Is a Second Genesis EV on the Way?

Genesis sure is getting a lot of headlines lately. That wasn’t always the case.

Yesterday, we told you of spy photos showing a compact hatchback/crossover vehicle that’s destined to become the fledgling premium brand’s new electric vehicle. What name it will bear, and what type of performance and range it can offer, is unknown, but Genesis will most definitely benefit from Hyundai’s new e-GMP dedicated EV architecture and its fast-charging 800-volt electrical system.

Then another electric Genesis appeared, this one looking quite familiar.

Familiar, yet mysterious.

As revealed by Britain’s Autocar, the model spotted humming along near the automaker’s German technical center was a next-generation G80 — a vehicle we’re all familiar with. Sporting a brace of turbocharged engines, the 2021 should arrive in dealerships soon, with European customers offered the choice of a diesel engine. However, this particular G80 seemed to carry neither propulsion source.

The grille is blocked off, implying that the vehicle’s powerplant requires little in the way of airflow. Exhaust tips cannot be seen out back, and if there’s a fuel door, it’s well hidden (and not in the typical spot). Of course, the same can be said for a charge port, but the first two pieces of evidence implies there’s some form of electron portal in the vehicle’s envelope.

Genesis hasn’t said anything about a looming EV variant of its G80, but, assuming the updated model is capable of shoehorning a sufficient battery load into its bowels, such an addition would help the brand make inroads into the emissions-averse Euro market. The automaker has talked up its ambitions for the UK market before, and that’s a country that would like to ban gas-powered vehicles yesterday.

[Image: Genesis Motors]