honda's Acura was up 9.6% compared to 2.2% for the Honda brand. And Nissan's Infiniti 13.6% while Nissan was up 5.5%. Volkswagen's Audi was up 13%. The VW brand, now mired by issues involving its diesel engine emissions, was down 2.2%.

Plus, luxury cars have far higher profit margins than mainstream cars. Hyundai could use the boost, with the AP reporting its latest quarterly profit sank to the lowest level in five years.