With Kia launching the Tasman and Hyundai developing a next-generation electrified pickup, the obvious question for the group’s luxury arm is: where is the Genesis ute?
According to Genesis chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke, you shouldn’t hold your breath – but he hasn’t completely killed the idea, either.
Speaking to Australian media at the launch of the Magma sub-brand in France, Mr Donckerwolke poured cold water on the prospect of a luxury dual-cab in the vein of the failed Mercedes-Benz X-Class.
When asked directly if there was room for a pickup in the Genesis lineup, Mr Donckerwolke was blunt about the brand’s current priorities.
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“I’m not sure that fits the brand,” Mr Donckerwolke said.
“We have a lot of other things to do. And I think basically, we are focusing more on high performance and GT [Grand Touring] models.”
Mr Donckerwolke, who admits to owning and driving a Ford F-150 Raptor personally, believes that introducing a utilitarian vehicle right now poses a risk to the brand’s carefully cultivated “Athletic Elegance” image.
“We have to make sure that we are not diluting the brand with something which is more utilitarian,” he said.
However, the design boss stopped short of a definitive “never,” leaving a sliver of hope for those dreaming of a Korean rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor or a luxury tow rig.
“I’m not saying that this will not happen,” Mr Donckerwolke conceded.
“But I’m saying that now, we have so many other priorities… I don’t think that this is the right thing for Genesis [right now].”
The comments suggest that while the Hyundai Motor Group’s ladder-frame platform (debuting under the Kia Tasman) is technically available to Genesis, the luxury marque is prioritising its Magma performance rollout and coupe concepts over chasing commercial vehicle sales.
That leaves Kia to fly the ute flag among the Hyundai Motor Group brands, though it’ll soon have company.
The Hyundai brand is launching a body-on-frame ute in the US before 2030 and is also set to offer a ute co-developed with General Motors in Latin America. It also already has the Santa Cruz which shares its car-like unibody platform with the Tucson.
Luxury brands haven’t enjoyed great success in the ute space. Besides the X-Class, which was produced for less than four years, there have been efforts by Cadillac and Lincoln in the past, but neither brand still offers a ute today.
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