Falling sales at home blamed for cancellation of the replacement model
Expect more crossovers from Genesis instead
A South Korean newspaper is reporting that the Genesis G70 won’t live to see another generation. Slumping sales and plans that would put it on top of the larger G80 are blamed for the decision.
“Recently, there was an official announcement within the company that it officially halted the development of RN2, a project name for the next G70,” reported Korea JoongAng Daily, one of the country’s leading English-language papers. The quote is cited top “a source directly related to the project” at Hyundai Group.
“This is the first time Hyundai announced the halt, although there were so many rumors about the temporary halt [of the development],” the source added. “Weak sales is the main reason.”
In Korea, sales of the G70 have fallen from a 2019 high of 16,975 to just 6,087 in 2022 and so far only 2,099 in the first half of 2023. U.S. sales have hovered consistently between 9,000 and 13,000 since 2019, and Canadian sales are around 1,100 per year. In Europe, where Genesis designed a special G70 Shooting Brake, just 96 were sold in 2022 and 144 through April 2023.
According to the report, the plan was for a much larger vehicle than the current G70. “But in that case, it will not be notably different from G80, and that’s why Hyundai decided to drop the project.” The report said that Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the news.
Expect more crossovers in the Genesis lineup, including a GV80 Coupe later this year and a full-size GV90. Last year, Genesis announced there would be no new combustion models coming after 2025.
The report didn’t indicate when G70 sales could end, suggesting it will make it to around 2025, when the just-refreshed model was scheduled to be replaced.
