Spotted: Mysterious new electric luxury car appears in Auckland

Thursday, 13 April 2023

The new Genesis G80 Electrified, parked outside Hyundai New Zealand HQ in Mount Wellington.

For several years now, Hyundai New Zealand has tip-toed around the topic of whether it is keen to launch its luxury offshoot – Genesis – in local showrooms. If one particular recent spotting on Auckland roads is anything to go by, the prospect is still firmly on the table.

Earlier this week, Stuff spotted a new fully electric Genesis G80 (sold overseas as an eG80 or as the Electrified G80) parked at Hyundai New Zealand’s headquarters in Mount Wellington. It is the first time that a new Genesis model has appeared on Kiwi soil in five years.

The G80 and its larger sibling, the G90, are two of the most svelte premium sedans around.

Hyundai founded the Genesis sub-brand in 2015. Genesis exists in a similar way to Toyota and its luxury offsider, Lexus, or Nissan and Infiniti, with one difference being that Genesis models are typically sold at Hyundai dealerships as opposed to bespoke specialist sites.

Hyundai’s local arm dipped its toes in the Genesis brand in 2015, when it briefly sold the first generation G90 – badged locally as the Hyundai Genesis. The Genesis name briefly returned in 2018, when a small allocation of Genesis G70s were sold in New Zealand.

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The fully electric G80 can be spotted via its more solid looking grille.

Hyundai New Zealand’s stance has been consistent; representatives often telling the media that it is ‘evaluating’ the possibility of adding Genesis to its mix. There are currently no references to any new Genesis models on the brand’s website.

Quizzed about the sighting by Stuff, a Hyundai New Zealand spokesperson reiterated the familiar point.

“There are currently a small number of Genesis models in New Zealand which are currently being used for evaluation purposes. HMNZ often bring in different vehicles for evaluation at various times but there is no definite plan for when they will be released into the New Zealand market,” they said.

The current generation Genesis G80 was launched in 2020, with the fully electric variant following in April 2021. It is powered by dual motors producing 272kW of power and 700Nm of torque, and shapes up as a rival for the likes of the BMW i4 and Mercedes-Benz EQE.

Range is rated at 520km on the WLTP cycle and, for those not so worried about range, it can accelerate from a standstill to 100kph in 4.9 seconds. Like other Hyundai EVs, it supports vehicle-to-load functionality, and features 400/800V multi-rapid charging.

The G80 sits beneath the G90 flagship, and above the G70. Genesis also produces a swathe of SUVs, inclusive of the GV70 and GV80. It also offers the GV60 – a fully electric SUV that shares platforms with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.

The arrival of this Genesis comes amid Hyundai’s continuing efforts to lift itself upmarket in regions like New Zealand, via its Ioniq EV line-up, and nameplates like the enormous three-row Palisade SUV and performance variants like the i20 N and i30 N.

The New Zealand government’s push to support EV adoption with legislation has helped grease the wheels for several brands to launch (or in some cases, return) to the market. These include the likes of Opel, BYD, and GWM Ora.

Whilst luxury models like the G80 are unlikely to qualify for the Clean Car Discount rebate, the local focus on electrification and the looming Clean Car Standard emissions targets could encourage to launch Genesis in New Zealand as an EV specialist sub-brand (it is set to become an EV and hydrogen only marque by 2030).

Genesis already exists in Australia. It launched across the ditch in 2020, and currently offers the full Genesis line-up, barring the S-Class rivalling G90. There, the Electrified G80 is priced from AU$145,000 plus on-road costs.