Genesis skipping hybrids, first EV due next year

The German luxury brands may be rolling out plug-in hybrids but Genesis is skipping straight to electric vehicles.

The Korean luxury brand’s first EV will arrive in Australia in 2021.

“We are not looking at hybrids as a brand. We are combustion and EV,” said Genesis Australia marketing manager Stewart Parnaby.

The Korean Car Blog has shared spy photos of a new electric vehicle line for Hyundai’s luxury brand, which has a sleek SUV silhouette and looks to be smaller than the GV70.

Hyundai Motor Company president Lee Won-hee has confirmed the new Genesis EV will use the group’s new Electric-Global Modular Platform, shared with the upcoming Ioniq 5, 6 and 7 and an upcoming electric Kia.

Additionally, spy photographers have captured an electric version of the upcoming GV70 in testing. We also recently shared spy photos of an electric version of the new, second-generation G80 sedan.

The latter features cosmetic tweaks like a restyled front bumper and a closed-off grille to distinguish it from the regular G80, while its electric driving range will reportedly be around 500km.

Genesis won’t officially confirm what’s coming here but said it’ll take anything that’s been engineered for right-hand drive – and that’s almost everything.

Only the combustion-powered Genesis G90, the brand’s Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival, hasn’t been engineered for right-hand drive.

Beyond EVs, that also puts vehicles like the upcoming G70 Shooting Brake (above) within reach for Australian consumers.

Would you consider a Genesis EV? Let us know in the comments below