(Bloomberg) —
Hyundai Motor Co. unveiled the first of several models under a new high-performance sub-brand as the South Korean automaker known for utilitarian mass-market cars looks to bolster profitability.
The electric GV60 Magma boasts as much as 650 horsepower and can sprint to 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in 3.4 seconds. It will be positioned above the existing Genesis GV60 Performance trim, which starts at $71,875 in the US.
Selling more luxury cars should help Hyundai defend margins. The company has been hit hard by tariffs as trade negotiations between Seoul and Washington stretched for months amid an immigration raid on a Hyundai-LG Energy Solution Ltd. battery facility in Georgia. Duties cost the automaker about 1.8 trillion won ($1.22 billion) in the third quarter, and Hyundai in September pared its profit expectations for the year.
North America “will continue to be a pillar for growth,” Hyundai Chief Executive Officer José Muñoz said Thursday at an event near Marseille, France.
Developing higher-end versions of existing models usually is lucrative for carmakers because they can fall back on existing production infrastructure to cut costs, while charging more for adding premium features. Genesis introduced the Magma program last year, with plans for several high-performance vehicles. Germany’s BMW AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG have long pursued similar strategies with the M and AMG lines.
The GV60 Magma comes with perks including a head-up display and a “Drift Mode,” which is meant to support rear-wheel focused driving. Like its existing sibling, the vehicle should be able to use production platforms of higher-volume models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
Sales of the new vehicle are to start in South Korea at the beginning of next year, followed by markets in Europe and North America later in 2026.
The automaker also premiered the Magma GT Concept, a sports car with a mid-rear engine layout that signals Genesis’ ambitions to enter GT racing.
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