2022 Kia Sorento Sx on 2040-cars

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Hyundai shutters engine development in shift to electric and hydrogen vehicles

Hyundai is quickly pivoting into an era of electric vehicles. Shortly after announcing it would halve the number of internal combustion models, it launched its first EV on its dedicated Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), the supremely enjoyable Ioniq 5. Now, as The Korea Economic Daily reports, Hyundai Motor Group, which includes sister brand Kia and luxury brand Genesis, has closed its engine development division at its research and development center in South Korea to put those resources into electric powertrain development. According to the report, researchers from engine design are moving to its electrification design center, but a few remain behind to continue to refine existing internal combustion engines. The powertrain system development center will become an electrification test center, and the performance division will focus on electric performance. The group has also established a battery development center, and the R&D Center will also focus on raw materials for batteries and semiconductors. In an email, R&D boss Park Chung-Kook told employees, “Now, it is inevitable to convert into electrification. Our own engine development is a great achievement, but we must change the system to create future innovation based on the great asset from the past.” Hyundai Motor Group is targeting one million EVs a year by 2025, and full electrification by the year 2040. In addition to the newly launched Ioniq 5, Hyundai is planning to launch the Ioniq 6 EV, based on the stunning Prophecy concept, in 2022, and weÂ’ve already seen spy shots of that prototype in testing. That will be followed by the full-size Ioniq 7 SUV in 2024, which was recently previewed by the Seven Concept at the 2021 L.A. Auto Show. Kia is set to launch the EV6 in 2022, and Genesis recently revealed the GV60 electric crossover, both of which will use HyundaiÂ’s E-GMP architecture. Genesis also recently revealed an electric version of the GV70 crossover in China. Of course, Hyundai is also invested in hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, both commercial vehicles like its Xcient trucks, and passenger cars like the Nexo and the recently revealed Vision FK concept. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2021 Kia Sedona minivan won't look much like a minivan

In June, Kia first teased the exterior of the fourth-generation 2021 Carnival minivan for South Korea that we know as the Sedona, then it teased the interior. Today, the Asian automaker combines the photo sets with explanations about what Kia calls the new-generation "grand utility vehicle" — or as Car Advice calls it, "The 'guv'" — will provide customers inside and out. The exterior aims for a more upscale SUV-ish look, with a longer hood and more upright A-pillar offsetting the reduced front overhang, and faux skid plates on front and rear bumpers. The new take on the trademark "Tiger Nose" grille gets large-pore diagonal mesh within a chrome band that incorporates the super-slim headlights and LED running lights. Straight shoulder and lower character lines connect more pronounced wheel arches. Above that, black A- and B-pillars create what Kia calls an "island roof," a hockey-stick C-pillar the only contrasting flourish between the floating upper and the body. In back, a full-width red light bar mimics the slim illumination in front. That body sits on Kia's new midsize platform and has grown in wheelbase by 1.2 inches, in overall length by 1.6 inches, 1.2 of that being rear overhang, and width gets an extra pip of 0.4 inches. Liftover height has been lowered an inch to make loading the family tackle easier, as do the power tailgate and power-sliding doors. There will be up to eight exterior paint choices, and wheel sizes ranging from 17 to 19 inches. Under that longer hood there will either be a gasoline direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 with 290 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, a multi-port injected 3.5-liter V6 with 268 hp and 245 lb-ft, or a 2.2-liter four-cylinder diesel making 200 hp and 325 lb-ft. Since there's no mention of a four-cylinder, the Sedona won't follow the new Sorento's lead. We expect one of those gas options over here, but we're not sure which, and their outputs bracket the output from the current 3.3 liter that makes 276 hp and 248 lb-ft. A rotary shifter will control an eight-speed automatic in all trims.  Handling, ride, ambiance, and NVH improve thanks to a new fully independent suspension attached at some points with liquid-filled bushings to a new multi-skeletal cross-member. There's more sound-deadening throughout the body, a covered underbody to reduce noise, and a reshaped intake to hush the engines.

Kia argues the coronavirus pandemic will leave a mark on car design

Shared and connected, the toaster-shaped concepts paraded in front of CES attendees each year look like rolling germ incubators in a year marred by a global pandemic. Digitally hitching a ride with four or five perfect strangers suddenly seems like a good way to get sick, and one of Kia's top executives argued that, in the coming years, automakers will need to rethink the way they design car interiors to address the public's lingering fears. "We're going to have talks with psychologists and anthropologists to really understand how the public's psyche is going to be in the future. There are things we've already been talking about: Can we have anti-viral coatings in our interiors? Can you use temperature or ultraviolet light to sanitize surfaces? These are things we will have to talk about rather soon," affirmed Karim Habib, Kia's design chief, during an interview with British magazine Car. He brought up the possibility of developing new, germ-repellent materials Kia could use to manufacture door handles, gear selectors, steering wheels, and other common touch points. And, he called into question the various car-sharing programs some companies have poured millions of dollars into in recent years. "What does this mean for cars? I think we'll have to wait and see. Right now, we are trying to expand our understanding of what this might mean, not only for the types of vehicles we drive, but also how to design vehicles for shared mobility, or not, as the case may be," he explained. Sister company Hyundai is trying to answer the same questions. It's experimenting with ways to beam ultraviolet rays from the dome light to kill viruses in car interiors. COVID-19 comes to mind, but this technology can -- in theory -- zap other infectious agents. The issue, as we reported, is that UV light harms human skin, so it would only have to be blasted into the cabin when no one is in the car. There's no word on when Hyundai will put this technology in a car, or whether it will reach production, but it's already used globally in the medical sector. Ford is taking a different approach to killing germs. It released software that bakes viruses by heating the cabin to about 133 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. This feature is only available on the Explorer-based Police Interceptor Utility as of writing, though the company plans to add it to other models sooner or later. "So, yes: COVID-19 will very much influence the way we design our cars in the future," Habib concluded. Kia