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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.

Hyundai plans $388 million expansion at engine plant in Alabama

Hyundai says it is investing $388 million to build a new plant in Alabama to manufacturing engine heads and update technology in an existing engine plant to support production of new Sonata and Elantra sedans and the Santa Fe crossover. The investment will also include 50 new jobs at its manufacturing complex in Montgomery. About $40 million will go toward constructing a new 260,000-square-foot engine-head machining plant, which is expected to be completed in November and operational by mid-2019. Hyundai says the project will free up space to expand engine assembly lines in two existing engine plants in Alabama. Hyundai plans to begin producing the Theta III engine, likely a 2.5-liter four-cylinder (though Hyundai won't confirm the specs yet), in April 2019 for the Sonata and Santa Fe crossover. It will continue to build the 2.0-liter Nu engine for the Elantra at its plant in Montgomery. Together, the engine plants build about 700,000 engineers per year to support vehicle production in Alabama and Kia's manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama started vehicle production in May 2005 and employs 2,700 full-time and 500 part-time employees. Related Video: Image Credit: Hyundai Plants/Manufacturing Hyundai Crossover Sedan hyundai santa fe

2020 Hyundai Ioniq Electric reportedly getting more range

With the introduction of the Hyundai Kona Electric, Hyundai's first full EV on the market, the Ioniq Electric, has seemingly been neglected. But that doesn't seem to be the case according to Inside EVs. The news outlet spoke to someone from Hyundai who revealed that for 2020 the Ioniq Electric will get a boost in range, but it won't match the Kona Electric. For reference, the current Hyundai Ioniq Electric has a range of 124 miles, and the Kona Electric is rated at 258 miles. That leaves a lot of room for Hyundai to decide how much range the new Ioniq will have, and makes it hard to estimate what the final figure will be. It would seem a safe bet that the range will at least be 150 miles, maybe a bit more, since that would put the Ioniq Electric on par with the base Nissan Leaf for range. This is especially likely since both cars compete at the same price point of between $30,000 and $36,000 before incentives. There's a chance Hyundai could offer more range, or perhaps an optional long-range model with over 200 miles, but that might raise the price, and Hyundai will probably point buyers that need more range to the Kona anyway. We'll also be curious to see if Hyundai ups the power of the Ioniq. Its current 118 horsepower is pretty low, even in the EV segment. The standard Leaf produces 147 horsepower. Apparently the Kona Electric's 200-horsepower motor can fit in the Ioniq, as proven by the Hyundai team racing a Kona-powered Ioniq in the Optima Ultimate Street Car competition. But again, if Hyundai isn't going to give the Ioniq as much range as Kona, there's not much reason to give it a bigger motor either. Especially when the Ioniq Electric buyers probably aren't that interested in speed. Related Video: