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Hyundai confirms a shift to EVs, unveils fuel cell SUV

SEOUL — Hyundai confirmed on Thursday it was placing electric vehicles at the center of its product strategy — one that includes plans for a premium long-distance electric car as it seeks to catch up to Tesla and other rivals. Like Toyota, Hyundai had initially championed fuel cell technology as the future of eco-friendly vehicles but has found itself shifting to electric as Tesla shot to prominence and battery-powered cars have gained government backing in China. Hyundai's debut of its more modestly priced Ionic hybrid and electric has been well-received. But the pure electric's per-charge driving range is much shorter than the Tesla Model 3 or Chevrolet Bolt. Toyota is now also working on longer-distance, fast-charging electric vehicles. Hyundai first started signaling this strategic shift back in May when it first discussed plans to launch an electric sedan under its high-end Genesis brand in 2021 with a range of 500 km (310 miles) per charge. It will also introduce an electric version of its Kona small crossover with a range of 390 km in the first half of next year. "We're strengthening our eco-friendly car strategy, centering on electric vehicles," Executive Vice President Lee Kwang-guk told a news conference, calling the technology mainstream and realistic. The automaker and affiliate Kia, which together rank fifth in global vehicle sales, also said they were adding three plug-in vehicles to their plans for eco-friendly cars, bringing the total to 31 models by 2020. Underscoring Hyundai's electric shift, those plans include eight battery-powered and two fuel-cell vehicles — a contrast to its 2014 announcement for 22 models, of which only two were slated to be battery-powered. Hyundai also confirmed a Reuters report that it is developing its first scaleable, dedicated electric vehicle platform, which will allow the company to produce multiple models with longer driving ranges. HYDROGEN SUV Hyundai unveiled a near production version of its new fuel cell SUV with a driving range of more than 580 km per charge, compared with the 415 km for its current Tucson fuel cell SUV. The mid-sized SUV will be launched in Korea early next year, followed by U.S. and European markets. A fuel cell electric bus is slated to be unveiled late this year, while a sedan-type fuel cell car is also planned. Even so, analysts noted that gaining traction with fuel cells was going to be a long hard slog partly due to a lack of charging infrastructure.

Hyundai, Kia, Genesis will get chip maker NVIDIA's infotainment in deal

Chip maker NVIDIA Corp on Monday announced that Hyundai Motor Group will use the NVIDIA DRIVE in-vehicle information and entertainment system for all its Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis models from 2022. NVIDIA said the luxury vehicle division of Hyundai, Genesis, already uses NVIDIA DRIVE for its GV80 and G80 models. (You can read a bit about the Genesis infotainment systems in Autoblog's recent driving reviews of the G80 sedan and the GV80 SUV, and our buying guide for the latter.)  NVIDIA declined to say how many vehicles NVIDIA DRIVE would be installed in, but said it is a large number and pointed to the fact that in 2019 Hyundai Motor Group shipped over 7 million vehicles. Hyundai Motor Co is the flagship company of Hyundai Motor Group, and Kia Motors Corp is its sister company. NVIDIA DRIVE includes hardware and software components and uses artificial intelligence to improve the user's experience. The software can be "perpetually" updated, giving vehicles the latest AI cockpit features, said NVIDIA. NVIDIA said it has also been working with Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Honda on in-car entertainment and information systems. Related Video:    

2018 Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition is way more subtle than the Ant-Man Veloster

Update: A representative from Hyundai has told us that the Iron Man Edition Kona will only be offered with the 1.6-liter turbocharged engine, but can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive. The text has been updated to reflect this. Following Hyundai's collaboration on developing a frankly garish Veloster for Ant-Man and The Wasp, the company is teaming up with Marvel once again to launch a special edition of the 2018 Hyundai Kona compact crossover SUV. This one is themed after superhero Iron Man, and unlike the Veloster, this car is actually available to purchase. It's a little odd to see a car that's not an Audi used to go with Iron Man, but Hyundai has done a lot to get the Kona Iron Man-ready. The upper daytime running lights have been adjusted in design and color to more closely match the glowing eyes of Iron Man's mask. The hood has also been redesigned with an insert that looks like a heat extractor vent, but is just a red plastic piece. The whole car is painted matte black with a metallic red roof and matching accents all over the exterior. The roof gets a giant Iron Man mask decal, too. On the sides there are badges of his mask on the fenders and on the wheel center caps. The rear doors get Stark Industries logo decals. The inside hasn't been left out either. It appears to be the interior found on the lime green Limited and above trim levels, but instead of lime accents, there are even more red ones. Tony Stark's (Iron Man's not-so-secret identity) signature is found on the dashboard. The gauges have custom graphics themed around Iron Man, including a custom design for the heads-up display. On a side note, the Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition is not the first superhero-themed car available to the public, nor is it the first Iron Man car. Jeep previously had a special edition Renegade for the Batman vs. Superman movie. And while it wasn't the Iron Man superhero, Isuzu had a special edition Vehicross for the Iron Man Triathlon event. The Hyundai Kona Iron Man Edition goes on sale in the first quarter of 2019, and it will be a limited-production vehicle. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but a Hyundai representative told us what will power it. It won't get the the entry-level Kona's a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 147 horsepower, but rather the turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder making 175 horsepower. It will also be available in either front- or all-wheel-drive versions.