Hyundai Genesis to go all-electric by 2025

SEOUL, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Genesis, the luxury brand of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor, announced it will not release new internal combustion models after 2025.

Instead, Hyundai Chief Executive and President Chang Jae-hoon said Thursday that Genesis will start rolling out only electric vehicles and hydrogen cars to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.

"Starting in 2025, all new vehicles to be launched will be electric vehicles," Chang said in a live video on the Genesis YouTube channel. "By 2030, Genesis will establish itself as a 100 percent zero-emission vehicle brand that aims to reach sales of 400,000 cars."

Genesis said it plans to reach that goal by selling only electric vehicles across its sales networks, including dealer shops.

To achieve the goal, the Seoul-based carmaker said that it will also be required to realign its entire value chain, including raw materials, components and factory operation.

For example, Hyundai is vying to develop a new fuel cell system and better lithium-ion batteries.

The transition toward electric models is in line with that of global players like Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and General Motors, which are trying to phase out internal combustion cars running on gasoline or diesel.

In addition to its initial announcement, Hyundai Genesis announced the release of the GV60 electric crossover, which will be produced on the E-GMP, the automaker's dedicated electric vehicle platform. Hyundai Ioniq5 and the Kia EV6 were built on the E-GMP.

In early July, Genesis announced the launch of the G80 EV, its first electric car. But that model was not built on the E-GMP.

"Five years ago, we launched Genesis -- a luxury brand. So far, it has been an intensive, bold and successful journey," Hyundai Chairman Chung Eui-sun said in the video.

"And now, Genesis is once again at the starting point of another audacious journey: the journey toward a sustainable future," he said.

Observers pointed out that Hyundai is attempting to elevate its Genesis brand by releasing electric cars.

"Electric vehicles have quickly become important in the global market, but few models have succeeded," Daelim University automotive professor Kim Pil-soo told UPI News Korea.

"It seems that Hyundai Motor is trying to preempt the high-end electric vehicle market through its Genesis brand," he said.