2015 Kia Sorento Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai looking to add plant in Mexico

Mexico is rapidly becoming the go-to place for North American auto production, and companies including Toyota, General Motors, and Audi are all building new plants, expanding or shifting some production there. Now, Hyundai is investigating joining them in the future. "I'm sure that over the years we'll see production of Hyundai products in Mexico," Pedro Albarran, managing director for the automaker in Mexico, said to Bloomberg. Albarran indicates that a likely location for such a factory might be the state of Nuevo Leon, where Kia also has a forthcoming $1 billion plant. The site would be an ideal location near suppliers. It's probably going to be a while before any of Hyundai's models start coming out of Mexico. According to Bloomberg, the automaker wants to wait to make a final decision until sales there reach around 50,000 annual units, and that benchmark isn't expected until 2018. While Kia's plant is slated to have a capacity around 300,000 vehicles a year when it opens in 2016, Albarran thinks Hyundai might start smaller at just over 100,000 annual examples. Some of those would likely include subcompact models for the Mexican market. The Korean automaker was rumored to be looking into a factory south of the border as far back as 2013.

Kia Cross GT concept gives glimpse of future premium CUV

Kia is looking to bolster its premium-car lineup beyond newly conceived products like the Cadenza and Quoris. Perhaps the best evidence of this initiative, to date, is the Cross GT Concept that has just been unveiled at the Chicago Auto Show. Showing a larger, more premium crossover to slot in above the Sorento, the Cross GT Concept hints at a future product that could be what the ill-fated, body-on-frame Borrego never had a chance to be.
Compared to the current Sorento, the Cross GT Concept is 8.4-inches longer, 4.9-inches wider and rides on a wheelbase that is increased by 15.7 inches, and it shows a new possible styling direction for Kia as the automaker continues to attempt to venture up market. Some of the upscale styling cues include the clamshell hood. upright front end with signature Kia tiger nose grille and the multi-panel panoramic roof. The true luxury of the Cross GT is apparent inside where Kia has used real wood trim and rich leather on the seats, and there's also the buttonless, touch-screen infotainment system; rear occupants will have flat screen monitors with Internet access.
Based on a chassis shared with the rear-wheel drive GT Concept, which we first saw at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the fullsize Cross GT crossover is powered by a 3.8-liter V6 paired to Kia's hybrid system that gives the luxury crossover a combined output of 400 horsepower and 500 pound-feet of torque, as well as an all-electric driving range of 20 miles. The engine is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which helps send power to the wheels through an advanced, torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system

Hyundai confirms a shift to EVs, unveils fuel cell SUV

SEOUL — Hyundai confirmed on Thursday it was placing electric vehicles at the center of its product strategy — one that includes plans for a premium long-distance electric car as it seeks to catch up to Tesla and other rivals. Like Toyota, Hyundai had initially championed fuel cell technology as the future of eco-friendly vehicles but has found itself shifting to electric as Tesla shot to prominence and battery-powered cars have gained government backing in China. Hyundai's debut of its more modestly priced Ionic hybrid and electric has been well-received. But the pure electric's per-charge driving range is much shorter than the Tesla Model 3 or Chevrolet Bolt. Toyota is now also working on longer-distance, fast-charging electric vehicles. Hyundai first started signaling this strategic shift back in May when it first discussed plans to launch an electric sedan under its high-end Genesis brand in 2021 with a range of 500 km (310 miles) per charge. It will also introduce an electric version of its Kona small crossover with a range of 390 km in the first half of next year. "We're strengthening our eco-friendly car strategy, centering on electric vehicles," Executive Vice President Lee Kwang-guk told a news conference, calling the technology mainstream and realistic. The automaker and affiliate Kia, which together rank fifth in global vehicle sales, also said they were adding three plug-in vehicles to their plans for eco-friendly cars, bringing the total to 31 models by 2020. Underscoring Hyundai's electric shift, those plans include eight battery-powered and two fuel-cell vehicles — a contrast to its 2014 announcement for 22 models, of which only two were slated to be battery-powered. Hyundai also confirmed a Reuters report that it is developing its first scaleable, dedicated electric vehicle platform, which will allow the company to produce multiple models with longer driving ranges. HYDROGEN SUV Hyundai unveiled a near production version of its new fuel cell SUV with a driving range of more than 580 km per charge, compared with the 415 km for its current Tucson fuel cell SUV. The mid-sized SUV will be launched in Korea early next year, followed by U.S. and European markets. A fuel cell electric bus is slated to be unveiled late this year, while a sedan-type fuel cell car is also planned. Even so, analysts noted that gaining traction with fuel cells was going to be a long hard slog partly due to a lack of charging infrastructure.