Genesis chief executive Manfred Fitzgerald says the car manufacturer is interested in building both the Essentia and Mint concept cars.



The Genesis Essentia was launched in the early part of 2018 while the Mint premiered roughly 12 months later in April of this year. The first of these was a stylish two-door GT while the Mint takes the form of a tiny, two-seater city car with a head-turning design.

During a recent interview with GTspirit, Fitzgerald started out by suggesting that work is being done to put both cars into the production line.

“There are so many beautiful concept cars that have a very short lifespan; they are shown and then never seen again. We are trying not to follow that road. The short answer about the Essentia is: We are still working on it and it is still alive. It is not yet finalized yet but we are still working on it because it shall be an electric vehicle,” he said.

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According to a recent report, the Essentia could make its way into the production line thanks to Hyundai’s recent tie-up with Croatian EV manufacturer Rimac. As for the Mint, Fitzgerald says the company launched it to see what people would think and they’re happy with the response they received.

“Our takeaway is that first, it was clearly a surprise: Most people were clearly expecting something else. And second: The Mint has the potential to redefine the segment. This kind of vehicle represents a white spot in which no one has really anything to offer, and us claiming and taking ownership is sending the right message for our decision-making process. I am one who will fight the very end for this car to be exactly that – and actually come to the streets.”

The initial Genesis Mint concept wasn’t based on any existing platform within the Hyundai family and Fitzgerald says that once the company is in the position to build such a model, it will begin technical discussions about what will underpin it.