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Hyundai's Western designers want a Genesis supercar

Will Genesis build a supercar? The answer is that it could, eventually ... if the Hyundai Motor executives are convinced by the Western designers they've hired. Speaking with Peter Schreyer and Luc Donckerwolke at the New York Auto Show last week, Australia's CarAdvice reports that there is a desire within the company to create a supercar to cap the Genesis lineup, but that it might take a while. "It's still some time away, something like this," Schreyer told CarAdvice. "All these things take a little bit of time. We're just at the beginning and things like that, you know, we need to talk about and develop more." Donkerwolke seemed even more optimistic. "I won't reveal the secret now because it's still my baby! Obviously, yes, this is part of the interest of designing a brand, being able to create [supercars]. It's not just something which we'll do, let's say a rational traditional project, but there will be some highlights." The Hyundai N 2025 Vision Grand Turismo concept is shown above. Both Schreyer and Donkerwolke came to Hyundai from the Volkswagen Group. Schreyer now serves as one of three presidents at Kia and chief designer for the entire Hyundai portfolio. Donkerwolke recently joined him to run the premium design office for the Genesis brand, having designed the Lamborghini Gallardo, Murcielago, and Bentley EXP 10 Speed 6 concept, among others. Joining the likes of the Acura NSX, Lexus LFA, and Audi R8 may be a priority for the designers, but they'll like face a difficult task in convincing the bean-counters in Seoul to ever green-light such a project. "This is very difficult for them, the company is there to exist," said Schreyer. "It's a business." Related Video: Featured Gallery Hyundai N 2025 Vision Gran Turismo Concept: Frankfurt 2015 View 17 Photos News Source: CarAdviceImage Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / AOL Design/Style Genesis Hyundai Supercars supercar

Hyundai testing Sprinter-style commercial van

Commercial vehicle sales are a key component to the success of many automakers, and in its persistent drive to become one of the largest in the world, it's a segment Hyundai can't very well ignore. But while it offers the i800 and H-series vans overseas, it hasn't offered anything bigger than a Tucson or Santa Fe in North America since the demise of the Entourage and Veracruz. That could all change in the near future, however, if these latest spy shots are anything to go by.
Pictured undergoing testing in Europe, this Hyundai commercial van prototype looks to be about the size of a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter or Ram ProMaster. There's little we can tell from these disguised spy shots at the moment, other than to note that this Hyundai is big and has small wheels, in typical European van style. We can't even tell if this is front-, rear- or all-wheel drive.
Of course, we have no indication at this point whether the van pictured here will make the transatlantic voyage to American showrooms. But with Mercedes having led the Euro van charge with the aforementioned Sprinter, and with the likes of Ford, Ram and Nissan all following suit, it seems possible. However, between the upgrades to service departments often necessary to accommodate such large vehicles and the sales retraining necessary to court commercial truck customers, doing so wouldn't simply be a plug-and-play operation - it would undoubtedly take a great deal of effort and money.

The world's first fuel cell car sharing program launches in Germany

As EVs become increasingly mainstream, they seem to have found a natural home in carsharing services. BlueIndy has left its mark on Indianapolis, Ford has been testing its own EV sharing programs, Japan and China have seen their share of programs pop up, electric carsharing is helping low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and more models continue to emerge. On the flip side, Car2go made news recently when it pulled EVs from its fleet in San Diego. Absent from the carsharing scene, though, have been hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. But even that is changing. In Munich, Germany, industrial gases company (think hydrogen) Linde has launched BeeZero, a carsharing service comprised completely of fuel cell vehicles. The fleet is made up of Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell crossovers (called the ix35 Fuel Cell in Europe). It's the first hydrogen-powered carsharing service in the world, and Bavaria just happens to be a hub for hydrogen research and technology. Beezero, a new subsidiary of Linde, begins public service this summer with a fleet of 50 Tucson Fuel Cells. It offers users on-demand access to zero-emissions driving, but without the range limitations of battery electric vehicles. These H2-powered Hyundais can travel over 370 miles on a single tank, offering more flexibility to travel to the surrounding areas. If users want to visit the nearby lakes or mountains, they'll also have room to cart their gear with them. Drivers will be able to reserve a car online or through a smartphone app, and vehicles will be available in various zones in and around the city of Munich. As for the hydrogen used to fuel the fleet, Linde creates it from sustainable sources, promising carbon-neutral voyages. While the public gets access to hydrogen-powered mobility, Linde gets to learn from the experience. "We expect to gain valuable information from day-to-day fleet operations which we will use to further develop our hydrogen technologies and to help expand the hydrogen infrastructure," says Linde Executive Board member Dr. Christian Bruch. "BeeZero synergises two mobility trends that are gaining a lot of ground at the moment – car sharing and zero emissions – and will bring the benefits of fuel cell technology to a wider group of potential users." Read more in the press release below.