Genesis will enter the European market this summer and as part of its initial push to gain a foothold, it will launch three EVs. Already well-known in its native Korea, as well as in the United States, Genesis is aiming to compete with the likes of Mercedes, Jaguar and BMW, and will launch Europe-specific cars in due course.  

 If you’re unfamiliar with Genesis, the easiest way of thinking about it is how Lexus relates to Toyota, albeit to Hyundai in this case. Essentially, Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury arm, with a focus on lower volume and premium vehicles rather than high volume cars in lower segments.  

  Genesis only recently celebrated its fifth anniversary, so entering the European market demonstrates a certain confidence in what it has to offer to consumers here – consumers who are already spoilt for choice in the luxury car segments, and who shunned Nissan’s luxury arm, Infiniti, after just 12 years.  

Perhaps the most exciting thing from our perspective is the announcement that three EVs will arrive within the first year. The first of these will be the electric version of the G80, which debuted at the Shanghai Motor Show last month – more on that in a minute. As well as the G80, a further two battery electric cars will follow, one of which will be built on a “dedicated electric” platform. We don’t know exactly what the platform will be, but safe money is a version of Hyundai-Kia’s E-GMP platform and 400/800V electric architecture.  

Genesis’s major point of difference is going to be in the brand experience across the lifetime of ownership. It plans on having a home pick-up and delivery service so that for routine maintenance, customers never actually need visit the dealer. A five-year care plan mirrors what Hyundai offers to its customers, covering warranty, servicing, roadside assistance, courtesy car and over-the-air updates for five years.  

The dealerships themselves are initially going to be ‘retail studios’ located in London, Munich and Zurich. Much of the sales process, however, will be online. Transparent pricing, like that being offered by Volvo and Polestar, will make things easier, too.  

Genesis Electrified G80  

The first Genesis EV that we have details for is the G80. It’s an electrified version of Genesis’s big saloon, rather than a dedicated EV, but the information available to date shows it to be a promising addition to the market, and a rival to cars like the Polestar 2, Audi e-tron GTand even the Mercedes EQS.  

  Twin motors mean all-wheel drive and a combined power output of 365bhp, plus 516lb-ft of torque. In sport mode, this delivers 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds. A battery of as yet undisclosed size provides a range of up to 311 miles on China’s NEDC test, however on the WLTP that will likely reduce by a fair chunk. It should still be close to 300 miles, however, especially with inevitable tweaks for European driving. Defaulting to the rear motor only will help eke out more range, as will a solar roof, which will likely help power ancillaries.  

Regardless, the G80 runs 800 volt electronic architecture, enabling charging speeds of up to 350kW. Vehicle to load will allow the G80 to power other electronic devices, though we don’t yet know if it will allow EV-to-EV charging (though there’s a strong likelihood that it will at 3kW).  

  We’re certainly looking forward to hearing more about Genesis’s entry into Europe, and the EVs it will bring with it.