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Hyundai sticks to EV rollout plans, sees solid growth this year

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor said on Thursday it would not delay plans to roll out new electric vehicles and was upbeat about prospects for continued growth this year — a contrast to recent steps by rivals to cut back on EV output. Electric vehicle sales are growing strongly but not as much as carmakers had forecast, with demand hit by high interest rates. "We do not plan to dramatically reduce EV production or our line-up due to likely near-term hurdles as we believe EV sales will grow longer term," Seo Gang Hyun, an executive vice president at the South Korean automaker, told an earnings briefing for analysts. The Hyundai Motor Group, which encompasses the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, said in April it plans to launch 31 EVs by 2030. This includes the launch of the Ioniq 7 SUV next year. Seo said Hyundai's EV sales next year could be slightly lower than previously expected, but the automaker had the production flexibility to boost output of gasoline engine cars if demand shifted that way and he did not expect a significant impact on overall sales. When asked about the impact on Hyundai Motor of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reaching a tentative labour deal with Ford, Seo said the company expects the deal will have an impact on wage increases at its U.S. factories, but such costs could be covered as the automaker has been putting effort into reducing costs, such as in logistics. Hyundai Motor, which is not a member of the UAW, operates an assembly plant in Alabama and is building a factory to produce EVs in Georgia. For the third quarter, Hyundai booked a net profit of 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion), more than double its year-earlier result and beating an LSEG SmartEstimate of 2.9 trillion won, with the automaker helped by a favourable exchange rate. Sales also increased, climbing 8.7% to 41 trillion won on solid demand for high-margin gasoline SUVs. Sales of EVs and hybrids also grew, up by a third to 169,000 units. This month has seen a flurry of downbeat EV announcements. Citing flattening demand for EVs, GM said it would delay production by a year of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickup trucks at a plant in Michigan. Ford is temporarily cutting one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Tesla is also slowing plans for a Mexico factory, while GM and Honda announced on Wednesday that they were ending a $5 billion plan to develop lower-cost EVs together.

Kia confirms Cub "four-door coupe" concept for Seoul

Kia has announced it is headed to the Seoul Motor Show with a new sedan concept. Details are still scarce, but the Kia CUB Concept should be small, at under 13 feet long and come with coupe-like proportions. Kia wants the vehicle to "appeal to trend-setting urban dwellers," a notoriously car-hungry market. The automaker says the Cub has a cheerful face decorated with two-point LED headlamps just like those found on the Quoris flagship, but the teaser image above looks a bit more sinister than happy to us. Kia plans to give the Cub a proper unveiling on March 28.
Hyundai has also given us a glimpse at what the company has planned for Seoul with its HND-9 luxury sports coupe. You can refresh yourself on that machine by checking out the post here. You can also take a closer look at the brief press release below.

Ferrari 488 GTB among the best car designs of 2016 [UPDATE]

Can't decide whether the Ferrari 488 GTB looks better than the 458 Italia it replaces? A design jury has make up its mind. The 2016 Red Dot design awards are being announced today, and Maranello's latest eight-cylinder, mid-engined supercar won top honors. The Red Dot Awards for Product Design recognize the best new products on the market across an array of categories and industries, including automobiles. This year's panel of 41 experts, including Chris Bangle and Ken Okuyama, evaluated some 5,200 designs. From those, they selected 1,304 for a Red Dot award, and only 79 as the "Best of the Best" – among them the new Ferrari. This is the second year in a row the Prancing Horse marque has been awarded the honor, having been earned an award for the FXX K last year. A full list of this year's honorees isn't yet available, and it's uncertain that other automakers will earn awards. Last year's list also included the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and Volvo XC90. The Peugeot 308 SW, if you can believe it, was the only car awarded Best of the Best in 2014, the Audi R8 in 2013, and the Renault Twizy in 2012. UPDATE: The Red Dot organization has released the full list of this year's product design honorees, with the McLaren 570S and Kia Optima also awarded among the Best of the Best. Red Dots were also awarded to the Audi A4, R8, and Q7, BMW 7 Series, M2, and X1, Fiat Toro, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Sportage, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb Estate, and Volvo S90. The jurists also gave Honorable Mentions to the Borgward BX 7, Genesis G90, Mini Clubman, Qoros 3 City SUV, and Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. The 488 GTB wins the Red Dot award The V8 sports car named "Best of the Best" Maranello, 30 March 2016 – The 488 GTB has won the Red Dot Best of the Best award for its design and innovative lines. This is the latest in string of plaudits garnered by the Ferrari Style Centre which also picked up several IF Design Awards in Munich, Germany, at the start of the month. On the latter occasion, the big winner was the FXX K (Red Dot Best of the Best 2015) which took home the Gold Award, the Hannover institute's top prize. However, the 488 GTB and 488 Spider also scored a double whammy at the same event with a Design Excellence Award apiece.