Genesis Will Offer Plug-ins ASAP, Hyundai CEO Says

by Steph Willems

May 10th, 2016 2:22 PM

genesis will offer plug ins asap hyundai ceo says

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]

#FutureVehicles #Genesis #GenesisG80 #GenesisG90 #Hybrids #Luxury #Plug-inHybrids #Sales

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13 comments

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.

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- Brn on May 10, 2016
  
  Especially since there are plug-in hybrids in the non-luxury segment. What's interesting is that Lexus and Lincoln were the early adopters of hybrids (not plug-in) in the luxury segment, but they get no mention.
  
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- Spartan on May 10, 2016
  
  @brn Because the Lexus HS250 and the Lincoln MKZ hybrids aren't anything special. They're just hybrids. If they were continued to innovate and evolved into plug ins, then they'd deserve some recognition. Otherwise, not so much.
  
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- Brn on May 10, 2016
  
  @Spartan They were special when no one else was doing it.
  
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- 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.
  
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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.

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- 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.
  
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Bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube on May 10, 2016

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.

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- TMA1 on May 10, 2016
  
  So wouldn't the German and Japanese imports go up in price proportionally if tariffs were put in place? The only ones who'd benefit would be Cadillac and Lincoln, and those two can't seem to do anything right.
  
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- Bigtruckseriesreview @ Youtube on May 10, 2016
  
  @TMA1 YEEEEEEaaaaaah Imagine that. 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 . I know what you're about to say before you say it. Starting a trade war will never work . I'm willing to give it a try !
  
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- George B on May 10, 2016
  
  @TMA1 It's becoming a little difficult to buy an actual imported German or Japanese brand luxury vehicle. Mercedes built in Alabama, BMW built in South Carolina, Lexus built in Kentucky, etc.
  
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- Hummer on May 11, 2016
  
  @George B So what your saying is the Cadillac will become even more expensive and less appealing as the parts coming from China will have another tax imposed on them?
  
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- 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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