2020 Hyundai Sonata Sel Plus on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Palisade and Genesis GV80 production idled

In February of this year, the coronavirus pandemic forced Hyundai Motor Company to idle production at most of its factories in South Korea. The Chinese suppliers that provided wiring harnesses for models like the Hyundai Palisade and Genesis GV80 hadn't recovered from their COVID-19 shutdowns, causing a shortage of components. Since then, Hyundai, along with automakers around the globe, has faced repeated hurdles to restoring desired production numbers. Just-Auto reports another hiccup, with Hyundai compelled to shut down lines that build the Palisade and GV80 at its Ulsan, South Korea complex again last week over a lack of parts. Just-Auto didn't specify the parts in question. On top of that, Hyundai had already idled three lines at two plants after an employee at a supplier died, the cause of death thought to be COVID-19. Kia needed to do the same for two entire facilities in South Korea after two plant workers were diagnosed with the illness. In the U.S., Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama was idled from March 18 to May 4, resuming production at lower output on May 4 to manage inventory after the coronavirus and lockdown measures gutted new car sales.   Hyundai, like giant Ford and tiny McLaren, will be ruing the lost momentum of its recovery. The group turned in its best quarterly profit since 2017 at the end of last year, thanks to the larger margins that crossovers and SUVs deliver. Hyundai brand U.S. sales last year of 688,771 units was tantalizing close to an annual sum the brand hasn't hit since 2012. In January, the automaker predicted it would improve on last year's 3.5% group operating profit margin by hitting 5% this year. The nearly 10,000 reservations taken for the GV80 fueled the optimism, when Genesis sold just over 21,000 vehicles in total last year in the U.S. However, through the first quarter, group sales were down 11% globally and in the U.S. Worse, Just-Auto says the group's global sales have nosedived 26% through the first five months. The production halts on the models that deliver the best return will prolong the pain and make it sharper. Related Video:

Hyundai announces N performance sub-brand at WRC launch

It's been well over a year since Hyundai revealed its initial prototype for the i20 WRC at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. Now it's revealed the final version (pictured above, complete with Shell Helix livery) and it's also announced the full team that will field it next year in the World Rally Championship, including Thierry Neuville and additional drivers Juho Hänninen, Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson. That's plenty exciting for rally fans, but the news that caught our attention was buried deeper in the press release.
That is the announcement of Hyundai's new N performance sub-brand. Named after the company's R&D facility in Namyang, South Korean, the N brand "will be used to symbolize Hyundai's high performance technology," not just on the rally car but also "future mass-produced high performance cars" for the road. The WRC car wears the logo that we'd expect to represent that new cadre of performance Hyundais.
Having hinted at the emergence of a European performance sub-brand a couple of months ago, the Korean automaker hasn't revealed any further details on which those road cars might be, but promises to transfer lessons it learns from the rally stage to the marketplace. We're looking forward to finding out more, but a roadgoing i20 hot hatch would be a good first bet. Here's hoping the North American product lineup won't be left out.

Ford Mustang Mach-E fails Sweden's moose test

The infamous moose test has claimed another casualty. This time it's the Ford Mustang Mach-E AWD Long Range, which was tested in an electric four-way alongside the Tesla Model Y, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Skoda Enyaq iV (an electric utility vehicle closely related to the Volkswagen ID.4 that is sold in the United States). According to the Swedish testers at Teknikens Varld, Ford's electric car not only failed to hit the speed necessary for a passing grade, it didn't perform well at slower speeds, either. To pass the outlet's moose test, a car has to complete a rapid left-right-straight S-shaped pattern marked by cones at a speed of at least 72 km/h (44.7 miles per hour). The test is designed to mimic the type of avoidance maneuver a driver would have to take in order to avoid hitting something that wandered into the road, which in Sweden may be a moose but could just as easily be a deer or some other member of the animal kingdom elsewhere in the world, or possibly a child or car backing into the motorway. Not only is the maneuver very aggressive, it's also performed with weights belted into each seat and more weight added to the cargo area to hit the vehicle's maximum allowable carrying capacity. The Mustang Mach-E only managed to complete the moose test at 68 km/h (42.3 mph), well below the passing-grade threshold. Even at much lower speeds, Teknikens Varld says the Mach-E (which boasts the highest carrying capacity and was therefore loaded with more weight than the rest of the vehicles tested in this quartet) is "too soft in the chassis" and suffers from "too slow steering." Proving that it is indeed possible to pass the test, the Hyundai and Skoda completed the maneuver at the 44.7-mph figure required for a passing grade and the Tesla did it at 46.6 mph, albeit with less weight in the cargo area. It's not clear whether other versions of the Mustang Mach-E would pass the test. It's also unknown if Ford will make any changes to its chassis tuning or electronic stability control software, as some other automakers have done after a poor performance from Teknikens Varld, to improve its performance in the moose test. Related video: