Genesis G70 sedan to be axed after current generation, say insiders - report

One of the earliest members of the local Genesis family, the G70 sedan - which came in after Genesis' time as a sub-Hyundai badge - could be on the chopping block at the end of its current generation.

Reports from its home nation of South Korea suggest the G70 will be a one-and-done car in terms of generations, with insiders saying the sedan will be culled to create more resources to focus on larger vehicles.

According to the English language Korean newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily, an internal company communication recently called for a halt on work for the next-gen G70 sedan, which was being developed as an electric car.

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The source said there were rumours within the company that the project would be dropped, though two main reasons stand out as being true according to the insider: weak sales and less need for the mid-size sedan in the line-up.

Taking Australia as an example of the first, the G70 has sold just 48 units in the first half of 2023, which is eight more than the same period in 2022, and makes up just 5.5 per cent of Genesis' 871 sales in H1 2023.

The models that have contributed to Genesis' sales rising in Australia are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the GV60, GV70 and GV80 SUVs which are each up by hundreds of sales compared to the first half of last year.

The second reason, the insider told JoongAng Daily, is that the next-gen G70 was shaping up to be larger than the current (first) generation, making it effectively redundant when in the same model line-up as the G80 large sedan.

Reports from its home nation of South Korea suggest the G70 will be a one-and-done car in terms of generations.

"In the early stages of development, the next G70 was about to get much bigger than the current model," the source said.

"But in that case, it will not be notably different from G80, and that's why Hyundai decided to drop the project."

For Australia an updated version of the current-gen G70 is on the way later this year, with specs to be confirmed closer to the launch, and will likely remain on sale for at least a couple of years from 2024 onwards. The current G70 launched here in 2019, so clocked its fourth year on sale here in the middle of 2023.

Genesis Australia declined to comment on the future of the G70 in Australia any further than confirming the updated version arriving later this year.