Genesis will reportedly build the all-electric GV70 at Hyundai’s plant in Alabama.
The South Korean car manufacturer unveiled the Electrified GV70 at last year’s Guangzhou Auto Show in China and recently held a meeting with employees at its Asan plant in Korea where it shared details of its U.S. factory plans. The Korean Car Blog reports that the Electrified GV70 will be the first new electric vehicle to be built at the Alabama site with production to start before the end of this year.
Sales of the new Genesis GV70 started in the United States last June and it has been selling well. It is understood that the success being enjoyed by the combustion-powered GV70 has motivated Hyundai to begin producing the electric variant locally.
Read More: 2022 Genesis Electrified GV70 Has 482 HP And 800-Volt Charging Technology
“The local production of the GV70 EV is a strategy movement to speed up the conversion to electric vehicles and at the same time solidify its position as a premium brand in the U.S market,” an unnamed industry official recently said.
Genesis itself doesn’t appear to have made an announcement of the plans but in its most recent earnings report, said that it was indeed considering EV production for the U.S.: “The US is showing an active will to convert to electric vehicles, and considering these market changes, it is considering the production of electric vehicles in the local area,” the automaker said.
Hyundai Motor Company is reportedly facing some opposition from its Korean labor union who believes the carmaker’s EVs should be built in Korea.
The Genesis Electrified GV70 has two electric motors that combine to produce 482 hp and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of torque, making it the most powerful GV70 variant. It features the same 400V/800V multi-rapid charging technology as the smaller GV60 and can travel 400 km (248 miles) per charge on the Korean testing cycle.
