New Genesis EVs miss out on OTA power boosts

The Korean luxury brand Genesis says not matching EV specialists Tesla and Polestar in offering performance updates over the air is not a big issue because they are not “a very direct competitor”.

As reported here, Genesis is launching three new battery electric vehicles in Australia this month, the GV60 compact SUV, the GV70 medium SUV and the G80 sedan.

None of them – not even the GV60 (pictured above), which is the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) brand’s first stand-alone EV and only model based on the group’s E-GMP EV architecture – is fitted with a telematics system.

For now that means no smartphone app – something most luxury and some mainstream brands have – but it also means no chance for owners to buy performance upgrades and features on demand as you already can do with Tesla and Polestar electric vehicles.

Overseas Genesis has also spoken about OTA updates that change dynamic aspects of the GV60’s suspension and steering as well as acceleration.

The lack of telematics also places Genesis behind more affordable HMG brands Kia and Hyundai which have started rolling out their systems in Australia and expect to have performance upgrades available for electric models within 12 to 18 months.  

Newcomer Polestar recently offered a $1600 upgrade for the Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor that added 50kW and 20Nm, cut the 0-100km/h dash time from 4.7 to 4.4 seconds and boosted mid-range acceleration.

The company says it has been well received in Australia.

“Tesla and Polestar, strictly speaking for what they are selling in the market today, I do not see them as a very direct competitor … If you look at where our cars are priced and where their cars are priced,” argued Genesis Australia head Connal Yan.

The HMG telematics system is being rolled out as new-generation models arrive or are significantly updated.

So as they have missed out at introduction and are years away from significant facelifts, the GV60, GV70 and G80 are also years away from telematics and therefore being able offer over the air updates for performance or other features.

That’s even if Genesis’ version of the telematics system, known as Genesis Connected Services, was introduced soon in Australia. It does not appear to be the case as local adaption requires a significant spend and time..

Yan said he would like telematics systems fitted to Australian cars “as soon as possible”.

“It’s very much subject to headquarters R&D and product department decisions, so it is out of our hands,” he admitted.

However, he played down the significance of not having telematics and being behind HMG’s mainstream brands in this tech.

“I don’t think this is something that is so highly critical they would not buy our cars because we have many product strings.

“I think our product is very much differentiated from the [HMG] siblings, so I don’t see this as losing a race.”

“We are going into a segment that is very different to what the other two are going in to.”

The issue of telematics and over the air updates is going to become more crucial for Genesis as it evolves into an electric luxury brand.

It has globally committed to launching no new internal combustion product lines after 2025 and intends to be all-electric through a combination of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle by 2030.