Category: Hyundai

Hyundai has announced it will launch a luxury in 2010. The news doesn’t come as a surprise until you learn that the new brand will be launched exclusively in China.

"In 2010, we will officially launch our luxury brand name and logo along the lines of Toyota’s Lexus, Nissan’s Infiniti and Honda’s Acura. All of our luxury models will have the new badge," Young-Key Koo, chief representative of Hyundai Motor China for sales and marketing, told Gasgoo.com.

This is not the first time the Korean carmaker is considering launching a new luxury brand as it was rumoured that Hyundai seriously thought about doing it in the US for the new Genesis saloon. However, the carmaker had decided to sell under its name as launching a new brand in the US was too expensive.

Launching a new brand in China is an ambitious plan and a smart move as the current automobile market is still at an early stage where carmakers build their brand image. The news doesn’t mean Hyundai will focus on cheap models. Indeed, Koo said that Hyundai will pursue its goal to move upmarket in China by revealing more luxurious new models in the future. The cheap models will likely be sold under the Kia badge in China.

Here are the first official pictures of the eagerly-awaited Hyundai Genesis coupé that the carmaker will launch at the New York Auto Show in a few weeks.

The coupé’s overall shape had been unveiled under the form of a concept car at the latest Los Angeles Auto Show in last November. As predicted, the production verison is close to the concept car and is a reminiscent of the Infiniti G37 coupé.

Despite replacing the current Coupé SIII, the next-generation will move upmarket by growing in size and featuring more powerful engines. At 4,666 mm, the new Coupé will be 271 mm longer than the current model. The coupé will be available with two engines, a turbocharged 2.0-litre 4 cylinder unit with a power output of 215bhp and a 3.8-litre V6 delivering over 300bhp.

Final spec remains unknown but it is believed that the next-generation Hyundai Coupé will be more expensive. In the US, it is estimated to start at $19,900/£9.850 for the 4-cylinder model and $25,900/£12,850 for the V6 version.

Hyundai has announced the i30 estate pricing which starts at £12,995 for the 1.6-litre petrol engine entry level.

The Hyundai i30 estate will be available with three different trim levels: Comfort, Style and Premium. The Comfort level comes with air conditioning, 15” alloy wheels, ESP, six airbags, electric folding door mirrors and the required USB/iPod connections. The Style trim adds 16” alloy wheels, automatic lights-on sensor, seats with leather trim, leather on the gear knob and the steering wheel and tire pressure monitoring system. The topping level features 17” alloy wheels, climate control, auto-dimming rear view mirror, leather upholstery, heated front seats and reversing sensors.

Two engines will be on offer, a 1.6 petrol engine available with the Style and Comfort trim levels and a 1.6-litre CRDi diesel powertrain only available on the Style and Premium levels. The 1.6-litre petrol unit can be hooked to an automatic gearbox.

i30 Estate 1.6 Comfort: £12,995
i30 Estate 1.6 Style: £13,995
i30 Estate 1.6 Style Auto: £14,995
i30 Estate 1.6 CRDi Style: £14,695
i30 Estate 1.6 CRDi Premium: £16,295

Here is a spyshot of the future Hyundai Coupé which which is expected to be launched later this year. The car has been previewed as a concept car at the last Los Angeles Auto Show.

The eagerly-awaited coupé will be powered by a turbocharged four cylinder petrol engine whose power is said to be near 215bhp. That engine will be featured on the entry-level while the topping versions is rumoured to be powered by the 3.8 litre V6 engine issued from the Hyundai Azera but boosted at 300 bhp. On the other hand, Hyundai’s U.S. product development chief, John Krafcik, has ruled out the rumour of a V8 engine in an interview with Automotive News.

On the inside, previous spyshots had revealed an interior similar the Japanese competitors’. However until now, only the manual gear stick had been shot and the new pictures bring more information about the automatic gearbox. It will offer a manual shifting capability although it appears that it won’t come with Shift paddles. The new pictures also reveal the rear passengers bench which is separated in the middle by a central console featuring a pair of cup holders and some storage.

