Genesis Will Offer Plug-ins ASAP, Hyundai CEO Says

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The newest luxury marque is already pursuing an electrification strategy to compete with the Germans.

Genesis, the upstart luxury division of Hyundai, rolls out its first vehicles this year, and plug-in hybrid models will soon follow, reports Automotive News.

The effort is all about battling competitors BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche on their own turf. Those luxury automakers are planning to increase their hybrid offerings in a market seen as more receptive to plug-ins.

“We believe alternative-propulsion engines are going to be really important — even more important in the luxury market than they are in the mainstream market,” said Dave Zuchowski, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, in an interview with Automotive News.

Plug-in vehicles have gained ground in the luxury market recently, while sales of hybrids in all others have stagnated or fallen.

Genesis has to hit the ground running if it wants to make a name for itself in the luxury market, but the brand’s hybrid New York concept wowed many, including TTAC’s Bark M, at the New York Auto Show.

Zuchowski wasn’t forthcoming about what Genesis models will receive a plug-in version. The first two Genesis-badged models to go on sale will be the full-size G90 (formerly the slow-selling Hyundai Equus), and the midsize G80 (formerly the Hyundai Genesis).

Genesis will fill out its model range with a G70 compact sedan, scheduled to appear in the near future, and two crossover models that are still a few years away.

[Image: Hyundai Motor America]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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 13 comments
  • Redliner Redliner on May 10, 2016

    Tesla has made the very idea of plug-in propulsion fashionable and desirable. If Hyundai is doing it, it's only a matter of time before everything in the premium segment is availible as a plug-in.

    • See 3 previous
    • Spartan Spartan on May 11, 2016

      @brn No other luxury brands were. There were quite a few mainstream hybrids on the road. Some were better at being hybrids. That's one of the reasons the Lexus HS fails to exist.

  • SCE to AUX SCE to AUX on May 10, 2016

    I didn't think the premium plug-in market would succeed, but it has. Hyundai/Kia/Genesis needs to make driveability of their hybrids and plug-in hybrids a top priority. BTW, I hadn't heard of the mythical G70 until now. Maybe an EV version of it could succeed if they produce one.

    • TMA1 TMA1 on May 10, 2016

      I heard they were going to create something to compete in the 3-series arena, but this is the first time I've seen a name attached to it. I thought they'd roll out their SUV/CUV line first.

  • Hyundai will do it. Thanks to their awesome interiors and better-than-Lincoln-and-Cadillac execution, they will make PHEV more competitive than GM and Ford. That is till The next president slaps huge tariffs on them and a Genesis is suddenly not as competitive as some other vehicles being sold here.

    • See 4 previous
    • PeriSoft PeriSoft on May 11, 2016

      @bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube "Suddenly the American vehicles would be more competitive than the German vehicles because the German vehicles would cost what they should cost if they weren’t getting such a major advantage on the American vehicles ." Yes, obviously the Germans are taking advantage of their artificially cheap labor and loose regulatory system to dump their products on the market, taking advantage of the wildly skewed Euro exchange rate! Or, wait, that's all utterly absurd. Sometimes I really wonder about you and your protectionist ilk, BTSR. I really do.

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