Genesis Won’t Build an A3 or CLA Competitor

Genesis recently showed off its smallest sedan yet, the G70. Slotting in under the full-size G90 and midsize G80, Genesis’ newest car is aimed squarely at the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. But if you’re waiting for Genesis to go even smaller and take on the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA, you’ll probably be disappointed.

Speaking to Australia’s CarAdvice, Manfred Fitzgerald, Genesis’ senior vice president, said that Genesis has no plans to fill out its range with a sedan smaller than the G70. “I don’t want to comment on the moves of the others. We have a pretty clear strategy planned out with what we want to do. Therefore the sedan lineup is pretty complete with the G90, G80, and G70,” he said.

Part of the reason for that is that Fitzgerald doesn’t think Genesis has the brand cachet to justify selling a smaller, cheaper car.  “We have so much still to accomplish, and so many white spots still on the map, if you will, so there is enough room for us to play it in the conventional way,” said Fitzgerald.

At the moment, that means adding three luxury SUVs to the lineup by 2021. Considering how popular SUVs are these days, especially small and midsize crossovers, that move makes sense. But that doesn’t mean Genesis only has SUVs in the works.

“There’s so much room for us, as a new brand, to establish ourselves,” said Fitzgerald. “A GT is obviously something that, as a designer, you most want to do. It’s the most emotional car that you can actually design, so I would not rule that out, like many other vehicles out there as well.”

Does that mean the Vision G concept could still make it to production as some sort of revived Genesis Coupe? A Genesis spokesperson told us last year that such a car was in development. Its production chances might hinge on how well those three SUVs sell, however.

Source: CarAdvice

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