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Hyundai Group invests $90 million in Rimac to develop electric halo cars

The Hyundai Group is the next large automaker to make pilgrimage to Croatia, all for the purpose of investing 80 million euros ($90 million) in Rimac. Hyundai has chipped in 64 million euros ($72 million), while Kia added 16 million euros ($18 million). The tie-up puts a much faster spin on the South Korean automaker's electrification goals, with current plans to get 44 "eco-friendly models" on sale by 2025. Developing products with Rimac means working up two proper halo models to lead the charge. The press release stated Hyundai's intent to "to lead the high-performance electrified vehicle market and enhance its status as a game changer in Clean Mobility." According to Thomas Schemera, EVP of the group's product division, "Our goal is to popularize electric vehicles and to create social value through world-class technology and innovation in performance." The Hyundai Kona Electric, Ioniq and Nexo, and the Kia Soul EV and Niro EV have all won praise, but won't be enough in their current forms to garner the attention Hyundai and Kia desire. We'll see first fruits as soon as next year. Two high-performance electric prototypes are expected to debut, one being a battery-electric vehicle, the other a hydrogen fuel cell EV. The battery-powered offering will be a zero-emission version of Hyundai's mid-engined sports car for the N division. This has been in the works for seven years now, with three concepts put on show starting with the Veloster Midship in 2014. The RM15 followed a year later, the RM16 N (pictured) a year after that. The automaker didn't indicate what the FCEV would be. The aim, however, is to bring both to marker "at a later time." On Rimac's side, the investment helps the small Croatian on its quest for Tier 1 Supplier status. Only ten years old and employing about 500 people, Rimac has supplied technology to Aston Martin for the Valkyrie, Jaguar for the E-Type Zero, Koenigsegg for the Regera, and Pininfarina for the PF0. Porsche bought a ten-percent stake in Rimac last year, following a 30-million-euro investment from Chinese battery maker Camel Group to take a 19-percent stake. The Eastern European concern remains focused on its own bowtie-inspired hypercars as long as founder Mate Rimac leads, though. As he told Motor Trend in April, "Of course I'm very passionate about helping other manufacturers build their cars. But if the shareholders decide it doesn't make sense to produce our own cars, they we'll have to find another CEO."

Autoblog Podcast #391

Episode #391 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Mike Harley and Brandon Turkus talk about the appointment of Kumar Galhotra to run Lincoln, changes coming for Scion, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, and which cars won't live into 2015. We also take a quick detour to talk about the Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge prototype, which Mike Harley just came back from driving. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #391: Topics: 2015 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge Prototype New boss at Lincoln Scion xB, iQ ending soon Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Cars that won't live to 2015 In the Autoblog Garage: McLaren 650S Hyundai Genesis Hosts: Dan Roth, Michael Harley, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:42:06 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Infiniti Q50 Eau Rouge - 30:05 Kumar Galhotra to Lincoln - 34:32 Scion Changes - 43:58 Dodge Charger Hellcat - 54:25 Discontinued Cars - 01:06:24 Q&A - 01:22:59 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Podcasts Dodge Hyundai Infiniti Lincoln McLaren Scion Supercars mclaren 650s

You can now Uber a Ford F-150 for tailgating at NFL games

The Ford F-Series has been named as the official truck of the NFL, whatever that means. To kick things off, the automaker is giving fans in New York the ability to order a "Built Ford Tough Tailgate Truck" on demand through Uber. The NFL-backed tailgate F-Series trucks will bring fans tailgate food, tickets, and merchandise. The ability to get a tailgate truck through Uber is currently limited to New York, but Ford will also offer a tailgate tour in various cities where NFL fans can win tailgate parties, tickets to games, and access to their own Ford tailgate truck. The sponsorship is for three years and includes America's best-selling truck, the Ford F-150, along with the automaker's Super Duty trucks. Ford is also giving NFL fans the ability to enter the "Built Ford Tough Toughest Ticket" sweepstakes for a chance to win Super Bowl LI tickets, along with a new 2017 Ford F-Series Super Duty decked out to showcase the winner's favorite football team. The NFL has partnered with various automakers in the past, with the most recent being a four-year deal with Hyundai in 2015. The Korean automaker is currently the official car, SUV, and luxury vehicle of the NFL, which conveniently leaves a spot for Ford's F-Series trucks to slot into. Hyundai took the sponsorship from General Motors, which had been a sponsor since 2001. Ford's new sponsorship comes at the perfect time as the new season official starts tomorrow with the Carolina Panthers taking on the Denver Broncos. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Ford F-Series NFL Sponsorship News Source: FordImage Credit: Ford Celebrities Marketing/Advertising Ford Hyundai Truck Special and Limited Editions sponsorship