Analysis: Genesis Future Models
Hyundai’s Genesis division, while clearly a success, has been having a challenging time of things thus far in 2018. In its number one market, year-to-date sales stand at 2,976 cars, while this time last year, US deliveries were 3,400. For 2017, the first full year, sales numbered 20,594 vehicles. As well as extra models which are coming soon, stand-alone dealerships are another major development for 2018.
Armed with only the G80 and G90, Hyundai’s US dealers did well to sell more than 20,000 Genesis vehicle in 2017. One or more SUVs would surely transform that tally in 2018. Fortunately, Genesis has plans to add such vehicles as well as electrified powertrains for its existing and future sedans.
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There would be six Genesis vehicles in the range by 2020, Hyundai stated in November 2015. They are expected to be as follows:
- G70 (BMW 3 Series sedan rival)
- G80 (renamed Genesis sedan, BMW 5 Series rival)
- G90 (replacement for the Hyundai Equus)
- GC80 (replacement for the Hyundai Genesis Coupe/Genesis Coupe)
- GV70 (BMW X3 rival)
- GV80 (BMW X5 rival)
Cars
The G70, which was revealed to the media on 15 September 2017 at an event in South Korea, is a rear- and all-wheel drive sedan. The G70 is closely related to the Kia Stinger though it does not share that car’s hatchback body style. At 4,685 mm long, 1,850 mm wide and 1,400 mm high, the car is a rival for the Infiniti Q50, Jaguar XE and Alfa Romeo Giulia.
The US and South Korea are the main markets, although the car will also be sold in the Middle East and Russia. A coupe and a wagon might follow the sedan in a few years’ time.
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By GlobalDataHMG is making Genesis a global brand in the same way that PSA evolved Citroen DS models into vehicles for the standalone DS brand. So the car’s name is Genesis G70. The Hyundai/Genesis sedan became the Genesis G80 and the replacement for the big Hyundai Equus is the Genesis G90 though the latter is sold in South Korea as the Genesis EQ900.
Initially on sale in the Korean, Chinese, North American and Middle Eastern luxury car markets, the Genesis brand will expand its reach to Europe and other parts of Asia as the model range grows to full strength.
The G70 offers the choice of up to three turbocharged engines: 254hp 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol, 202hp 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel and 365hp 3.3-litre V6 petrol.
A facelifted model should appear in 2020 to be followed by a second generation model in 2024.
The larger G80 began its life in early 2014 as the second generation Hyundai Genesis or in some countries, the Genesis sedan. Then, following its appearance at the Busan motor show in June 2016, the former Hyundai Genesis sedan became the Genesis G80, with the car rebadged and slightly restyled. In North America, the update took place for the 2017 model year. The G80 went on sale in South Korea in July 2016.
Both 3.3- and 3.8-litre V6 petrol engines have been available in the home market since the car’s release there, each mated to a standard eight-speed automatic transmission. Two months ago, a V6 diesel was added.
In North American markets, until the end of the region’s 2016 model year, the car was sold as the Hyundai Genesis sedan, and the same applies in China, where the car went on sale in August 2014: the previous generation model was sold in China as the Hyundai Rohens sedan. Hyundai Motor Europe stated in October 2013 that it too intended to sell the car. Its regional launch began in June 2014, with a limited number of cars available in Spain, France, the UK and other markets via Hyundai dealerships. There is still no firm date for the launch of the Genesis brand in any European country.
The second generation sedan was the first model for Hyundai’s AWD sub-brand, HTRAC. It was revealed by Hyundai Motor Europe in December 2013 that there not be any Genesis sedans with HTRAC for the UK as the car has not been engineered for the combination of all-wheel drive and right-hand drive. The AWD system is produced at Magna Powertrain’s Lannach and Ilz facilities in Austria.
An additional variant for North America’s 2018 model year G80 range had its regional debut at the LA auto show in November 2016. This was the Sport, which is powered by a turbocharged 3.3-litre V6 and has modified suspension settings.
Hyundai restricted the launch of Genesis the brand to South Korea, North America, China and the Middle East, initially at least. Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other markets should follow as the model range is expanded.
A facelifted G80 went on sale in South Korea in October 2017.
The next generation G80 will reportedly be fitted with HMG’s Theta-3 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. It is due for launch in the South Korean market in the final quarter of 2019.
The G90, the largest of Genesis’ sedans, is in the same size segment as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. This car, which replaced the Hyundai Equus in certain countries, was announced by Hyundai in December 2015. It was revealed to the media in South Korea as the Genesis EQ900 but in export markets it is the Genesis G90.
