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All the Hyundai Santa Cruz needs now is the green light

Ever since Hyundai took the wraps off the Santa Cruz concept nearly a year ago, we've been closely watching to see if the Korean automaker would put it into production. The signs have been looking good, but this could be our clearest indication yet. According to the company's North American product planning chief, the road ahead is clear for the compact pickup. "We're very anxious to do something with the idea," Mike O'Brien told AutoGuide. "The engineering feasibility work has been done," and 18 months of preparation have already gone into laying out the business case. Now all it needs is the green light from the head office. Hyundai unveiled the Santa Cruz concept – codenamed HCD-15 – at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. The design calls for a compact pickup crossover, similar in concept to the Honda Ridgeline, but smaller. It would be targeted towards young customers interested in outdoor activities who don't want to track the elements inside their vehicle along with their mountain bikes, kayaks, surfboards, and snowboards. If approved, the Santa Cruz would likely share its underpinnings with the Tucson crossover. Hyundai sells a good 50,000 Tucsons each year in the US, and the Santa Cruz is estimated to match (if not exceed) that number, helping Hyundai double its sales based on the same platform. The Santa Cruz is also tipped to be Hyundai's first diesel model in America. "The diesel is the most promising because of the fuel economy it delivers," said O'Brien. "It best matches in our research of what these customers are looking for... Outstanding fuel economy, good torque and good driveability."

Hyundai working on some sort of secret, single-seat EV

Hyundai's big electric push at the Geneva Motor Show this week was its three-pronged Ioniq line-up. But there will apparently be at least two other electric vehicles coming from the South Korean automaker in the near future, according to Reuters. These vehicles are a single-seat EV and an electric scooter. Neither of these EVs were mentioned in Hyundai's press releases. Neither of these EVs were mentioned in Hyundai's official press releases from Geneva, so details are sparse, but Reuters says that these non-standard vehicles slot nicely into Hyundai's future mobility plans. The Korea Herald says that the automaker is going to invest more in future projects that don't necessarily involve new cars. The idea is to increase the "mobility freedom" for people, according to a presentation from Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Chung Eui-sun during Geneva. Hyundai would not confirm the news of the scooter or the single-seat EV to Reuters and requests for more information from AutoblogGreen were also ignored. When we learn anything official, we will let you know. Given the lack of details, we'll make some educated guesses. Electric scooters are extremely popular in Asia, and we don't think this will stray too far from the two-wheels-and-a-battery model that already works well. As for the one-seat EV, we have to think that Hyundai will take a page from the Renault Twizy or Toyota i-Road, both sleek little electric runabouts that are quirky, sure, but also perfect for running errands in an urban environments. We expect some sort of carsharing program, as well. The official Ioniq vehicles were three powertrains in one body style: a hybrid, PHEV, and pure EV. You can get all the details that we know about these vehicles so far here. Related Video: Related Gallery 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Electric: Geneva 2016 View 14 Photos News Source: The Korea Herald, Reuters Green Hyundai Transportation Alternatives Electric scooter hyundai ioniq ioniq

Recharge Wrap-up: Hyundai visually explains fuel cells, BYD T5 electric truck

Are you still unclear about how exactly a hydrogen fuel cell works to power a car? Hyundai is offering a great visual on how its fuel cells operate in cars like the Tucson fuel Cell. Basically, the anode splits the hydrogen molecule into a positive and negative ion. The negative ions are used for electricity, while the positive ions are pushed through a membrane to the cathode, where both ions are combined with oxygen to create the byproduct of water. There's a little more to it than that to make it work in a vehicle, so see for yourself in the infographic below. BYD is launching its T5 electric light truck in China. The truck has a maximum speed of 31 miles per hour, making it mostly suitable for in-city and campus duty. It has a range of almost 250 miles, though, and with its size, the T5 could make a pretty adept delivery truck. The battery is situated under the load bay between the axles, keeping the center of gravity low. Price could be an issue, but government subsidies might help convince some companies to make the switch to BYD's electric truck. See more over at Car News China. The Mahindra Reva e2o electric vehicle will offer a fast charging feature, called Quick2Charge. Normally, the e2o takes five hours to fully charge, but that time gets cut to just one hour with the new option. Choosing the Quick2Charge option adds 45,000 rupees (about $735) to the price of the e2o. The new e2o is supposed to get electric power steering, and, later, a four-door variant. Mahindra Reva is also making an export-only version with Quick2Charge, longer range, electric steering, airbags, and ABS. Read more over at Indian Cars Bikes. The Quebec-Vermont Electric Charging Corridor is set to expand with 14 new charging stations. Melanie Dufresne of the area's tourism board announced that the 240-volt chargers would be installed in Le Haut-Richelieu Regional County Municipality. Drivers will use a special access card to charge at the stations in the region for $2.50. The stations will be installed by the end of the year. To see all the locations and learn more about the announcement, head over to Hybrid Cars.