Genesis is likely to launch in India with the GV70 SUV which will be based on the next-gen Tucson’s platform. Genesis cars will likely come to India via the CKD route.
Hyundai is keen in bringing their luxury division – the Genesis brand – to India very soon. Hyundai is currently evaluating the prospects of the Genesis brand in our country. The Genesis brand came about in 2017 when the ‘Hyundai Genesis’ sedan was renamed as the G80 and the former ‘Genesis’ name was used to establish a new luxury brand from Hyundai. Hyundai plans to launch the Genesis brand in India with an SUV, of course.
The global line-up of the Genesis brand consists only of sedans – the G70, G80 and the G90. However, the brand will also be sporting two new SUVs very soon. The first one would be the GV80, an SUV counterpart of the G80 sedan and it will be based on the Kia Telluride/Hyundai Palisade platform. The second one would be the GV70, a smaller SUV counterpart to the G70 sedan and would be based on the next-gen Tucson’s platform.
Hyundai is keen to launch the Genesis brand in India with an SUV given the popularity of SUVs for the Indian market and also the propensity of an Indian customer to pay the premium for it. Hyundai thinks that the SUV body type and added luxury, they will be in a better position to justify a premium – something the company will need to be able to make a case for Genesis in India and set the tone for upcoming products.
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Hyundai is also keen to bring Genesis products through the CKD route in India. That would save the cars from the hefty taxes that would be implied if the cars were imported. Coming through the CKD route would give them a far more competitive pricing and they wouldn’t be standing out of the segment, something that Toyota got wrong with their Lexus division.
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It is still unclear as to which model will Genesis launch with, here in India. The GV80 will not likely be the one as there is no right-hand driver version of the SUV, nor is there one coming any time soon. Chances are we will get the GV70 first as that’s based on the platform of the Tucson, of which a right-hand drive version is possible. Also, assembly capability for this platform already exists in India. If at all its the GV70, still the Genesis brand will come to India only in 2020 or even later as first, they would be launching these SUVs globally.
