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Hyundai Motor heir Euisun Chung takes over from father after 20 years in waiting

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group appointed Euisun Chung as group chairman on Wednesday, cementing his succession from his octogenarian father in a move likely to give impetus to the world's fifth-largest automaker's push into electric vehicles and flying cars. In the first generational handover at the South Korean automobile giant in 20 years, Chung, 49, said he hoped to lead change at South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate as it battles to stay ahead of the pack in a time of rapid technological innovation in the global auto industry. "Carrying on their bold and innovative legacies, I feel privileged, yet also a sense of great responsibility for opening a new chapter of Hyundai Motor Group," Chung said in his inauguration speech to employees. Chung identified autonomous driving, electrification, hydrogen fuel cell, robotics and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) — industry jargon for flying cars — as his initiatives for the future. Hyundai Motor shares were trading up 0.3% after rising as much as 2.5% after the appointment, while the wider market was down 0.6%. Kia Motors and Hyundai Mobis fell 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively.   Legacies Hyundai Motor Group earlier on Wednesday said Chung had been promoted to chairman from executive vice chairman, replacing his father, Mong-Koo Chung, who was made honorary chairman. Key affiliates of Hyundai Motor Group, including Hyundai Motor, endorsed his inauguration unanimously. The appointment makes Chung the latest third-generation leader to take over one of South Korea's family-led conglomerates, which have been credited with lifting the war-stricken country out of poverty since the 1950s. His father took the wheel of the group in 2000 and transformed the company, once mocked for poor vehicle quality, into the world's No.5 automaker. The 82-year-old has been stepping back from frontline operations in recent years, and gave up his board seat in Hyundai Motor earlier this year. Euisun Chung has played an increasingly visible leadership role since September 2018 when he was promoted to executive vice chairman. Hyundai Motor Group invested $1.6 billion in a self-driving technology joint venture with U.S. Aptiv, forged a partnership with Uber on electric air taxis and invested in ride-hailing firm Grab. In July, Chung set a goal to win more than 10% of the global market for battery EVs by 2025.

Lower gas prices mean there are excellent deals on green cars right now

The phenomenon was big enough to make news in 2006, then in 2008, in 2011, in 2012, in 2013, and again last year: a big move in gas prices means a big move in alternative-fuel-vehicle sales. True Car's TrueSavings report, which averages transaction prices across the country to figure out what people are paying compared to MSRP, shows that electric cars and hybrids are ripe for excellent savings right now. The Ford Focus Electric presents the greatest disparity, with the average transaction price of $25,168 representing a 16.1-percent saving off its $29,995 MSRP. The Kia Optima Hybrid and Toyota Prius also snagged spots in the top five, with the Kia offering a 10.7-percent discount and the Toyota a 10.1-percent discount. One hybrid managed to show up among the top five lease offers, too: the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid is just $315 a month for 36 months after $3,875 down in some markets. Alt-energy vehicles got bumped out of the top five finance deals, however. That was dominated by light trucks and, oddly, two subcompacts. The press release below has more details. TrueCar finds hybrids, EVs top list of best savings in January Gasoline price plunge = savings for consumers on alternative fuel vehicles SANTA MONICA, Calif., Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Ford's Focus Electric hatchback, which sells at an average of 16 percent off MSRP, tops January's list of best savings on new vehicles, according to TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE), the negotiation-free car buying and selling platform. The "TrueSavings" monthly report analyzes current transaction prices and identifies opportunities for consumer savings. "Fuel savings are not top of mind to many consumers right now, and that makes this a great time to buy a hybrid or electric vehicle," said John Krafcik, president of TrueCar. "With gasoline prices now averaging just $2.10 per gallon, and vehicle preferences tied so closely to short-term gasoline prices, automakers are heavily discounting their most fuel-efficient cars to clear inventories." Toyota's Prius, the world's best-selling alternative fuel vehicle for more than a decade, also makes January's list of best savings. Customers who purchase a Prius Two model this month can save 10 percent off the hybrid car's $25,025 MSRP. "Gasoline prices and vehicle type preferences are strongly related, and this relationship is cyclical in nature," said Krafcik.

Hyundai Group design chief wants more differentiation between models and brands

Luc Donckerwolke, the man who oversees design at Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, is determined to get more differentiation into the model range. He not only wants greater visual separation between all the models in the range, he also wants more distinction between Hyundai Group cars and others in the respective segments, and global distinctions so that a Hyundai in China doesn't necessarily look like one built for North America. He told Autocar, "We will not have a global design language because otherwise it's too rigid. [The alternative is] more work, but it's more flexible." Donckerwolke gets an extreme look at the results of homogeneous design, because an enormous number of cars on the road in South Korea are Hyundai Group products. "[Our] core task is to differentiate the design philosophy of the three brands, not least because we have a big [around 70%] share in Korea. We need to differentiate each model, otherwise the landscape is too homogeneous." Top-down, each brand gets a design brief. Hyundai will be Hyundai's "sexy, seductive and sensuous, sporty, eager and stylish," holding onto its value proposition while adding emotion. Kia will be "young, challenging and cool — cooler than before," said brand design chief Byungchul Juh, with Donckerwolke adding that it's about "streetwear — bold, fresh and young." And Genesis is "haute couture." Donckerwolke characterizes the design philosophy as not "Russian dolls but ... chess pieces, with a look that reveals its own charismatic character. For example, Kia's used to be about the tiger nose grille, separate headlights and the lower intake. Now it's going to be more of a mask that will deliver sportiness and a presence." Kia designer Juh said, "There will be a distinct version of tiger face for each segment, and we'll keep the tiger nose grille. In principle it's the same, but there's a different interpretation for each segment, and more of a 3D feeling. We're moving from a nose to a face." The sketches we've seen of Kia's coming small global crossover take a first step, and we're told the next Sportage will make more impact than the new Tucson. As for Hyundai, the next Sonata will "be the design flag-bearer." We wait to see how much of the vehicle all of this affects. But right now, look at the 2020 Elantra and Sonata from the front three-quarter; ignore their front fascias, and they're two sizes of one sausage.