Genesis had the ambition to launch only fully electric vehicles from 2025 and to no longer sell anything with a combustion engine by 2030. However, that might not be the case.
According to what the Korea Economic Dailythe same Korean daily which told us earlier this week that a hybrid Kia Seltos would be part of the second generation in 2026, the slowing down of global demand for electric vehicles would encourage the Hyundai luxury brand to offer hybrid variants of its current models, from 2025.
Is the information credible? They’re based on well-placed industry sources, apparently, but let’s just call it rumors for now.
Photo: Dominic Boucher
The newspaper suggests that these hybrid models will not be of the plug-in hybrid type, with a certain electric autonomy. The most likely scenario would instead include the engine of the Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe hybrid, i.e. a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder paired with an electric motor.
Who will be the first candidates? The information points to the GV70 compact SUV and the G80 mid-size sedan, two vehicles which incidentally offer a 100% electric variant built from their same platform and not from the Hyundai group’s E-GMP architecture, which is used in the GV60.
Genesis would be added to the list of automobile companies that are reviewing their electrification plans that are perhaps a little too ambitious, after Ford, General Motors and most recently Mercedes-Benz, for example. The second has confirmed its intention to bring back plug-in hybrid models to its product range, and the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks would be among the first to offer them from what we hear.