The debut with G90 badging took place at the Detroit auto show in January 2016. In North America, the G90 was new for the region’s 2017 model year. The first cars for US customers were delivered in October 2016.
As was the case with the Equus, there is a long-wheelbase EQ900. This was revealed to the media in Seoul in March 2016. The EQ900 Limousine is 290mm longer than the EQ900.
Hyundai claims that the G90 offers what was the world’s first clinically-validated Smart Posture Caring (SPC) System. This automatically adjusts the seat, steering wheel, outside mirror and head-up display to the optimal position for the driver’s body (Korean market only).
Depending on the market, the car first went on sale with up to three petrol engines and an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission:
- 370PS 3,342cc turbo V6
- 315PS 3,778cc V6
- 425PS 5,038cc V8
The G90 is 5,205mm long, 1,915mm wide and 1,495mm high. Also, Hyundai’s own weight figures are 2,420-2,595kg. The company quotes the boot capacity as being 484 litres.
All build of the G90/EQ900 takes place at Ulsan Plant 5. Hyundai and its unions agreed to double annual build soon after the car went on sale in the home market. This was in response to strong orders. Capacity, originally set at 16,000 units, was lifted to 32,000 cars per year. The kits for SKD assembly by AvtoTOR in Kaliningrad are also supplied by the South Korean factory.
The next news for this big sedan should be the launch of a facelift in early 2019. The second generation G90/EQ900 will most likely make an appearance in the final quarter of 2022.
There used to be a Genesis Coupé (Rohens Coupe in China) but this model was discontinued in 2016. Its replacement, provisionally called either GC70 or GC80, is due for release later this year. Some of the styling elements are expected to have been previewed by the Hyundai HND-9 concept, which premiered at the Seoul motor show in March 2013. A second car, the HCD-16 Vision G Concept Coupe, had its debut at an event in Los Angeles in August 2015. It was then revealed to the public at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance later that month.
As well as right-hand drive for the first time in the history of the Genesis Coupe model series, there might also be a convertible.
Hyundai is understood to be planning to offer the car with various engines, including a turbocharged 3.3-litre V6.
The reason for potentially not replacing the Genesis Coupe directly is to go after the segment below it where the Audi A5, BMW 4 Series and Mercedes C-Class Coupe do so well. However, it might well be that the Genesis Coupe turns out to be sized and sold as the G80 Coupe as there is also good volume in the USA and Europe in this segment, as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe proves.
SUVs
The smaller of two crossovers should be launched in early 2020 although Hyundai is said to be fast-tracking these models as US dealers are extremely keen to have them. The provisionally badged GV70 will be aimed at the second generation Range Rover Evoque, BMW X3, Audi Q3, Volvo XC40 and Jaguar E-Pace. It might well appear in prototype form at a US motor show during 2018.
Hyundai Motor America will have a world debut at the New York auto show in just over a week’s time and it could be either a prototype of this model or else a production version of last year’s larger GV80 concept. Genesis’ first SUV might therefore be a model which is larger than the GV70. Such a vehicle is being developed to compete with the next generations of the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and BMW X5.
The GV80, a concept which premiered at the New York auto show in April 2017, was likely a preview of the styling of Genesis’ larger SUV. The concept had a fuel cell powertrain.
Both GV70 and GV80 should be the two best selling Genesis models by 2020.
Electrification
Hyundai Motor told the media in August 2017 that Genesis would have an EV in 2021. No other details were announced at that time. The statement was made as details of the then forthcoming next generation Hyundai fuel cell vehicle were announced ahead of this SUV’s debut at the CES in January 2018.
In fact, Genesis will likely have three electric models from 2021: a sedan, which would be based on the next G80 plus PHEV versions of two SUVs. The model names will likely be GE80, GEV70 and GEV80 respectively.
The GE80 is expected to be a dedicated EV to take on the second generation Tesla Model S, although it might instead be sized to tackle the Model 3, in which case the name could be GE70. The brand’s first EV will be on a bespoke electric architecture, according to Lee Ki-sang, who is the senior vice president at Hyundai Motor Group’s Eco Technology Center. The HMG executive made the remarks when interviewed at the Detroit auto show in January 2017.
It won’t only be battery-electric vehicles which will be part of the Genesis electrified line-up. A plug-in hybrid version of the ‘GV70’ D segment SUV should appear in 2020, and be joined by a PHEV GV80 in 2020 or 2021.
Future model plan reports for other manufacturers can be viewed in the OEM product strategy summaries section of just-auto.com.
Future product program intelligence
More data on vehicle lifetime and future product plans is available in PLDB from QUBE.
The next company to have its current and future passenger vehicles looked at will be Kia Motors.
