Genesis Magma SUVs 2028: With the high-performance electric GV60 Magma now live, which SUV will be the next hot Magma?

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Now that the production version of the GV60 Magma has officially gone on sale – priced at $130,000 in Australia – attention has turned to what might be next for the Magma treatment. 

Genesis’s high-performance Magma program officially launched in March 2024 and was followed by a dynamic reveal of its debut concept, the GV60 Magma, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed that July. But Genesis also teased a bunch of other Magma Orange-coloured models at GFOS ’24.

You might remember the GV80 Magma Coupe SUV concept, G80 EV Magma sedan concept, and G70 Track Taxi Nordschleife concept. And, more recently, the latest version of the Magma GT concept, which is a gorgeous two-seat luxury supercar that would be a stunning halo model for Genesis, but which remains unconfirmed for production.

Of the GFOS cars, it’s the GV80 Coupe concept that has been around the longest. It debuted back in April ’23, pioneering several core Magma design cues such as the colour, the tartan-patterned suede upholstery with orange stitching, and of course the Magma name.

But with no powertrain details, its purpose appeared to be “as a statement of intent for the future, hinting towards more emotional and performance-oriented models.”

Chasing Cars spoke with several Genesis Australia company heads at the recent GV60 Magma launch, and came away with the understanding that another Magma model is imminent, that it will most likely be an SUV due to the financial sense that would make.

Perhaps surprisingly, the next model is also expected to be powered by a combustion engine.

When asked about whether a large, fast twin-turbo SUV would be a logical Magma next step, Genesis Australia’s product development manager Tim Rodgers confirmed that vehicle type was on the right path.

“We can theory craft lots of different cars that Magma would make sense on, but absolutely, that’s the kind of stuff that we’re thinking about,” he said.

“How does Magma work best for Genesis, and what could wear a Magma colour and still make sense? Nothing’s off the table, is what I’d say, and that’s kind of the brilliant thing about Genesis in general – we explore all options and we’re quite creative with some of the solutions.”

As for whether the Magma treatment could provide a useful late-in-life boost in interest for the ageing GV70 and GV80 SUVs (both launched in 2020) – much like RS variants used to be for Audi’s A4 and A6 model lines – Rodgers wouldn’t talk specifics, though he inferred that we could be closer to new-generation versions of those SUVs than we think.

“I probably don’t want to comment or speculate too much there, but we’re pretty quick about coming out with refinements to platforms and new platforms and new generations, so let’s see,” he said.

Meanwhile, Genesis Australia has confirmed that the brand’s first hybrid model (the GV80 Hybrid) will begin production later in 2026 and go on sale in Australia in 2027.

Previous reports in South Korea have indicated that a hybrid-engined GV70 SUV will follow the GV80 Hybrid into production in early 2027, while a “fully revamped” (ie. new generation) GV80 Hybrid is scheduled to launch towards the back end of 2028.

Genesis has confirmed it will soon debut a next-generation platform that will be exclusive to the brand – designed specifically to handle both Hybrid, EV and EREV (Extended Range Electric Vehicle) powertrains.

No timeframe has been given, however it could potentially debut beneath the forthcoming GV90 ultra-large SUV, which is expected to be globally unveiled next month, or possibly the next-gen GV80 in 2028.

EREV (where there’s a combustion engine waiting in the wings, should the electric powertrain run out of charge) could also act as a worthwhile headline powertrain for Genesis. 

“It would make sense that it kind of flows down from top to bottom in the [Hyundai Motor] group as well, so I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be [a technology leader for Genesis],” said Rodgers.