Genesis G70 dead? Next-gen reportedly shelved in mid-development

The excellent Genesis G70 is reportedly no longer getting a successor. The reason? We’ll give you one guess. If you said, “Because customers want bigger vehicles,” you win one million internet points.

The report comes from South Korea’s JoongAng Daily, who spoke with an unnamed source “directly related to the project”. This source told the newspaper that development of the car, internally named the RN2, had been officially halted. For what it’s worth, Genesis parent company Hyundai declined to comment on the matter while stating that “nothing has been confirmed.”

The Genesis G70 is one of the best luxury sports sedans money can buy right now. Our test of a 2022 G70 3.3T confirmed it to be one of the best-handling four-doors on the market, with BMW levels of luxury and a sledgehammer-esque twin-turbo V6 punching out 365 horsepower and 376 lb-ft of torque. Oh, and it’s better looking than a Bimmer and more affordable than its German rivals too. The current model comes with only an 8-speed automatic, but a stick shift was offered until 2021. 

Sadly, the most customers wouldn’t know engaging driving dynamics if they slapped them on the forehead. JoongAng Daily says G70 sales have dropped sharply as customers congregate among larger sedans and SUVs. In fact, their source says that the next-generation would have grown in size and gotten too close to the G80. The RN2 would have also been all-electric as part of Genesis’ commitment to to all BEV by 2025. 

Ironically, the Genesis G70 had its best sales year ever in 2022, with 12,649 units moved. Figures for 2023 seem on-pace with that number. The story is quite different Europe, where only 96 G70s were sold in 2022. In case you were wondering, even the drop-dead sexy G70 Shooting Brake that’s been cruelly denied to American buyers outsold the G70 sedan in Europe with 144 examples.

The G70 was the first car offered under the Genesis marque when it spun off from Hyundai. If this report is true, it will have existed for just one generation. The report says upcoming models like the G80 coupe and G90 flagship are still on track. That’s good news, because it would be a crime to let achingly gorgeous designs like the X Concept and X Convertible go un-made.

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