Electric Genesis GV60 small SUV for 2021

Genesis is preparing to launch three crucial new models next year, including its first electric vehicle dubbed the Genesis GV60, as the Korean luxury brand expands its footprint in Australia.

The new-generation Genesis GV70 mid-size SUV and updated Genesis G70 mid-size sedan are already confirmed, while carsales expects the battery-powered contender will be an all-new smaller crossover-style SUV that will arrive later in the year as the Genesis GV60.

Parent company Hyundai trademarked the GV60 moniker in Australia and other markets as far back as 2015, while Genesis’ global chief William Lee confirmed to Aussie journalists earlier this year – at the international launch of the Genesis GV80 large SUV (now on sale) – that the forthcoming EV was “a kind of crossover”.

Lee implied that it would be based on the Hyundai Kona Electric and confirmed to carsales it would be a full-electric (eschewing hybrid), although it remains unclear whether it will also be offered with combustion engines as a rival for premium compact SUVs like the BMW X1 and Audi Q3.

In a recent interview with carsales, the national marketing manager of Genesis Motors Australia, Stewart Parnaby, was reluctant to discuss the first electric Genesis – admitting only that “it’s fully electric” – but said the brand was looking forward to launching the three new models confirmed for next year.

He also said the company has been flooded with interest in the new G80 large sedan and GV80 SUV, although he is not revealing any of the early sales numbers.

“We’re extremely excited by what the GV80 and G80 are doing for the brand. And we’re very happy with the three models confirmed for next year,” he said.

“We probably won’t discuss the sales numbers. (But) in November and December the interest in GV80 is well beyond expectations.”

The latest entrants have continued the transformation that began last year with the Genesis G70, the first all-Genesis model unlike the original Hyundai-badged G80 that really only worked for hire-car operators.

Parnaby said the GV70 would be a key model for 2021 because it gives Genesis the chance to conquest first-time luxury car buyers.

“I think GV70 is going to be really important. It’s in a volume segment, the mid-sized SUV, and that segment actually grew in 2020,” he said.

“In the mid-sized segment, the vehicle trade-out is 50:50 mainstream volume vehicles and luxury brand. So they are choosing their prestige brand for the first time.

“So it’s important for us to win a lot of those first-time luxury buyers. It’s where the aftersales and servicing offer is very important. When you’re paying a certain amount for that sort of vehicle it should be part of the package.”

Parnaby said the approach to Genesis was more about attitudes than age or income, pointing to the ‘CEO in sneakers’ image as ideal for a brand where people have to resist the traditional rusted-on lure of a BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

“There has to be some level of emotion involved, but the Genesis product is very competitive. The issue is more about mindset than age. People who are looking for status will not buy our brand for the next four or five years,” he said.

“There is a level of pragmatism. There is an underlying need. There are some things you have to tick off.”

The continued product push comes as Genesis Australia prepares to open a second ‘gallery’ showroom in Sydney, two more in Melbourne and Brisbane, and expands the number of its test-drive centres across the country.

It is taking a ‘hub and spokes’ approach to its sales and service network, refusing to go down a traditional dealership route and instead owning all its facilities and relying on ‘Genesis-to-you’ personalised contact for everything from test driving through to maintenance and servicing.

“We’re working to give customers what they want, not shoehorn them into a 50-year-old model. The approach came from feedback, and that’s the key to the Genesis brand,” Parnaby said.

“Will we have dealers? That’s just not on the Genesis roadmap. We want to deliver the right level of service and customer support. That’s the vision of the Genesis brand.”

Parnaby also knows that Genesis cannot be successful quickly, although he rejects any suggestion that it could fall to the same lack of inertia that killed Infiniti in Australia.

“Brand awareness is growing. It’s dollars and time. If I wanted the entire country to be aware of Genesis, there is an amount of money that can make that happen. But it will take time,” he said.

“Hyundai now has 97 per cent brand awareness. Everything we’re doing will continue to move it over time.

“I set quite aggressive targets. And the idea is to smash it by more than 100 per cent.”

Parnaby knows the ‘gallery’ concept goes against the traditional dealership model in Australia, but he promises they will grow quickly from the single site in the Sydney CBD in the next two years, with a greater emphasis on the test-drive centres and personalised contact with potential buyers at their homes.

“We’re continuing to look for more sites all the time. But we feel the Genesis-to-you concept means we get the right contact,” he said.

“We will use the gallery concept in high-traffic areas. The test-drive centres are about trying to expand the footprint for people who like the ‘It’s the weekend, time to buy a car’ type of shopping. They also become a logistics hub for the ‘Genesis-to-you’ concept.”