Skip to main content

Hyundai’s Genesis brand plans electric future with coupe, hatchback

Genesis, the upmarket brand created by Hyundai, shed light on how its range will expand during the 2020s. The company pledged to release three more cars to offer a six-model lineup, and at least two could get electric power.

After unveiling the GV80, the company’s first SUV, design boss Luc Donckerwolke showed the crowd an image depicting the silhouette of six cars neatly arranged in a row. Some are already available in showrooms, like the rear-wheel-drive G70 sedan, but the three that caught my eye are the ones Genesis hasn’t shown the final versions of yet.

One silhouette closely resembles the Mint concept (shown above) Genesis introduced at the 2019 New York Auto Show. It takes the form of a small, city-friendly hatchback equipped with funky-looking rear doors and an electric powertrain that offers about 200 miles of driving range. Its 350-kilowatt fast-charging technology tops up the battery quickly, which makes the Mint more road trip-friendly than its range suggests, and its cabin receives six screens plus a seventh one embedded in the steering wheel. It’s unlike any model available in 2020, and that’s exactly what Genesis stylists were aiming for. On a secondary level, it boldly argues the city car segment is far from dead.

Another one of the mysterious silhouettes shows a curvaceous body characterized by a long hood and a sloping roof line. It looks like the Essentia (pictured above), the design study Genesis brought to the 2018 edition of the New York show. The firm quoted a three-second sprint from zero to 60 mph thanks to an electric powertrain made up of multiple electric motors. That’s admittedly vague, but it sounds feasible, especially considering Hyundai has invested a considerable amount of money into Rimac, the Croatian firm looking to electrify the supercar segment.

What’s next? We’ll need to be patient. “I know we would like to see more light on this photo, but for now we will keep the mystery,” Donckerwolke teased during the presentation. Genesis is focusing on the GV80 for the time being.

Looking ahead, the company already announced it will release its first series-produced electric car in 2021. Time will tell whether it’s a high-performance coupe, a fun-sized hatchback, or something else entirely. What’s nearly certain is that we’ll see a second, smaller SUV tentatively called GV70 before Genesis branches out into the EV segment.

Editors' Recommendations

Ronan Glon
Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…
What are the different types of electric car chargers?
Electric car home charger

As we head into a world of electric cars, charging is the biggest concern for many first-time buyers. It makes sense. While the hype for electric cars themselves is arguably justified, the biggest drawback is the fact that you have to charge them, and right now, that can be a bit of a hassle.

That’s not only because of the fact that you have to wait to charge — but also because of the fact that there are different types of electric car chargers, and you may not be able to charge an electric car with all of those different types.

Read more
Hyundai Ioniq 6 first drive review: welcome to the future
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6.

While some automakers are just beginning to get into electric cars, Hyundai's EVs have already taken several evolutionary steps. From the Ioniq Electric to the Kona Electric to the Ioniq 5, the South Korean brand's EVs have steadily become more sophisticated in tech and design. And Hyundai isn't stopping.

The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 is a follow-up to the Ioniq 5, wrapping the earlier model's hardware in very different styling. With the Ioniq 5 and most other EVs from mainstream brands are marketed as crossover SUVs, this sedan doesn't have much direct competition. Hyundai set out to compete with the Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2, which is reflected in its comparable pricing — between $42,715 for the base version and $57,425 for the most expensive model. But constantly fluctuating Tesla prices and build configurations mean that may not be the case for long.

Read more
GM plans to phase out Apple CarPlay for EVs, go all-in on Android integration
Interior of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV.

General Motors plans to stop using Apple CarPlay and Android Auto phone connectivity in future EVs in favor of infotainment systems developed with Google based on the company's tech. First reported by Reuters, the move is surprising given the popularity of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which allow users to project content from smartphones onto a car's touchscreen, bypassing the native infotainment systems.

GM's decision to stop offering these systems on future EVs, starting with the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV, could help the automaker capture more customer data, Reuters noted, providing insight into how vehicles are used. But it will likely be detrimental to the user experience, as customers will have to learn to use built-in infotainment systems, rather than the smartphone interfaces they're used to.

Read more