Hyundai is already near the top of the fuel economy ranks in the U.S. market, but that's not enough to meet future requirements. Currently, Hyundai trails only Honda and Toyota in the CAFE race. Going forward, Hyundai plans to upgrade its powertrains and reduce mass to get its conventional vehicles to use less fuel. On the propulsion front, the Korean manufacturer plans to shift to direct injection with both normally aspirated and turbocharged engines. Sister brand Kia already showed the Koup concept last spring in New York with a gasoline turbocharged direct injection engine. That engine will likely appear in Hyundai and Kia production models in the coming years.

Lee Hyun-soon, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group's R&D boss told Automotive News that Hyundai will add six speed automatic transmissions to smaller and mid-sized cars and an eight speed automatic to the larger Genesis within two years. In addition to more efficient drivetrains, Hyundai will use aluminum, plastic and high strength steel to reduce the weight of its vehicles. While Hyundai is working on hybrids that are expected to start hitting the market sometime in 2009, Lee also said that the weight and cost of batteries means the company doesn't plan any full EVs anytime soon.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

We knew that Hyundai would be bringing a new hybrid version of its Santa Fe utility vehicle to Paris for display, and now we have some pictures to prove it. Except for the rather unique paint job, there isn't much on the outside that would lead you to believe there's so much going on underneath the skin. Along with the 2.4-liter four cylinder engine, a 30kW electric motor also passes its juice to the shared six speed automatic transmission. That electricity is provided from a lithium polymer battery pack that offers up 270 Volts. To make the most of each drop of fuel, low rolling resistance tires were added along with revised gearing and engine ECU settings. All of these little bits of engineering add up to a vehicle that gets 38 miles per gallon in the U.S. and carbon emissions of 148 g/km. If that sounds green to you, don't forget that blue is the new green.


[Source: Carscoop]

Hyundai plans to be the first automaker to offer plug-in electric cars in New Zealand. The Korean automaker will be working with its local distributor in New Zealand to retrofit the subcompact Getz to run on batteries. The complete cars will be shipped to New Zealand as usual where the conventional powertrains will be removed. An electric motor, batteries and electronics will be installed to give the electric Getz a range of about 75 miles on a charge and a 75 mph top speed. A quick charge is expected to give another 50 miles of range. At this point not a lot of technical detail is available on the car nor is pricing. Hyundai is expecting to offer about 200 Getz EVs annually starting in November. Thanks to Paul for the tip!

[Source: Scoop.co.nz]

click photo to enlarge

Aside from the Santa Fe hybrid and five other models, Hyundai is bringing a new version of the i20 to the Paris Motor Show next month. The all-new i20 blue sub-compact fits into Hyundai's i-blue line, meaning that the company has declared it to be one of its "advanced low emission concepts." The production version will be on sale in Europe before the end of the year, replacing the Getz. The i20 blue continues Hyundai's new naming convention (see also the i10 and the i30) and will have CO₂ emissions of just 99 g/km and fuel consumption of 4l/100km (59 mpg U.S.) form a 1.4L CRDi diesel engine. The i20's fuel economy was bumped thanks to under floor covers, lowered ground clearange and the standard aerodynamic tweaks. Low rolling resistance tires and low-friction oil round out the i-blue package. Read the press release after the jump. AutoblogGreen's Xavier Navarro contributed to this post.

[Source: Hyundai]

Recent reports indicate that Hyundai may be set to introduce the world to its hybrid Santa Fe sport utility vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October. The Korean automaker says that its hybrid 'ute will look the same as its gas-powered counterpart but be completely new under the sheet metal. Expect Hyundai's proven 2.4-liter four cylinder engine to be paired with a 30kW electric motor and mated to a six speed automatic transmission. Lithium ion batteries will provide the juice for the electric motor. Fuel mileage should come in at 44 mpg in the UK (roughly 36mpg in the U.S.) In the UK, where carbon emissions are closely monitored, that consumption equals 148g/km of CO₂ and is pretty good for a sport utility vehicle. Alongside the Santa Fe will be a much less environmentally-friendly seven-seater based on the Veracruz platform known, rather cryptically, as the ix55.

Update: Spelling mistake in the title fixed.

[Source: Hyundai]

Earlier this week when Hyundai America product development VP John Krafcik revealed that the company would unveil a hybrid version of the Sonata at the LA Auto Show, some of the PR people in the room seemed to be caught by surprise. Now the Chairman of the Hyundai-Kia Auto group, Mong-Koo Chung has confirmed that and more. Over on the Kia Buzz blog, the chairman has affirmed production of a hybrid version of the Elantra in Korea in 2009 followed by a mid-size hybrid (namely the Sonata) in 2010. Mong seems to think that more environmentally-friendly cars actually make business sense judging from this comment "low-carbon, environmentally friendly cars represent a high value-added industry of the future that will promote sustainable growth." The ability to offer more efficient, less polluting vehicles are expected to actually be a selling point as fuel prices and environmental concerns increase.

