Any bet that automakers today are developing new two-door cars is a bet not worth taking. Fewer and fewer are seeing daylight as EVs remain their focus. Many manufacturers don’t even make cars anymore, and those that do consider them niche, except for the Mustang and Challenger. But Genesis has revealed its Mint and is saying it’s looking into manufacturing it. Is this hype, or will this really happen?

What Genesis says about the Mint EV

First, the Mint is not a new concept. Its debut was at the 2019 New York Auto Show. There it received glowing praise but was never considered anything more than a nice concept. But now the UK’s Autocar says Genesis may be on the verge of launching a production version.

We know that Genesis wants to introduce more cars in various segments. “But it’s not a simple case of adding new models, we need to factor in the growth of sales anticipated for our current cars, weigh that against our manufacturing capacity and then consider the rising cost of raw materials and understand how that affects the decision,” says  Mark Choi, head product planner for Genesis. Understand that some of what Choi says is typical corporate obfuscation, as companies forbid employees from giving information on future products. 

How large would the Genesis Mint EV be?

However, Genesis design head SangYup Lee gives a more balanced answer for Autocar. He says, “The Mint concept is still being studied. We want to understand what a small luxury car could be. When you live in a city, you don’t necessarily want a big car, so a small luxury vehicle is something to think about. There are premium small cars, but a luxury small car could be something new.”

From that, we get that this EV would be smaller, but maybe only slightly less so than a Nissan Z, as an example. And especially in Europe, small cars work well in ever more crowded cities. And it isn’t only the exterior dimensions that keep it right-sized. 

How do you access the rear cargo area?

The small touchscreen is in the steering wheel, keeping the entire cabin clean and simple. That goes for the large buttons for easy access to control the main functions. And the part we might like the best is access to that interior. 

While the two long front doors operate conventionally, there are also rear scissors doors hinged at the back that swing up for more access. Combined, the front and swing doors open up the cabin for easy access. And while scissors doors and gullwing setups were mostly show car sizzle, they are much more doable with today’s materials. 

Sure, some of the gee-whizz concept stuff wouldn’t translate into a production Mint. But if Genesis keeps much of the DNA of the concept in a production version, this might be a way to lift the brand’s image and awareness with new car buyers, while signaling EVs can look hot and be fun too.