Genesis Electrified GV70 first Hyundai Motor Group EV to earn tax credit

The Electrified GV70’s U.S. production launch marks a milestone for Hyundai Motor Group, which has committed to building EVs in the U.S. as part of a push to sell 3.2 million EVs a year globally by 2030. Genesis has pledged to have an all-electric lineup in the same time frame.

While the Electrified GV70 is the first, its volume is unlikely to match that of the Hyundai- and Kia-branded imported EVs that are already on sale and remain ineligible for the tax credit.

The group captured early EV market share with its Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 crossovers. Both brands topped 20,000 sales in their first year and, unlike Tesla and other luxury EV makers, targeted mainstream buyers.

The brands got an additional boost from electric variants of the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro. Those compact crossovers share a platform and just entered their second generation. Last year, they logged combined sales of 12,740, according to data from Motor Intelligence.

Hyundai and Kia also have forthcoming EVs — the Ioniq 6 sedan and the three-row EV9 — that will bring affordable EVs options to other high-volume segments.Those models are not eligible for any federal incentives.

Additionally, months before changes to the tax credit eligibility were announced last summer, HMG committed $5.5 billion to construct an EV and battery factory outside Savannah, Ga., for its Hyundai, Genesis and Kia brands. The plant’s capacity will start at 300,000 EVs with the potential to increase to 500,000 as demand increases.

The plant is under construction, but officials say production will not begin until the third quarter of 2024 at the earliest and the batteries will not be ready until 2026. HMG’s battery partner for that EV complex is unknown.

HMG has said it will partner with South Korean battery maker SK On to make power packs for EVs at another location that has yet to be announced.