The word ‘Genesis‘ has associations with the Bible, a rock band that is very nearly as old as the Bible, and a new(ish) luxury car brand from Korea. As the company is unleashing a new range of electric cars onto the UK market, we're going to take a closer look at the driving force behind them.

As Lexus is to Toyota, so Genesis is to Hyundai and Kia. Although those two brands have been attracting customers from prestige rivals already thanks to exceptionally good products such as the IONIQ5 and EV6, the Korean conglomerate than owns both knows that it can only stretch them so far upmarket. So they have created a whole new badge which promises all sorts of luxury and tech. They must hope that its Old Testament-themed posh car brand doesn’t fizzle out in the UK like Nissan’s Infiniti luxury marque did.

Genesis is banking on a programme of new model launches that will quite rapidly become exclusively battery powered. Internal combustion powered Genesis big saloons and sports utilities are thin on the ground here, and won’t be sold new from 2030. All Genesis models launched from 2025 will be electric.

Some Genesis models are available with petrol or electric power

The company is certainly having a serious tilt at the luxury market, poaching designer and senior management types from the likes of Bentley, BMW, Audi and Lamborghini. The cars Genesis has produced since 2017 have been big, leather lined and stuffed with technology, featuring large, smiley grills and distinctive double slit front lamp clusters. As with many of the latest BMWs, their styling tropes are probably designed to appeal wealthy Far Eastern buyers, who appear to like their visual bling.

Hyundai first used the Genesis name for a concept car way back in 2003, and four years after that chose it as a model name for a rear-wheel-drive sports saloon. Genesis became a separate brand at the tail end of 2015, initially exporting to the USA. It arrived in Britain last year, and has begun selling the GV60, an electric sports utility. Battery powered GV70s and G80s have followed.

The rounded GV60 uses the basic sub structure and mechanical bits found in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and Kia EV6. Genesis is keen to flag up its electric debutee’s luxury and refinement, but it has a couple of slightly incongruous features. A ‘drift’ mode setting for owners to shred its tyres and a boost button to provide the sort of acceleration that yanks your lips from your teeth.

The GV60 is the first 'dedicated' electric model

Technical vital statistics include 77.4 kWh battery and a real world range of 217 miles (71 miles short of its official WLTP figure). Genesis claims a top charging speed of 225kW (and reckons the GV60 will charge from 10-80% in 18 minutes on a 350kW rapid charger). If you want to find out its speeds on less powerful chargers, visit our review here.

There are single and twin motor variants, with the entry level-rear drive Premium’s motor producing 225 bhp. It will get to 62 in 7.8 seconds. The range topping, four-wheel-drive Sport Plus also has a 215bhp front axle motor, and with 430bhp on tap will hit 62 mph in an eye watering 4 seconds. Prices start at £47,005 for a car that’s bigger than it looks - the thing has a similar footprint to the Skoda Enyaq.

The electrified GV70 is more substantial still, being a hefty, BMW X5-sized sports utility with a price tag coming in at £64,405, which means it overlaps with the smaller GV60. It’s twin motor only, and has a similar battery pack as the GV60, so comparable charging times, and with boost button prodded, an alleged 0-62 in 4.2 seconds. Range? The GV70 electric has a 289 mile WLTP rating. Watch Tom's review of it here.

The GV70 is a rival for the BMW iX and Jaguar I-Pace

The car is groaning with kit, including an oscillating device that emits sonic waves Genesis says will end tyre roar misery forever by cancelling them out.

There’s also a G80 electric big saloon, with an 87.2 kWh battery, claimed 323 mile WLTP range, and 22 minute fast charge capability from an ultra-rapid charging point. As with the GV70, this slippery looking car has two motors, and these produce 364 bhp, enough to sling this hefty beast to 62 in 4.9 seconds. Prices start from £65,805, but soon rise once you start ticking the boxes for a few option ‘packs’.

These cars are generally sold online, as Genesis has dispensed with conventional showrooms, although it uses boutique ‘brand centre’ display areas, often in shopping centres, such as Westfield in London’s classy Shepherd’s Bush. Test drives are often co-ordinated from these places, but many will take place at potential buyers’ homes. The company is keen to offer a personalised ownership experience, so anyone buying its cars will be assigned a personal assistant, to guide them through the purchasing and ownership experience. So, if a GV70 owner can’t work out how to engage the tyre roar muting thing, their personal assistant will explain how it’s done. 

There will also be strategically placed workshops to carry out servicing, but most owners won’t visit these places as a collection and delivery service is part of the purchasing package. This ‘be nice to the customer’ dictum will probably extend to people who try and knock some money from the list price, but ultimately, they will receive a polite refusal, as Genesis prices are fixed.

No haggling is going on is this photo - it's banned as prices are fixed