It seems that hybrids are emerging as the new star of the electrification game, following the recent concerns about the prospects of the EV market. Genesis doesn’t want to miss out on the increasing customer demand, and will reportedly launch hybrids next to its existing lineup of ICE and EV models.
Hyundai Group previously announced that all new Genesis models set to debut from 2025 will have fully electric powertrains. However, a new report suggests that the company is hesitant in making the EV switch, and could use hybrids as an in-between step.
The fully electric range of Genesis currently comprises the GV60, Electrified GV70, and Electrified G80, but only the GV60 rides on an EV-dedicated platform. This could mean that the ICE-powered lineup of G70, GV70, G80, GV80, and GV80 Coupe, are all potential candidates for adopting hybrid technology.
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While Genesis never offered a hybrid model, parent company Hyundai Group has all of the technical expertise. As reported by The Korean Economy Daily, the new Genesis offerings could feature an electrified 2.5-liter engine, which would offer better fuel efficiency compared to ICE models, without the dependency on the charging network that is associated with fully electric models. The same report adds that US dealers are asking for a plug-in hybrid Genesis, but the initial roll-out could be limited to vehicles with self-charging hybrid tech.
A look at the sales numbers over the past few years suggests that Genesis buyers are not yet ready to make the switch to a fully electric vehicle. In 2023, Genesis sold 225,189 vehicles, and only 18,846 were EVs. These are only slightly more compared to the 18,759 EVs sold in 2022 among 215,128 units.
The situation is not much different in the overall sales of Hyundai Group when we compare the Q4 stats of 2022 and 2023. The EV share dropped from 5.7 percent to 5.3 percent, while the hybrid share increased from 7.1 percent to 10.6 percent.
