Genesis G90 sedan not coming to Aus

GENESIS Motors Australia (GMAu) executives have confirmed the brand’s largest, most premium sedan – the G90 – won’t be coming to Australia any time soon due to the lack of need for a halo model in our market. 

Speaking to GoAuto at the local launch of the facelifted G70, GMAu country manager Connal Yan confirmed that while the G90 is a fitting flagship for the brand, the local arm of Genesis believes the smaller (though still large) G80 sedan performs a similar role in our market.

“At the moment, the G90 is only planned for left-hand drive, but with the Australian market, if you look at the numbers that sell in the large sedan class, I don’t think that the G90 is the most sought after, or the highest priority for Genesis Australia,” he said.

“On the other hand, the G80 – especially if you look at the rear seats – it’s already beating most of its competitors for interior space and so therefore, even for S-Class customers or 7 Series customers, especially the short-wheelbase customers, our G80 is already pretty much already on par. Therefore I don’t see significant necessity for bringing the G90 in.

“The G80 is very luxurious and spacious, and for now it satisfies all our needs in the large sedan segment.”

Unveiled at the 2019 Los Angeles Motor Show in its current form, with a contemporary Genesis styling makeover by Luc Donckerwolke, even the short-wheelbase G90 is significantly larger than a G80 sedan, with the next-generation G90 expected to maintain that separation in size.

In its present form, the standard Genesis G90 measures 5205mm long, 1915mm wide, 1495mm tall and rides on a 3160mm wheelbase. A stretched G90 L version adds an additional 290mm to the overall length and wheelbase.

In comparison, the second-generation G80 (launched in Australia in late-2020) is 210mm shorter than the G90, stands 30mm lower and rides on a 150mm-shorter wheelbase, although it is marginally wider (by 10mm).

While Genesis is yet announce any details regarding the next-generation G90, expect it to follow the G80’s lead in offering both combustion-engine and electric variants to satisfy its main markets (South Korea, the US and Russia). 

While the G80 outsells the G90 globally, it is perhaps not by the margin expected. The G90’s best US sales year was 2017 (4398 units), while in the same year, the previous-generation G80 managed 16,214 sales.

Last year in the US, the G90 managed 1559 sales compared to 2602 sales for the G80.

So far this year ending May, GMAu has sold 18 G80s – two more than over same period last year.