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Hyundai going with AeroVironment for dealership PHEV chargers

Hyundai will partner with AeroVironment as the supplier for charging stations at dealers for the 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid. The 240-volt chargers will be able to top up the PHEV in less than three hours. Customers can also order AeroVironment's home chargers directly from the automaker's showrooms. AeroVironment is a veteran to working with automakers on charging solutions and has experience partnering with Fiat, Ford, Nissan, and BMW. The company also installed a network of locations along the I-5 corridor in Oregon. Customers can already buy the Sonata PHEV in ten states, including California, for a starting price of $35,435 (after $835 destination but before any tax incentives). The sedan has a total output of 202 horsepower from its 2.0-liter four-cylinder and electric motor. The 9.8-kWh lithium-polymer battery offers 27 miles of electric range and an EPA-estimated 99 miles per gallon equivalent. Hyundai dealers might have more green cars on the lot to use these chargers in the coming years. The company reportedly has a project codenamed AE under development, and rumor indicates that hybrid, PHEV, and EV models could be on the way. Hyundai Motor America Picks AeroVironment to Provide Dealer Charging Stations for the All-new 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid Model AeroVironment to provide reliable and easy-to-use EV charging stations in Hyundai dealerships Hyundai becomes the seventh major auto manufacturer to choose AeroVironment as its preferred dealer charging station provider Hyundai drivers have the option to purchase AeroVironment's portable TurboCord charging system or its wall-mounted EVSE-RS charging station SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Nov. 24, 2015 – Hyundai Motor America has selected AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) as the preferred provider for charging system installation at its dealerships across North America for its all-new 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in Hybrid. Hyundai is the seventh plug-in electric vehicle (EV) auto manufacturer to choose AeroVironment as one of its suppliers. The 2016 Sonata Plug-in Hybrid comes with a high-capacity lithium-polymer hybrid battery system that delivers an all-electric range of 27 miles before switching to hybrid mode. The Sonata Plug-in Hybrid also comes with a lifetime hybrid battery warranty. The AeroVironment 240-volt TurboCord and the EVSE-RS charging station can charge the Sonata Plug-in Hybrid in less than three hours versus the approximate nine hours needed using a standard 120-volt charging cable.

Hyundai: hydrogen cars will gain wider acceptance in 10 years

Hyundai Motor Company said Monday it believes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the future for eco-friendly cars despite challenges of limited infrastructure and slow sales. South Korea's largest automaker has sold or leased 273 Tucson fuel cell SUVs since beginning production in 2013, mostly in Europe and California. The company had plans to make 1,000 in its first year of production. Kim Sae Hoon, general manager at Hyundai's fuel cell engineering design team, said fuel cell cars represent a bigger opportunity than electric cars because competition is less fierce. Hydrogen-powered cars also give more flexibility to designers, he said. They can be scaled to big vehicles such as buses as well as small cars. They can also be refueled as quickly as gasoline cars while traveling more miles than electric vehicles. The Tucson's European version, called the ix35 Fuel Cell, can travel up to 594 kilometers (369 miles) while its US model travels up to 265 miles (426 kilometers) on one charge on the various government efficiency tests. It emits water vapor and no greenhouse gases. High prices and the dearth of fueling stations are barriers to sales of fuel cell vehicles. Hyundai said it will be another 10 years before hydrogen cars start gaining wider acceptance. In the meantime, sales of eco-friendly cars are dominated by hybrid models such as Toyota's Prius and electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, which are more affordable than fuel cell cars. Hyundai also produces hybrid cars and electric vehicles. It plans to invest 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion) in eco-friendly technology including hybrid cars, electric battery vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells in the four years from 2015. To boost sales, Hyundai slashed the Tucson fuel cell's price in South Korea in February to 85 million won ($76,000) from 150 million won ($134,000). South Korean customers are local government offices as there is no government subsidy for consumers. South Korea's government plans to establish 10 charging stations for fuel cell cars and expects 1,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles will be on the streets in South Korea by 2020. Japan started production of hydrogen-powered cars later than South Korea but such vehicles are experiencing faster growth in Japan with support from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. Toyota started sales of its Mirai fuel cell sedan in December and has decided to increase production to 3,000 vehicles in 2017, which is quadruple production this year.

Hyundai teases updated Equus before Big Apple debut

The digital ink has yet to dry on some of our Geneva Motor Show coverage, and we're already shifting gears getting ready for the New York Auto Show. To help get us in the New York state of mind, Hyundai has released this shadowy image hinting at the refreshed 2014 Equus that it will be unveiling at the end of the month at NYC's Javits Center.
While we can't make out any major changes in this single image, Hyundai promises at least 30 updates to its flagship sedan including improvements to styling, cabin materials and ride and handling as well as advancements in advanced safety features and "driver technology displays." If we had to guess, the latter sounds like it might be something along the lines of a digital, reconfigurable gauge cluster. The only major difference we can actually see in this image are the new multi-spoke wheels, but we're sure Hyundai will be dropping some more hints before the official introduction on March 27.