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Hyundai, Kia looking to cut costs

Hyundai and Kia are off to roaring starts in the United States this year, underscored by Kia's best sales month ever in May. But globally the situation for the South Korean siblings hasn't been nearly so positive. Recently, they reported their fourth consecutive quarter of decreasing operating profits worldwide, and now they're "making efforts to cut costs," according to a statement in a joint email obtained by Bloomberg. However, the companies aren't detailing where they would make the cuts or how much they want to save. The amount could be significant, though. An unnamed Hyundai senior executive reportedly told a South Korean newspaper that the business might be aiming for up to 30 percent in reductions. According to Bloomberg, Hyundai and Kia are facing falling total sales worldwide. Making the situation worse is that the strong Korean won versus the weaker Japanese yen gives competitors an advantage. The automakers also angered investors enough last year to prompt a stock buyback after paying $10 billion for the land for a future headquarters. The prognosis doesn't look utterly dire, though, and new products are on the way. For example, the Hyundai Santa Fe is being refreshed in South Korea, and the next-gen Elantra debuts at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show. There's also the Creta on the way for foreign markets. Additionally, several models are still awaiting the green light, including a Hyundai Genesis-based luxury crossover, a compact CUV, and the Santa Cruz unibody pickup. Meanwhile, the Kia GT is reportedly close to production, too. Related Video:

Recharge Wrap-up: unofficial Tesla ad, VW will produce Budd-e

An unofficial Tesla commercial pays homage to the automaker's namesake. The video, which shows the Model S driving through a dusty, petroleum-addicted landscape reminiscent of a Mad Max film, features words from a speech by electricity-obsessed inventor Nikola Tesla. While Tesla (the man) talks about advancing technology into the future through electricity, the cars surroundings switch from the barren oil village to a green countryside dotted with wind turbines. See the video above, and read more at Treehugger. Famous rapper Akon is a Tesla fan who wants to power Africa with solar energy. Akon, who once boasted a collection of 28 exotic cars, traded them in for four Teslas, including a Model X. Also, his organization Akon Lighting Africa provides free solar electricity and lighting to communities that need it. Clean Technica talked to Akon about solar power, Tesla and EVs in a video. See the video and read more at Clean Technica, and get more perspective from Teslarati. The Volkswagen BUDD-e EV may be moving to production. The electric vehicle, built on the MEB modular platform with looks borrowed from the Microbus, made its debut as a concept vehicle at CES this year. Volkwagen's Dr. Volkmar Tanneberger tells Car magazine, "You will see a car that looks a lot like this, on the MEB platform, reach production. I can't say exactly when, but 2020 or thereabouts." He also says that the California camper van and Transporter van will continue production with internal combustion engines. Read more from Car. The 2017 Kia Soul EV will have more range. While it is scheduled for some minor updates, upping the electric Soul's driving range from its current EPA rating of 93 miles will hopefully attract more customers than a simple facelift. Autocar spied the next Soul EV testing in some heavy camouflage, but it offered no other details about the range beyond its reported expansion. Read more from Plugin Cars.

Kia releases first photos of new Sportage

Occasionally, an automaker introduces a great looking concept that translates seamlessly into a very handsome road car. This isn't exactly one of those times. Kia has released the first three images of the new Sportage, the company's small CUV. The company says they drew inspiration for the production model from the Provo Concept, shown at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, although we see quite a lot more inspiration from the Niro Concept, originally introduced at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, particularly around the front fascia. In fact, when we originally covered the Niro, commenter sp33dklz went as far as saying, "So, by the time this gets to us it will be a new four-door Sportage?" Gold star to you, sir. The front end is a rather busy place, although the rest of the design appears far cleaner. In front, you have almost top-mounted headlights that remind us a bit of the original Subaru B9 Tribeca. Kia's Tiger Grille is there, and it's flanked by four-unit LED running lights, like those used on the Sorento and Optima. While there's a bit too much going on up front, the rear end is a much cleaner affair. A chrome strip ties together the flattop taillights, while a pair of oval exhaust poke out of the silver-colored diffuser/bumper guard. The greenhouse gets an aggressive shape and a thick D-pillar, while meaty wheel arches and large alloy wheels – we're betting they're at least 18s – add some spice to the two-box profile. Check out the trio of images of the new Sportage at the top of the page. Then scroll down for the official press release and register your opinion in Comments. We'll have much more on the all-new Sportage when we make the trek to the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show next month. FIRST EXTERIOR IMAGES OF ALL-NEW SPORTAGE All-new Sportage to be unveiled at IAA Frankfurt New "face" is biggest design change European Design Centre led styling Kia Motors has today revealed the first official exterior images of the all-new Kia Sportage, featuring a dynamic and strong new design. The all-new Sportage will make its global debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show on 15 September 2015. Entering its fourth-generation, the all-new Kia Sportage features a bold, progressive design, with the vehicle's designers creating a sense of power and agility from every angle.