Genesis presented its vision a sustainable future on Thursday and settled upon total electrification, just like every other automaker. Hyundai’s luxury component plans to become a “100-percent zero-emission vehicle brand by 2030” but foresees the need to wait until 2025 to transition its fleet entirely over to battery and hydrogen power.
Does it mean anything? If the automotive industry’s prior promises of automated driving and EV sales are anything to go by, probably not. However, electrification has gotten a major kick in the pants over the last few years as governments have ramped up regulator pressures and the sector has been flooded with money to help the cause. So there’s certainly a chance, just like when you play the lottery.
“Genesis has been on an intensive, bold and successful journey, successfully establishing itself as a truly global luxury brand,” stated Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung in a release. “Genesis is once again at the starting point of another audacious journey — the journey towards a sustainable future.”
But the hydrogen fuel cell aspect makes me worried. Hydrogen stations are few and far between, likely resulting in a future where Genesis has to sell a large portion of those vehicles to Californians, South Koreans, and the Japanese. Barring a sudden explosion in hydrogen refineries and fueling stations across the globe, FCEVs don’t have a chance of becoming mass-market automobiles. While the same could be said about battery electric vehicles, the charging infrastructure is growing beyond the confines of urban hubs and customers have the ability to recoup lost energy at home.
Though the company claims to be serious and has confirmed that 2025 will be the year that it drops the internal combustion engine entirely. It even provided a video experience to give us a taste of what that might look like.
Based on prior statements, the G80 sedan will be the first EV in Genesis’ lineup. It’s likely to be followed by the GV60 crossover, which is due by the end of 2022. There are also a few new designs in the video. But we cannot say whether they’re indicative of anything that might someday go on sale — even if Genesis hinted that they probably would be.
[Image: Genesis]
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