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Hyundai, Kia expanding plug-in vehicle line-up in Korea

Hyundai is shedding a bit of light on its electric vehicle plans. About time, too, since the company has spend a long period being quite vague about plugging in while touting its hydrogen plans. The Hyundai and Kia brands will both release their first plug-in hybrid vehicles next year in Korea; an all-electric version of the Kia Soul will roll out in May of this year and a mid-size electric vehicle will be launched as early as next year. Test versions of the Hyundai i10 electric vehicle have been on Korean roads since first being used at the G20 summit in Seoul in 2010. There have been hints about an electrified Hyundai coming to America, and at the Washington Auto Show last week, Michael O'Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning for Hyundai Motor America told AutoblogGreen that a new EV will be coming to the US market sometime within the next three years. A Hyundai executive told Korean national daily The Chosunilbo that the company will be significantly increasing its investment in hybrids and EVs to roll out a few eco-friendly models starting in 2015. It's hard to say which of these might come to the US market – a new LF Sonata will be coming out in both a regular gasoline and hybrid system in Korea; the US already has the Sonata Hybrid for sale. As for plug-in hybrids, Hyundai said that there will be both Sonata and Kia K5 (Optima) models coming out next year. These will also be the first-ever plug-in hybrids in the Korean market. Featured Gallery 2012 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid View 13 Photos News Source: The Chosunilbo Green Hyundai Kia Electric Hybrid Hydrogen Cars PHEV

A verified hit, Kia Soul EV will come to new markets

Today at the Chicago Auto Show, Kia introduced a new off-road Trailster plug-in concept, but the real-world news was all about how the Soul EV will be traveling to places it hasn't gone before. When Kia introduced the Soul EV in Chicago last year, it said that the car would some day be available in five states: California, Oregon, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Today, company executives said the car will be coming to more markets – they just declined to mention where, exactly. The Soul EV is currently sold in just 17 dealerships in California, Orth Hedrick, vice president of product planning at Kia Motors America, told AutoblogGreen. "For the next stage, we were originally planning on hitting the east coast, but we are changing that around a little bit. You'll see more availability," he said. Hedrick said that the change was prompted by the simple fact that the Soul is attracting new customers. "We went back to the factory and told them it's doing very well and it's now expanded beyond an EV, it's something bigger," he said. "It's helping us get a dialogue with completely new, different customer that we normally wouldn't see in a Kia store. So we would like the opportunity to take it further." We asked if customer interest in the compliance car caught the company off guard. Hedrick said that wasn't quite the right way to look at the history of the Soul EV. "When we looked at it originally, we were trying to go beyond the compliance part," he said. "We understood, of course, that we had to do it, but we wanted to showcase something that was really strong for us, which is the Soul, and we thought it would help build out the Soul family and bring more people to see us and that's exactly what's happening. It was a little more than compliance but I think we were kind of shocked how well it was received. It's been a huge hit." "Huge" in this case means bigger than Kia's original production capacity estimates, he said, without getting into specifics. It was "significantly more than what we originally planned for," he said. The Soul EV is built in Korea and the car is sold there, the US and will be coming to Europe as well. "I don't think they're in a position to ramp up quickly," Hedrick said, "They're in the process of ramping up more and we'll have an announcement, we hope, by New York, about where we're going to go to." The New York Auto Show media days start April 1, 2015.

Kia recalling 96k Souls with sunroofs [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this post indicated that the recall affected 2010-2014 models, when the recall ends with 2013 models. The text below has been revised accordingly. Kia has issued a recall for the 2010-2013 model-year Soul compact cars. But while the notice issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers a long period of production – from January 8, 2009, to October 2, 2013 – the problem only affects those units equipped with a sunroof. In those specific models – of which Kia estimates there are 95,314 examples in the United States – the headliner plate surrounding the sunroof may detach when the side curtain airbag is deployed, which could serve to compound the risk of injury in the event of a crash. Owners of affected vehicles can expect to hear from the manufacturer to bring their Souls in to their local dealer to have industrial adhesive strips installed to secure the headliner in place, starting from early February. RECALL Subject : Headliner Plate Detachment Report Receipt Date: DEC 29, 2014 NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V822000 Component(s): STRUCTURE Potential Number of Units Affected: 95,314 Manufacturer: Kia Motors America SUMMARY: Kia Motors America (Kia) is recalling certain model year 2010-2013 Kia Soul vehicles manufactured January 8, 2009, to October 2, 2013, equipped with a sun roof. A headliner plate may detach during deployment of the curtain air bag. CONSEQUENCE: A detached headliner plate may increase the risk of injury to the occupant during a vehicle crash. REMEDY: Kia will notify owners, and dealers will install industrial adhesive strips to secure the headliner plates, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin February 2, 2015. Owners may contact Kia customer service at 1-949-468-4800. Kia's number for this recall is SC112. NOTES: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.