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Kia recalls 507,000 vehicles in U.S. for airbag issues

WASHINGTON — Kia Motors Corp said on Friday it was recalling more than 507,000 vehicles in the United States because an electronic glitch may prevent airbags from deploying in a crash. The recall follows an announcement in March by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that it was investigating why some airbags had failed to deploy in Kia vehicles and its affiliate Hyundai after crashes in which four people were killed and another six were injured. The two Korean automakers have now recalled nearly 1.1 million U.S. vehicles to address the issue. NHTSA said in March that it was aware of six serious crashes in which airbags failed to deploy in frontal crashes, including four in 2011 model Hyundai Sonatas and two in 2012 and 2013 Kia Forte vehicles. The crash of the 2013 Forte occurred in Canada. Kia's recall issued on Friday covers 2010-2013 Kia Fortes, 2011-2013 Kia Optimas and 2011-2012 Kia Optima Hybrid and Sedona vehicles. The company said the airbag control unit may short circuit because they may be susceptible to electrical overstress, preventing the frontal airbags and seat belt pretensioners, which pull the driver and front seat passenger firmly back into their seats, from deploying. The company said it does not yet have a fix, but is working with its supplier on the issue. Kia spokesman James Bell said the company "is attempting to have a remedy by the scheduled owner notification date of July 27. If Kia does not have a remedy by that date or if any customer feels unsafe in his/her vehicle, we will provide a rental car until the repair has been completed." Hyundai in February issued a recall for 154,000 U.S. Sonatas after non-deployment reports were linked to electrical overstress in the air bag control unit. In April, Hyundai recalled an additional 425,000 U.S. vehicles to address the same issue. Hyundai said in March that it was aware of reports of two deaths in its vehicles, which occurred in head-on collisions at extremely high rates of speed. NHTSA said the airbag control module under investigation was built by ZF Friedrichshafen AG, a German auto supplier. ZF said on Friday that it has worked with Kia and "continues to cooperate and support NHTSA and its customers in the investigation." The safety agency also said that electrical overstress appeared to be the root cause in a 2016 recall by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV of 1.4 million U.S. vehicles for airbag non-deployments in significant frontal crashes.

Hyundai poaches another BMW M exec to run high-performance N division

Hyundai has poached a third executive for its N high-performance division from the ranks of BMW's M department. Thomas Schemera, a 31-year BMW veteran, will head the High Performance Vehicle & Motorsport Division that Hyundai just inaugurated on March 1. Schemera's job will be to "oversee strategy, product planning, sales and marketing for the new division." He will make the most of the transfer from Hyundai Motorsport to the road cars developed by the N division, and work to boost the brand. Schemera has the same boss at N that he did at M: Albert Biermann, the first M exec Hyundai snagged in 2015. After Biermann came Fayez Abdul Rahman, installed at the Genesis brand, who had previously developed platforms for the BMW 7 Series, X models, and M vehicles. Rahman spent the last phase of his BMW tenure in charge of M Equipment, M Sport Packages, and BMW Individual. Although he's undoubtedly busy with his VP job in charge of Genesis architecture development, we hear Hyundai plans to develop some kind of "N Sport" appearance and performance items for release later this year — a middle step in the same vein as M Sport and Audi S-line — and Rahman could certainly help. Schemera brings proven chops when it comes to moving standard and specialty hi-po offerings; as VP in charge of sales and dealer development in China, Schemera oversaw a four-fold increase in BMW and M sales in the four years from 2005-2008. He ended his run as head of BMW M and BMW Individual in the Americas. Although there's but one N product for sale now, the slate is full, and Hyundai looks ready to spend the time and money to seize every opportunity. BMW on the other hand, might soon turn into that tormented significant other regarding its M personnel: "So ... why did you let Hyundai like your Instagram post? Do you like Hyundai? Do you follow them back?!" Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Hyundai Veloster N: Detroit 2018 View 16 Photos Image Credit: Drew Phillips / Autoblog Auto News BMW Hyundai Performance bmw m albert biermann

HyFive hydrogen infrastructure gets $51M boost across Europe

"High five!" was one of the catch-phrases of Sacha Baron Cohen's Kazakh comedic alter ego Borat. A real-world HyFive is being announced by a power broker named Boris. And this is serious business. London Mayor Boris Johnson has announced a program called HyFive, which will see automakers and other entities invest 31 million British pounds ($51 million US) in a demonstration project for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. By next year, London will have three hydrogen refueling stations, while there will be one each in the Danish cities of Aarhus and Odense and one in Innsbruck, Austria. Leaders of the program are planning for other stations in Sweden, Germany and Italy. The five participating automakers are BMW, Mercedes-Benz parent Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Toyota, while other companies involved include Copenhagen Hydrogen Network, ITM Power and Linde. Those OEMs will make 110 fuel-cell vehicles available for deployment in Bolzano, Copenhagen, Innsbruck, London, Munich and Stuttgart. The program represents an effort to address the "chicken or egg?" challenge inherent to establishing a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle market. While the powertrain technology provides benefits by combining fossil-fuel-like refueling times with long driving ranges and zero emissions, establishing a refueling network and building fuel-cell vehicles is prohibitively expensive, especially in low volumes. The London mayor is no stranger to green transportation technology. Late last year, Johnson made himself available for a photo opportunity with Ecotive and Frazer-Nash, which had developed a six-passenger extended-range plug-in taxicab. The mayor got a test drive in the cabs this week. You can check out the HyFive press release below. Global leaders sign up to GBP31m plan to demonstrate viability of hydrogen vehicles International project HyFive pioneers hydrogen fuel cell technology A pioneering GBP31 million deal will be struck today (3 April) to make hydrogen vehicles a viable and environmentally friendly choice for motorists across Europe. Leading motor manufacturers, hydrogen fuel suppliers, the Mayor of London's Office and energy consultancies from around the globe are signing up to the HyFive project, the largest of its kind in Europe, at City Hall in London today.