Click he to see all the pictures

Source: Autoblog

Hyundai has unveiled sketches of a MPV concept car that the company will show at the next Geneva Motor Show.

Called HED-5, the concept car is a compact MPV which is roomy enough for six people. The HED-5 has been developed in collaboration with Recarro, Bayer and LG. The MPV will feature a flexible interior and advanced materials.

Technically, the HED-5 will adopt innovative technologies to reduce CO2 emission by 29%. Those technologies have been designed in such a way that it has a little impact on price and performance.

The company will also unveil the revamped Matrix model.

Hyundai has unveiled the facelifted Sonata outside South Korea for the first time at the Chicago Motor Show. The revamped Sonata features a bolder front fascia and an all-new interior. Under the hood, the company’s best-seller comes with revised powertrains.

The exterior styling of the current Sonata looks a bit tame so Hyundai decided to slightly spice it up by featuring new bumpers, headlights and an enlarged grille whose new frame takes inspiration from the Azera model. But the main changes are in the interior which gets an all-new dashboard. Forget the current cheap dash. Hyundai wants the Sonata to move upmarket and this time Hyundai has put all its expertise into the best dashboard it has ever designed. Gossip mongers won’t hesitate to notice the different styling cues, but the result is rather appealing.

The revamped Sonata will be available with a choice of two petrol engines, a 2.4-litre four cylinder unit and a 3.3-litre V6 engine. The 2.4-litre engine is the Hyundai’s second-generation Theta and has an output of 175bhp and a torque of 168 lb ft. The V6 engine gains 15bhp to 249bhp and has a torque of 229 lb ft. The V6 is hooked up to a five-speed automatic gearbox while the four cylinder unit can be associated with either a five speed manual gearbox or a five speed automatic gearbox. Exact spec for Europe remains unknown but the V6 engine won’t likely come to Europe while there will be a diesel engine.

Hyundai has finally made the decision not to feature the company’s logo on the Genesis set to compete on the premium segment.

At the Detroit Motor Show, Hyundai displayed two Genesis whose only difference was the grille. One was sporting the company’s logo while the other one was featuring four horizontal bars and a divider in the middle. After gauging the reaction to both grilles, Hyundai decided to drop the company’s logo, often synonym with cheap cars.

Also in an interview with Automotive News, Hyundai’s vice president of product development, John Krafic, said that the company expects a fifth of buyers will choose the V8 engine. He also said that cylinder deactivation and direct injection might be developped. He even mentioned a possible supercharger if there is a demand for it.

The Genesis will go on sale from next summer and will be available with a choice of V6 and V8 engines.

Hyundai has announced it has plans to build a rival to the recently unveiled Tata Nano. The car would be sold at a price tag of £1,800.

With a potential market estimated a few million customers, the Tata Nano segment starts to whet other car maker’s appetite. Hyundai is India’s second largest automaker after Maruti, ahead of Tata Motors in third.

According to a Hyundai executive, the car would be launched in 2011 and would be produced locally in its Indian factory.

It may not be obvious but the Hyundai will have sold more than one million Sonata in the US at the end of the year and will become the third company’s model to reach the million milestone on the American market.

The first model to reach the iconic milestone was the Excel which topped 1.14 million vehicles before being discontinued in 1996 while the Elantra saloon sold 1.22 million vehicles up to last month.

First launched in South Korea in 1987, the Sonata was exported in the US in 1989 as an attempt to reinforce the lineup after the success encountered by the Excel model there. Sold at only $4,995 and voted Best Product #10′ by Fortune magazine, it set records for a first-year import by selling 168,882 units.

The Hyundai Sonata has been sold worldwide at 4.12 million vehicles and if you go to South Korea you will be surprised to see the saloon everywhere as it is the top seller there. Hyundai will launch a face-lifted Sonata in our countries next year which has been on sale since November in South Korea.