► Genesis Mint concept could make production
► Korean luxe brand investigating smaller BEV
► Would sit below the GV60 in the growing range
Remember the Genesis Mint concept from 2019? The bold and very green concept car was revealed back in 2019 and pointed to how a future luxury hatchback could look under the brand’s design language.
Now, though, it seems the Mint may go beyond the concept stage for the European market, as Genesis looks to expand its offerings in one of its newest sales regions.
Genesis head of product, Marc Choi, revealed to an intimate group of European media including CAR on a visit to Korea that a new luxury hatchback was being considered as part of its future electrification plans. ‘We are looking into expanding our models,’ says Choi; ‘one of the key requests we get from Europe is a smaller segment car, such as something like the Mint [below].’
As one part of the massive Hyundai Motor Group, Genesis has set out plans to go full electric from 2025, with its entire line-up consisting of zero-emission BEVs by 2031. As production grows, Choi says the brand is finding its rhythm with production capacity, as well as getting to grips with increasing battery prices: ‘At the moment, we’re trying to find the line-up. With big growth in our plant and the cost of making an electric vehicle – with the battery price hikes, for example – we’re figuring out when is the right moment to expand our line-up at this time, or whether we want to wait until that material cost is balanced in future.
‘We are looking into a smaller model for the European market, but the time is TBD.’
The Genesis brand is small in Europe, having only set up a foothold in the market in May 2021, but its range includes the very good GV60 EV that shares its architecture with the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Given the flexibility of the platform, it’s likely the E-GMP platform would underpin a future battery-electric hatchback.
Genesis Mint concept: the specs and details
The Mint looks more like a two-door sports car, with tiny overhangs at the front and rear combining with big rims for a surprisingly aggressive footprint. On the lower half the the vehicle, Genesis has deployed what it calls a ‘G-Matrix pattern’ which also plays a role in cooling down the floor-mounted battery pack.
Inside, the Mint follows the same out-the-box thinking. Sure, there’s leather, lightweight textures and an oblong steering-wheel – but things get weirder the closer you look. Genesis has surrounded the wheel with six small information screens, while the bench seat is also able to swivel. Somehow, we don’t expect to see that on a resulting road car either.
Further electric car reading
The best electric cars and EVs on sale today
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Future electric cars: upcoming EVs to look out for