Why Genesis predicts rapid EV shift in Europe

Orders for Genesis' electric cars in Europe are rapidly outpacing those for models with internal combustion engines as Hyundai's luxury brand pivots toward EVs in its launch countries, helped by quicker delivery times than competitors.

Genesis began European sales in Germany, the UK and Switzerland last year with a lineup consisting solely of models with combustion engines, including the Europe-only G70 midsize wagon.

The brand, however, has seen interest in EVs soar as it launched three battery-powered models this year, starting with the GV60 crossover that shares the EMP2 platform with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 midsize SUVs.

Genesis unveiled the electric version of the GV70 midsize EV at the UK's Goodwood Festival of Speed in late June, with sales scheduled to start in September. The brand will also begin sales of the full-electric G80 sedan later this year.

“Based on the demand we are seeing right now, next year we will be 90 to 95 percent electric,” Andrew Pilkington, managing director of Genesis in the UK, told Automotive News Europe.

The recently launched GV60 already accounted for a quarter of Genesis' registrations in Europe for May, according to figures from Dataforce.

The brand has so far registered 598 cars this year.

Genesis expects the GV60 to account for about 60 percent of its electric sales with the GV70 taking 30 percent and the reminder the GV80.

Demand for electric cars is so high in the UK that Genesis is winning customers just for delivering faster than the competitors more hampered by the ongoing supply constraints.

“One retail customer we know ordered four electric cars from four different brands, and he will take the first car to be supplied and cancel the others,” Pilkington said. “I'm confident we can be the first.”

Genesis is having to balance its ability to supply electric cars with the need to establish the brand.

“If I wanted to, I could have put the whole of our allocation this year through one lease company,” Pilkington said.

Instead, the company has chosen to prioritize retail customers with advance orders for the GV60 to win a better quality of customer who appreciates what the brand calls “the Genesis difference” in the way it sells cars.

“I don't want orders to be a one-car opportunity, I want them to be a long-term customer,” Pilkington said.

The company sells cars directly to customers aided by brand stores in shopping districts. It also assigns each a customer a personal assistant to help with the test drive and the overall sales process.

“We want to demonstrate we are not just another car company,” Pilkington said.

Genesis has said it won't launch another combustion engine car after 2025 globally.

It also won't develop hybrid or plug-in hybrids as it aims to make good on its pledge to become electric-only.

Despite the dramatic shift to electric, Genesis will still sell built-to-order combustion engine cars. “We don't want to be known as just an electric car brand,” Pilkington said.