This is a Genesis ute – but you can’t have it

Last November, Genesis Chief Creative Officer Luc Donckerwolke told CarSauce the Korean luxury brand planned to reveal a previously unseen ute study in January and, true to his word, the concept has now broken cover.

Revealed in the latest issue of Auto & Design magazine and shared on Instagram by Anh Dinh Hoang, the all-electric ute – simply called ‘The Pickup’ – was intended for the American market before Genesis executives decided to prioritise other vehicles.

Auto & Design quotes Donckerwolke as saying: “An electric pickup truck? Why not? Then we discarded it because we had to focus on different projects. Maybe in the future, who knows?”

Unlike the car-based Hyundai Santa Cruz or traditional Kia Tasman, the Genesis Pickup looks closer to a full-size truck like a Ford F-150 or Dodge RAM, though presumably a production version would have had to have shared a platform with the forthcoming Hyundai dual-cab.

The Pickup was intended to use ladder-frame construction and the concept drawings show some novel features, such as rear-opening rear doors, an opening grille to access the ‘frunk’ and extra storage space in the side steps.

Recent events have shown Genesis’ decision not to proceed with The Pickup to be prudent, with the all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning being discontinued and the RAM 1500 EREV cancelled before launch.

Mercedes’ X-Class experiment also suggested that ute buyers won’t necessarily pay a premium for a luxury dual-cab.  

Genesis instead has invested heavily in performance, launching its Magma sub-brand with an ultra-high performance GV60 SUV, a World Endurance Championship racing program and plans for a bespoke supercar, previewed by the Magma GT Concept.

Donckerwolke is a fan of dual-cabs, admitting he owns “some very wild pickups” including a Ford F-150 Raptor, but told Australian media “I’m not sure [a ute] fits the brand”, saying Genesis “still has to take care of the core business” before venturing into new areas.

Genesis sold 1602 vehicles in Australia in 2025, a 14.4 per cent increase on 2024, with the GV70 being overwhelmingly its most popular offering at 1220 sales.

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