2012 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

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We visit Hyundai's Nurburgring test center

Understanding the achievement and the message of Hyundai Motor Group having a European Technical Center at the Nurburgring might be easier if we look at what Hyundai has done in the US. In 1985 Hyundai Motor America set up shop in California. The first car sold here was the 1986 Excel, a rebodied Mitsubishi Mirage with a Hyundai interior treatment. This was the first Mirage, which also served as the Chrysler Colt in hatchback form and circled back as the Mitsubishi Precis so Mitsu could get around Japanese automakers' voluntary export quotas of the time. The Excel made such an impression on reviewers and buyers that in Car and Driver's 1986 review they wrote that "'astounding' is not too strong word" to describe the company's progress, and said, "Our guess is that Hyundai will be a major force in the US car market almost from the moment it opens its doors." Hyundai sold 168,882 Excels in the US in its first year, back when the Ford F-Series led all comers with 544,969 sales. That's what happened. The company sold 168,882 Excels in the US in its first year, back when the Ford F-Series led all comers with 544,969 sales, the Chevrolet Celebrity came second of all vehicles with 408,946 sales, the Honda Accord seventh with 325,004 sales. The Excel sold even better the following year, and the year after that. Three years on, buyers began to discover that one of the things the Excel did best was disintegrate. It's been called "fantastically crappy," Popular Mechanics would later say the Excel "deserved to fail," and they decomposed so thoroughly that you'll have a hard time finding one in any junkyard. Buyers got so allergic to the Flying H badge that sales declined for ten consecutive years. By 1999, when Hyundai's model range was four times larger than it had been in 1986 – Accent, Elantra, Sonata, Tiburon – the brand sold just 90,217 cars in the US. Two important things happened around that nadir. In 1998, as a way of reassuring potential customers, Hyundai became the first automaker to introduce a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. In 1999, Mong-Koo Chung became the CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, promoted from 11 years as CEO of Hyundai Motor Service, a role that put him in charge of global warranty claims. Having spent all those years of his life wading through that carnage, he swore when he took the top spot that he'd get the situation fixed. In 2014 the JD Power Initial Quality Survey ranked Hyundai the leading non-premium brand.

Hyundai preparing to enter US commercial vehicle market

The commercial van segment has been surprisingly hot in the US over the past few years with new or updated entries from Ford, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz and Ram. Now, it looks like we can add one more to that lineup because Hyundai plans to enter the market here, too. The decision is part of the brand's newly announced push into the commercial vehicle segment worldwide, according to Reuters. Hyundai intends to invest 2 trillion South Korean won ($1.8 billion) into the venture through 2020, and the Korean automaker expects the segment to grow by 30 percent annually worldwide over the next five years. Around 1.6 trillion won ($1.5 billion) of that goes towards development of new models and engines for the division. Another $363 million is for expansion of the company's Jeon-ju plant to build 100,000 units there each year. According to Reuters, there's no set timeline on the US introduction of these models yet. Hyundai already sells commercial vehicles in Korea and China but holds just 2.1 percent of the global market in the segment. Autoblog reached out to Hyundai Motor America to learn more, but company spokesperson Jim Trainor said via email, "It is too early to provide any more details concerning the sale of commercial vehicles in the US market." The company is already setting it sights on the European commercial segment with the HG350 (pictured above). It's offered as either a cargo van or flatbed and is meant to compete against market stalwarts like the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter. Rather than this vehicle, the US might get one of Hyundai's newly developed models, though. The automaker previously suggested to Autoblog that it wasn't "seriously considering" the HG350 for this market, at least at that time. Hyundai Motor Plans to increase Jeon-ju Commercial Vehicle Plant capacity to 100,000 units • Hyundai Motor to invest KRW 2 trillion on commercial vehicle development and production until 2020 • New Pilot Center, Global Training Center expected in Jeon-ju plant • 1,000 new jobs to be created following the increased capacity February 16, 2015 – Hyundai Motor announced today that it will invest KRW 2 trillion over the next six years to enhance its global commercial vehicle competitiveness. KRW 1.6 trillion will be invested on developing new models and engines to strengthen global commercial vehicle competitiveness.

Hyundai Santa Fe facelift and interior redo spied

Hyundai just rolled out the third-generation Santa Fe in 2012, so it'll be a little while yet before the crossover warrants replacement altogether. It does, however, appear to be preparing a facelifted version for introduction in the near future. Spied undergoing testing in Europe, the updated Santa Fe looks poised to get a new grille, restyled LED foglamps, new bumpers front and rear, new taillights graphics and new exhaust tips. The cockpit looks like it's getting the once-over as well, with a new infotainment system in the dashboard. Beyond that we couldn't really tell you at this point, but we can expect the revised Korean crossover to arrive sometime later this year. Previous generations of the Santa Fe lasted for about six years on the market, however, so we wouldn't anticipate a complete replacement until 2018 or so. Related Video: