Hyundai Motor Group announced that both Kia and Genesis will launch electric crossovers in 2021. We first heard that Genesis might be planning an electric crossover about a year ago, then to wind up 2020 the Hyundai Motor Group confirmed that it would be based on the E-GMP platform and would be revealed this year.
Although there are still a lot of unknowns
concerning this EV, Genesis’ designs have been pretty solid lately, and the two
EV concepts they released in New York (a year apart), the Essentia coupe and
the Mint city car both impressed with their design. Last December, Hyundai
unveiled its brand new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) that promises
up to 310 miles of range and fast charging that’s enough to get you 62 miles
worth of juice in just five minutes.
This platform will underpin the Hyundai
Ioniq 5 as well as the Genesis, and Kia, EVs that follow. The good news for
enthusiasts is that, like VW, Hyundai has decided to put the primary motor at
the rear, meaning that E-GMP-based EVs will be RWD as standard. With Albert
Biermann, whose name you might remember from BMW’s M division, leading R&D
for the Hyundai Motor Group, the Genesis EV should handle pretty good as well.
There’s no word yet on exactly when it
will go on sale, but it’s possible that it’ll go on sale as a 2022 model year.
