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Hyundai and Kia settle lawsuit over hybrid technology

Hyundai and Kia will end Paice's patent infringement lawsuit by signing a licensing agreement to use the firm's hybrid technology for their vehicles, according to Bloomberg. A statement by Paice says that this new contract ends any legal disputes between the companies, but doesn't disclose the cost of the settlement. A Hyundai spokesperson declined to comment about the case's resolution to Autoblog. Paice and the Abell Foundation, an investor, brought the case against Hyundai and Kia in 2012 over the tech in the Sonata and Optima Hybrids, and the court sided in the patent holder's favor in October 2015. The jury ordered the automakers to pay at least $28.9 million, but the judge could have tripled that amount because the infringement was allegedly intentional. Hyundai pledged to appeal the ruling. Paice's patents come from the work of Alex Severinsky and cover ways to make engines and electric motors work together. The company has a history of defending its tech, including settlements with Toyota and Ford. It also filed another case against the Blue Oval in 2014 over the hybrid or plug-in systems in the C-Max, Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ. Hyundai and Kia sign licensing agreement with Paice Paice, a pioneer in hybrid electric vehicle technology, has reached an agreement to license all of its hybrid vehicle technology to Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. Paice has now licensed all or part of its hybrid vehicle technology portfolio to Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, and Ford – three of the world's six largest automakers. These three companies currently account for 90% of all hybrid vehicle sales in the United States. "We are gratified to reach a licensing agreement with Hyundai and Kia, who are among the undisputed leaders in the hybrid industry. This agreement further validates the importance of our technology, and we hope to reach additional agreements with other major automakers," said Frances Keenan, chairman of the Paice Board of Directors. The confidential licensing agreement with Hyundai and Kia brings an end to all litigation between the companies. Paice and the Abell Foundation, a Baltimore-based non-profit organization that invested in Paice, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Hyundai and Kia in U.S. District Court in 2012. After an eight-day jury trial earlier this year, the jury sided with Paice and Abell, awarding $28,915,600. Hyundai and Kia currently rank third in U.S. hybrid car sales.

Dodge, Hyundai crowdsourced-funding sites deemed successes

What's not to love about crowdsourcing? This idea, after all, has given us Kickstarter as well Local Motors, but automakers are starting to use the social platform to sell more cars (or just drum up a little PR). Both Dodge and Hyundai have used "crowd-funding" recently, and while Automotive News is reporting that neither has racked up big sales with this gimmick, both automakers are pleased with the attention.
For Hyundai, it teamed up with website Motozuma.com to help customers crowdsource money for a down payment, and the automaker matched this amount up to $500. Last year, this helped Hyundai sell an extra 1,600 units, a fraction of its total 2012 sales. That figure is far larger than Dodge fared with the Dodge Dart Registry - it netted only two sales and a small number of individual options. This registry did help University of Southern California fraternity crowdsource $18,000 to buy a Dart for a local Meals on Wheels, however. Despite the low sales figures, Dodge and Hyundai are considering their crowdsourcing programs a success since it helped them connect with younger buyers.

Hyundai, BMW in plant talks with Mexican officials

BMW and Hyundai may be joining the rush for the border that has already seen Nissan, Honda and Mazda begin factory construction in Mexico, while Ford and General Motors have both made significant investments in their Mexican facilities. BMW's interest in Mexico has been apparent for some time, and while we'd heard grumblings about Hyundai's move into Latin America some time ago, the last we heard about it was in 2009.
This new move, reported by Bloomberg, doesn't get specific on which models will be produced south of the Rio Grande, and as neither automakers' spokespeople responded to the business site's request for statements, all we really have to go on are the statements of Mexico's Economy Minister, Ildefonso Guajardo: "I cannot talk for them, but I think that starting 2014 we'll have new announcements. At least for one." Which manufacturer that will be remains anyone's guess, although judging by all the recent scuttlebutt that's been going around, the smart money seems to be on BMW. We'll stay with this one.