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Hyundai’s luxury-car brand has committed to sedans, but a new generation of its BMW 3 Series rival is not locked in.
The Genesis G70 mid-size luxury sedan and wagon could be a one-generation wonder if the remaining market for sedans globally is not large enough to get a new model over the line.
Mike Song, the global boss of Hyundai's luxury brand, told Australian media this week Genesis will not become a “100 per cent SUV brand”, and said there is still demand for sedans in China and South Korea.
However, overseas reports claim plans for a new G70 have been scrapped as a second-generation model – with more interior space to address a key criticism of the current version – would have been too close to the size of the larger G80.
“It is up to the market,” Song said at the opening of a new Genesis showroom in Sydney.
“Still, we don't kill it. Still, we don't announce what the next generation GV70 look like,” he continued, referencing the GV70 SUV but understood to be referring to the G70 sedan.
“But for GV70 [again likely G70] especially, this is the first model and still there are customers who really love their G70 and then who really want to have their G70, so it's still going on.
“It's not time to think about the next generation of G70 yet.”
Asked if there is still a market for a mid-size luxury sedan, the top Genesis executive said: “I'm not sure about Australia, what's the sedan and the SUV typology, but the market in Korea and the market in China, still the sedan portion is bigger than here in Australia.”
He said Genesis intends to keep traditional passenger cars in its line-up, despite growing demand for SUVs.
“Definitely, we need to have the balance in our line-up.
“We don't want to kill all these sedans just because we don't see any of the volume forecast. A 100 per cent SUV brand, I don't think so.”
Song said Genesis is happy with a model range similar in size to what is has today, with the G70, GV60 and GV70 as its smallest models, and the G90 as its largest passenger car – with a GV90 expected to be on the way.
The G70 is one of two remaining vehicles in production with the Hyundai group’s 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6, popularised in the Stinger but still offered in the South Korean-market Kia K9 luxury sedan.
Newer Genesis vehicles have graduated to a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 with higher power and torque outputs, and in select models overseas, 48-volt electric supercharger technology to boost performance even further.
Genesis has announced a new Magma high-performance brand that it says will roll out to every model in its range, both petrol and electric, but Song said such a version for the G70 has not been locked in.
He referenced 3.3-litre G70 ‘Track Taxis’ that offer passenger rides around the Nurburgring race circuit in Germany as a test bed for a showroom version.
“The answer is yes,” he said when asked about plans for a G70 Magma, before clarifying: “When you go to the Nurburgring now, there is G70 Magma taxi there. We don't call it Magma taxi, but that's the kinds of our trial for the Magma.”
Asked if there will be a G70 Magma customers can buy, he said: “We are now gauging the demands from the market if we develop this one. Now we are under study.”
The Nurburgring G70s are modified with retuned suspension, unique wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, additional brake cooling, heat shields on the gearbox oil cooling lines, and a Magma-inspired orange vinyl wrap.
Genesis G70 sales in South Korea hit a peak of 16,975 in 2019, but fell to just 6087 in 2022 – with similar slides in other markets.
The current model has been updated twice with styling and technology upgrades, in lieu of a new model which – based on Genesis’ typical model life cycles – should have been in showrooms by now.
A Shooting Brake wagon joined the sedan in 2021, but both body styles have now been axed from Europe and the UK – the markets the long-roof version was designed for.
The Korean Car Blog, which published a now-deleted report claiming work on a new G70 has ceased, says the fate of the car has been confirmed to US dealers.
It quotes an unnamed Genesis source as saying: “In the early stages of development, the next G70 was about to get much bigger than the current model. But in that case, it will not be notably different from G80, and that’s why Hyundai decided to drop the project.”
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
