The “designed for Europe” shooting brake will be travelling elsewhere, and we highlight Lada's home dominance
We felt honoured when Genesis designed the handsome new Genesis G70 Shooting Brake specifically for Europe, but now it turns out we’ve got to share the BMW 3 Series Touring rival with other markets.
Chief creative officer Luc Donckerwolke told Autocar: “We did the G70 Shooting Brake for Europe but then all the markets said ‘we want it as well’. Even the US said ‘we don’t want any wagons here’, then they said ‘oh sorry, can we revise that?’ They saw the car and they decided they wanted it.
“Korea, as well, is not a wagon country but now we are introducing the Shooting Brake there.”
In the future, the brand will take a global approach to product roll-out. “As soon as you invest in something and the business case is justified,” said Donckerwolke, “why not offer it in other countries as well?”
In that case, when can we have the G90?
Lada’s commanding home market lead
The Renault Group hails the new Arkana as a key driver in its return to profitability in 2021, but let’s not forget the dominance of Renault-owned Lada.
The Russian brand claimed a 21% home market share last year, with its Vesta and Granta models being the country’s two best-selling cars overall.
Lada parent company Avtovaz was hit by the same raw material cost hikes that plagued Western manufacturers, but by increasing prices, it was able to boost its operating margin by €106 million (£88.4m) in 2021.
Keyword: Autocar notebook: wagons roll for Genesis G70