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Hyundai: hydrogen cars will gain wider acceptance in 10 years

Hyundai Motor Company said Monday it believes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the future for eco-friendly cars despite challenges of limited infrastructure and slow sales. South Korea's largest automaker has sold or leased 273 Tucson fuel cell SUVs since beginning production in 2013, mostly in Europe and California. The company had plans to make 1,000 in its first year of production. Kim Sae Hoon, general manager at Hyundai's fuel cell engineering design team, said fuel cell cars represent a bigger opportunity than electric cars because competition is less fierce. Hydrogen-powered cars also give more flexibility to designers, he said. They can be scaled to big vehicles such as buses as well as small cars. They can also be refueled as quickly as gasoline cars while traveling more miles than electric vehicles. The Tucson's European version, called the ix35 Fuel Cell, can travel up to 594 kilometers (369 miles) while its US model travels up to 265 miles (426 kilometers) on one charge on the various government efficiency tests. It emits water vapor and no greenhouse gases. High prices and the dearth of fueling stations are barriers to sales of fuel cell vehicles. Hyundai said it will be another 10 years before hydrogen cars start gaining wider acceptance. In the meantime, sales of eco-friendly cars are dominated by hybrid models such as Toyota's Prius and electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, which are more affordable than fuel cell cars. Hyundai also produces hybrid cars and electric vehicles. It plans to invest 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion) in eco-friendly technology including hybrid cars, electric battery vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells in the four years from 2015. To boost sales, Hyundai slashed the Tucson fuel cell's price in South Korea in February to 85 million won ($76,000) from 150 million won ($134,000). South Korean customers are local government offices as there is no government subsidy for consumers. South Korea's government plans to establish 10 charging stations for fuel cell cars and expects 1,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles will be on the streets in South Korea by 2020. Japan started production of hydrogen-powered cars later than South Korea but such vehicles are experiencing faster growth in Japan with support from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. Toyota started sales of its Mirai fuel cell sedan in December and has decided to increase production to 3,000 vehicles in 2017, which is quadruple production this year.

Hyundai prices three-row Santa Fe from $28,350*

Each extra inch in the wheelbase of the six- and seven-passenger 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe, compared to the five-seat Santa Fe Sport, will cost you $1,000. The larger version of Hyundai's new people carrier is 3.9 inches longer, and whereas the Santa Fe Sport was priced at $24,450, the roomier Santa Fe comes in four flavors that start at $28,350 for the front-wheel drive GLS version. Adding all-wheel drive to the GLS tacks on another $1,750, stepping up to the front-wheel Limited takes you to $33,100, the all-wheel drive Limited topping things out at $34,850. For the true price, you'll need to add *$845 to those prices for freight.
The base price is the same as Hyundai's previous seven-seater option, the Veracruz, slapped on a vehicle with much better looks and more features. Compared to the Santa Fe Sport, the six- and seven-passenger option has 8.5 extra inches in overall length, 1.9 extra inches of second-row legroom and that third row of seating in its hind quarters. The second row can be had as a traditional bench or captain's chairs on the Limited. Under the hood is the same 3.3-liter direct-injection V6 with 290 horsepower and 252 pound-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed Shiftronic transmission, and the same EPA estimated 25 highway miles per gallon for the FWD version.
You also get extra standard amenities like a 115-volt socket, power liftgate and rear-seat climate controls. Check out the press release below to find out all about them.

Hyundai Santa Cruz could get green light this year

The market for smaller trucks is gaining steam in the United States with introductions like the Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, and the forthcoming, updated Toyota Tacoma. After the enthusiastic reaction to the Hyundai HCD-15 Santa Cruz concept at 2015 Detroit Auto Show, that pickup is looking increasingly likely to see production, as well. "There is a very high probability we get the approval of the truck soon," Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski said to the TheDetroitBureau.com. Customer surveys have shown the possible pickup to be quite popular around the country, except among Texans, according to Zuchowski. However, the final sign-off still needs to come from corporate headquarters in South Korea. The production Santa Cruz might be very different from the vehicle on the stand in Detroit. The concept was just there to gauge reactions, and the company hadn't even decided on a platform at that time. The slide-out bed extension was thought to be possible in the real world, but there were reportedly still other hurdles to overcome. The unibody pickup isn't the only project Hyundai is developing for North America. The automaker also wants to step into the expanding compact crossover market with an entry specifically designed for this market. "This is a growth segment," Zuchowski told TheDetroitBureau.com. "We want a piece of it." While neither of these new models are fully approved yet, it certainly looks like Hyundai intends to be a bigger player in the truck and crossover world in the coming years. Related Video: