Dick's Hillsboro Hyundai on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai's Genesis luxury brand not going to Europe this decade

After dipping into the premium market with the Genesis and Equus sedans, Hyundai made headlines with the planned launch of a separate premium brand, Genesis. It starts with the renamed G80 (nee Genesis) and redesigned G90 (Equus) sedans here in the US, but European consumers will have to wait. "To launch a premium brand in Europe is a challenge and it's an even bigger challenge if you don't have the products you need for the market," Hyundai Europe Chief Operating Officer Thomas Schmid told Automotive News Europe. "Europe won't see it before 2019. The main reason is we need different powertrains." Powertrains aren't the brand's only shortcoming. With the G70 – a 3 Series competitor – coming as the third showroom product, the brand also won't have a competitor in the increasingly important crossover ranks. As Schmid told ANE, "we don't yet see the right moment to do it because at the end, we want to be successful, and successful also means profitable." Initially, Genesis will launch in North America, the Middle East, China, and South Korea. Pushing back the European launch to 2019 or 2020 should give Genesis some breathing room, ANE reports. By that point, the company will offer six different vehicles, including two CUVs. According to Schmid, the brand would launch in Europe with just five vehicles. At halfway through 2016 and nothing but the G70 on the radar, expect an aggressive product launch schedule in the coming years if Genesis is going to stick to that timeline. Related Video: Featured Gallery Genesis Hybrid Sport Sedan Concept View 10 Photos News Source: Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Genesis Genesis Hyundai Crossover Luxury

Hyundai Sonata successor to seek evolution, not revolution

Hyundai hit a home run with its current-generation Sonata midsize sedan, so don't expect the Korean automaker to make revolutionary changes when its replacement comes out for the 2015 model year. The four-door sitting in showrooms today was launched in 2010 with radical new lines that marked a big departure from its rather bland predecessor. Even with stiff competition from the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry - all newer designs than the Sonata - sales have been strong. Consumers embraced its new design language, taking home a record 230,605 units last year.
"I think we found a design language that works, the 'Fluidic Sculpture' stuff, so I would say (the new styling) is not pulling back in any way. It's more continuing to refine on that same trajectory that we're on," John Krafcik, Hyundai U.S. CEO, told WardsAuto in a recent interview. Consumers don't seem to be fazed by the its age either. "A lot of consumers are just entering (the) midsize (segment) for the first time. They don't see (the Sonata) as a three-year-old car. They see it as, 'Whoa, that's a pretty good-looking midsize car,' so it's doing quite well," added Krafcik.
Sonota sales have been down over the last few months, but Krafcik says that is a reflection of the automaker's decision to increase production of its Elantra compact at the Montgomery, Alabama, plant - where both are built - and a limited supply of its mid-grade GLS Sonata model.

Hyundai to fight $248M judgment over fatal Montana crash

A Montana jury has levied a $248 million ruling against Hyundai in the case of a crash that killed two occupants in July 2011. The automaker plans to appeal the ruling.
Cousins Trevor and Tanner Olson were driving a 2005 Hyundai Tiburon when they hit another vehicle head-on. According to lawyers representing their family, the steering knuckle on the car cracked and this allegedly caused it to lose control. Hyundai claimed that fireworks had been let off inside the vehicle, which caused the driver to swerve. The company alleges that evidence that could have proved its innocence was barred from the case.
The jury found in favor of the family and awarded them about $8 million in damages after a two-week trial. It claimed that Hyundai had shown "actual malice," according to Reuters. The jurors also slammed Hyundai with a further $240 million in punitive damages.