Going beyond the hybrids, Hyundai and Kia intend to continue pushing forward with fuel cell technology as well. The group wants to commercialize hydrogen vehicles beyond the 66 vehicles they have running in the field today. The company plans to expand the field test fleet to 500 vehicles by 2010 and begin series production in 2012. Mong hasn't indicated where the company plans to sell these vehicles and how customers will get fuel.

[Source: Kia Buzz]

During a media event in Ann Arbor, John Krafcik, the VP for product development at Hyundai Motor America, revealed some interesting plans about they have coming to this market as well as something that isn't. Hyundai's first hybrid destined for this market will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show as a mid-sized sedan. The new Sonata hybrid will appear first at LA but won't go on sale until 2010 as a 2011 model. The Sonata will use an in-house developed strong parallel hybrid system with a lithium ion battery. It's not known if this is the same system that Hyundai has been field testing in government fleets in Korea for some time or if the battery will be a new lithium polymer type developed by LG Chem.

Krafcik also revealed some news about Genesis variants unlikely to see the light of day. He said the company has "no plans" to build a rear drive hybrid system for its new luxury sedan. He also indicated that while the company is looking at installing its 3.0L diesel V6 in the Genesis, it is unlikely to happen. The combination of the high cost of after-treatment systems to meet U.S. emissions standards and high diesel fuel prices make it a tough business case.

[Source: Green Fuels Forecast]

Contrary to reports the other day, it is almost certain that Hyundai will not be bringing its tiny i10 hatchback to the U.S. market, at least not in its current form. During a media drive for the new Genesis sedan, Hyundai America VP John Krafcik was asked about the i10. He responded that the U.S. branch is always looking at all the models in the Hyundai worldwide portfolio to see what would be suitable for the U.S. market. Krafcik called it "extremely unlikely at this point" that the i10 will come to the US and "that's all I'd like to say about that." He declined to provide any further comment on the matter.

[Source: Hyundai]

Click image above for high-resolution gallery

Due to the downsizing trend observed in the United States, Hyundai is seriously considering selling the tiny I10 there. The strong sales of the Mini and the Smart have shown Hyundai that Americans are willing to buy small, clean and fuel-efficient cars. The problem for Hyundai is that the I10 plays in a different league; it's not a premium vehicle like the Mini and isn't quite as stylish as the Smart ForTwo. Still, the l10 is sold worldwide, and a U. S. version could spot different bumpers and changes to the suspension and the 1.2-liter 78hp Kappa engine. One thing we don't want Hyundai to change too much is the consumption figures of around the 5l/100 km (about 47 mpg U. S.).


[Source: Automotive News via Le Blog Auto]

Yesterday a National Hydrogen Road Tour kicked off in Portland ME. A motley collection of ten hydrogen fueled vehicles from a variety of manufacturers will be making their way from Maine to California over the next two weeks. The cars including the VW Tiguan HyMotion along with cars from BMW, Honda, Toyota, GM and others will be making 31 stops in 19 states along the way. Not all of the vehicles will be driven the entire route. General Motors for example will bring out its Project Driveway Fuel cell Equinox in the cities where that program is running, New York, Washington and Los Angeles. BMW will be using the mono-fuel (hydrogen only) version of the Hydrogen7 and is planning to cover the entire route. The tour is being sponsored by the California Fuel Cell Partnership, the Departments of Energy and Transportation and the National Hydrogen Association to promote hydrogen as a way to promote hydrogen's potential as a fuel. VW's John Tillman is writing a tour blog as they cross the country in the Tiguan. The VW press release is after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

We've been keeping pretty close tabs on the Hyundai Avante / Elantra LPI mild electric hybrid. Just when we thought there couldn't possibly any new details to add about the propane burner, out pops a press release from the Korean manufacturer announcing that the LG Chem-supplied battery underpinning the hybrid component of the car will actually be lithium polymer (li-poly) as opposed to the lithium ion type that had been previously publicized. Now you may be thinking to yourself, understandably, "Ok, so what? What's that even mean?" Well, we could tell you that the electrolyte in the li-poly battery is held within a solid polymer composite instead of an organic solvent, but that probably wouldn't mean as much as the hard numbers describing its energy capacity and longevity and such. Unfortunately, those numbers weren't supplied by Hyundai who were content only to say this formulation has "...higher energy density, lower manufacturing costs, being more robust to physical damage and they can also take more charge–discharge cycles before storage capacity begins to degrade." Thank you, Hyundai.

We will have to take their word for those claims for now. If they do manage to begin retail sales of the car in Korea around this time next year, as currently planned, at least one of the other claim touted in their bulletin should indeed be true. They will be the first to feature this chemistry. For all the details and chest thumping, check out the press release after the break.

[Source: Hyundai]

Hyundai will release its first hybrid vehicle for sale to the general public in 2009, as long as the general public in question lives in Korea. Though the automaker has been testing hybrids for the last few years, only government officials were able to drive the vehicles. According to Hyundai, though, none of the research and development costs for its hybrid drivetrain were paid for through government grants. This information seems much more important after Mark Fields' recent assertion that the Korean government had provided assistance to its automakers for the development of the fuel-saving technology. There has also been some question as to whether the Japanese government helped pay for hybrid development, though Toyota denies these allegations.

Regardless of who has funded its development, Hyundai's first hybrid will be the Avante, which is known as the Elantra in the U.S. Interestingly, the first versions of the vehicle will use liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for fuel, along with, of course, electricity. The year 2010 will bring a flex-fuel version capable of using gasoline or LPG. So far, there is no announcement regarding a launch date in the states, though Hyundai indicates it would like to be selling hybrids here by 2011. By that time, the market will be much more crowded.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Do you have a small family and a dog? For many Europeans in that or a similar situation, station wagons are the ride of choice, despite the SUV and minivan craze. Buying a station wagon often means that you're buying a fuel efficient vehicle which can carry lots of stuff, and some of these vehicles can even seat seven. The key to an fuel-saving family hauler is finding that elusive combination of being compact in size, roomy inside and fitted to a efficient powertrain. Compact minivans, SUVs and CUVs sometimes fit these qualifications, as we discussed when we posed a list of European fuel saving people carriers. That list included some station wagons that seat seven, and today's list expands on that and shows the 20 most fuel-efficient station wagons on sale in Europe. Don't think all of them are made by European automakers. Find the full list after the jump.

Liquified petroleum gas (commonly referred to as propane) has never really caught as a motor fuel in the U.S. although it is used by some fleets. However, drivers in Australia may have a new LPG-fueled vehicle to choose from. In fact they may have an LPG mild hybrid available soon at Hyundai dealers. Hyundai Australia is considering local production of the LPG hybrid Elantra that goes on sale in Korea in 2009. Australia has sufficient domestic supplies of LPG that they don't have to import any. With 3,200 LPG filling stations, Australia significantly outnumbers the 2,500 stations in the US.

Even though consumption on LPG is slightly higher than gasoline, the total operating costs of an LPG hybrid Elentra are significantly less than a Prius. In Australia, LPG is $3.26/U.S. gallon less than gasoline. That means an average driver could operate the LPG hybrid Elantra on less than $10 a week. Hyundai has field tested about 100 LPG hybrid Elantras and is reportedly close to finishing validation of the system. The mild hybrid Elantra uses a 15kW motor, LG Chem lithium ion battery and 1.6L engine. The LPG hybrid is thought to get about 47mpg (U.S.) compared to 53mpg for the Prius. Gasoline currently runs $5.80 a gallon in Australia and an LPG mild hybrid could be much less expensive to operate. Hyundai is also developing both plug-in and non-plug variants of a strong hybrids and could begin limited production of a fuel cell vehicle by 2012.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

Nobody could ever accuse Hyundai of not thinking big. The Korean carmaker has grown into the fourth largest volume import brand in the U.S. market and is now on the verge of launching into the luxury and high-performance segments. So far, aside from some concepts and relatively efficient small cars, they haven't made any big waves in the green tech area, at least in the U.S. In an interview with Britain's AutoCar print edition, CEO Dr. Kim Dong-Jin made it clear the company is targeting the big dogs like Toyota in the coming decade. Hyundai has been running test fleets of hybrids in Korea, as well as fuel cell vehicles in both Korea and the U.S. Dr. Kim claims that Hyundai's products will be more advanced than the Prius. The question is will they be more advanced than today's Prius or the third-gen model that's coming next year? Hyundai is developing a lot of technology in-house, including fuel cells, hybrids and diesels that are already offered overseas and coming to the U.S. as soon as 2010. Hybrids are due to arrive at about the same time with limited numbers of fuel cell vehicles hitting the market a year after that.

[Source: AutoCar, via Winding Road]