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Hyundai puts its hydrogen development program on hiatus

UPDATE: According to Pulse news in South Korea, Hyundai denies that it has paused development of hydrogen fuel cells. Instead, the report suggests the team was reshuffled as technological hurdles have slowed down progress. Time will tell which version of the report is factual. Hydrogen technology has reportedly lost one of its biggest and most vocal proponents, at least for now. Citing a long list of hurdles, Hyundai has allegedly stopped developing the hydrogen-electric powertrain it planned to put in several of its cars (including Genesis models) in the coming years. Anonymous sources told South Korean publication Chosunbiz that executives pulled the emergency brake after analyzing the results of a feasibility study. Nothing is official at this point, and the report stresses that the pause is temporary. However, the issues reportedly found are relatively serious: they include unspecified technical problems and a lack of marketability due in part to cost-related concerns. The news comes as a surprise because Hyundai has invested a tremendous amount of resources into making hydrogen a viable alternative to gasoline without many of the inconveniences associated with EVs, like long charging times and limited driving range. It's one of the few carmakers in the world that sells a hydrogen-electric car (the Nexo; pictured), and it announced plans to build about 130,000 hydrogen-powered cars annually by 2025. And yet, the Nexo is a tough sell, even in hydrogen-friendly markets like South Korea; 8,206 units were sold there through November 2021. The 671-horsepower Vision FK concept unveiled earlier in 2021 will seemingly remain at the prototype stage. Interestingly, a separate unverified report claims that Hyundai has also shuttered its engine development division. If both are accurate, it means that the Hyundai group (which includes Kia and Genesis) will exclusively develop electric powertrains starting in the near future. Several car companies have tried to pelt hydrogen-powered cars into the mainstream over the past decade and most have failed. Some of the issues facing the technology include the lack of a charging infrastructure and governments with a single-minded focus on EVs. There are 48 hydrogen charging stations in America, according to the United States Department of Energy, and 47 of those are located in California. While that's great news for Californians, it makes the Nexo completely useless for someone driving from Salt Lake City to Seattle.

Hyundai shows a mysterious coupe design in promo video

You never know where you'll find some interesting automotive news. In this particular case, we found some curious Hyundai info buried in an otherwise painfully boring Hyundai promo video. At about the 1:12 mark in the video, we see footage of a person working on a clay model of a car. It's low, sleek, and looks like it would only have two doors. It appears to have a liftback as well, and fairly aggressive vents in the back. Nothing else in the video indicates what the car is, though. However, we've got some educated guesses. One possibility is that this is a model for the successor to the recently departed Hyundai Genesis Coupe. The short deck and steeply raked rear window and pillars fall right in line with the styling of Hyundai's old sports car, not to mention the bulging rear fenders. Genesis has also made it clear that they intend to have a coupe to replace the old Genesis on sale by 2020. The luxury brand also has a small rear-drive platform in development in the form of the G70 on which it could base the coupe, along with some reasonably potent engines. Last we heard, the twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6 was under consideration. However, an argument against this being a Genesis coupe is that it would be odd to show a Genesis model in a Hyundai video. The companies are clearly trying to put space between each other, so including a Genesis vehicle in this video seems out of step with the two brands' goals. This brings us to the second possibility for this mystery coupe; that it must be a Hyundai of some sort. Hyundai has had very few coupe or coupe-like vehicles in its past. The Tiburon is long dead, thanks to the aforementioned Genesis Coupe, which will have a Genesis-branded successor. The Veloster is coupe-like and due for replacement, but recent spy photos show that it will look more like the current model and not the clay vehicle in the video. That leaves us with just one other coupe it could be: the Elantra coupe. It was killed off for the 2015 model year, but Hyundai might take another stab at it. If the company offered it exclusively with the turbocharged 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, it could attract a small enthusiast base, with the added advantage that, aside from the Civic Si, it would be the only sporty front-drive coupe on the market. Of course, it could also be something entirely new that isn't connected to any previous Hyundai or Genesis product.

Hyundai Sante Fe reveals its refreshed face in South Korea

The Hyundai Santa Fe is getting a refreshed face just three years after the debut of the current generation, but for now the revision is exclusive to the South Korean market. The crossover is definitely getting a dash more style with this upgrade. The grille retains a three-bar design, but each crosspiece now sports cuts at each edge for a more visually interesting look. Lower down, the air intake grows larger for a little more aggression, and LED running lights are now mounted above the fog lights. The headlights are also re-sculpted for a sharper shape. According to a rough translation of Hyundai's press release, the rear bumper and taillights also see revisions, but the company has no photos of them. Similarly, the interior apparently receives a redesigned gauge cluster with new fonts and icons. For the South Korea at least, the updated Santa Fe is also getting an expanded list of tech options. Buyers can now opt for adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and a 360-degree camera system with parking assist. The release specifically mentions that Hyundai is aiming for the Santa Fe to score Good in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small overlap crash test in the United States, versus the current version's Marginal rating. When the refreshed Santa Fe was previously spotted testing, the North American debut was predicted for sometime this year. Given the reveal of the crossover in South Korea, that estimated date would seem even more likely now. Autoblog reached out to a Hyundai Motor North America spokesperson for a more exact date, but all we heard back was that the automaker wouldn't comment on future product plans.