Genesis mulls a small luxury electric vehicle based on the Mint EV concept

Genesis Motors is looking to expand its lineup with a small luxury EV that would be placed below the GV60 electric crossover SUV.

Genesis is considering introducing a small luxury EV

The luxury brand, part of Hyundai Motor Group, has already vowed to end new gas-powered model sales by 2025 with plans to introduce a fully electric lineup by the end of the decade.

Genesis released its first fully electric dedicated EV, the GV60 crossover, in 2019 (check out our review of it here) based on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform, which is also used for the IONIQ5 and IONIQ 6 models.

The brand accelerated its transition by launching two fully electric versions of some of its most popular models, the G80 executive sedan and the GV70.

Electric vehicles represented 52% of Genesis sales in Europe last year, but the luxury automaker looks to pick up the pace further.

According to a new report from Autocar, Genesis is considering adding a small luxury EV to its European lineup. Mark Choi, head of product planning at the company, said the automaker is looking at “expanding our model lineup,” adding, “especially in Europe a smaller model is being considered.”

Hyundai’s vice president of design, SangYup Lee, explained:

The Mint concept is still being studied. We want to understand what a small luxury car could be. When you live in a city, you don’t necessarily want a big car, so a small luxury vehicle is something to think about. There are premium small cars, but a luxury small car could be something new.

The compact luxury model could be based on the Genesis Mint concept, a small electric city-focused car introduced at the New York Auto Show in 2019 with an expected range of up to 200 miles (but that’s likely to improve for the production version).

Genesis called the Mint concept a “new vehicle typology” as a luxury two-door sporty compact EV with a low-slung roof and aggressive wide stance.

Although the idea sounds great, Choi says it’s not as simple as adding new models, adding “raw material prices for batteries is key at the moment,” and waiting until prices come down may make more sense.

Electrek’s Take

Can Genesis bring the small luxury two-door electric car to the states? The US isn’t known for its appreciation of smaller cars, but things could change with longer ranges and more premium features in the electric era.

Ford released its compact electric Explorer SUV for the European market this week, and despite the automaker having no plans to bring it to the US, I think it would have a market, and so would a small Genesis luxury EV sports car.