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Hyundai boosted production in March, so now its cars sit in U.S. ports

SEOUL — As Detroit's automakers shut production in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's Hyundai cranked up its factories back home to ship cars to the United States, a move that is proving costly for the world's fifth-largest auto group. Hyundai ramped up domestic production to as much as 98% of capacity by late March, not only as the Korean market was recovering from a bad February but also because it bet on demand for Tucson SUVs and other models from U.S. customers, its biggest overseas market outside of China. While Hyundai is one of few global automakers whose production has recovered at home, its exports optimism has been dampened by the severity of the U.S. outbreak, weak consumer sentiment and as rivals have quickly moved to guard their turf. Consignments of cars shipped from South Korea are now sitting in U.S. ports, with dealers slow to take deliveries because of slumping sales and rising inventory, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The company idled a Tucson production line at home last week for five days, while sister firm Kia is looking to suspend three Korean plants for a week. And analysts now expect a sharp drop in first-quarter operating profit when it reports results on Thursday and some even forecast a second-quarter loss. "I hope that the situation will recover by the middle of next month. If not, we might have to lay off some people," said Brad Cannon, general manager of an exclusive Hyundai dealership in California, whose sales are down more than 50% from when the pandemic started. Hyundai runs a factory in Alabama — which is closed until May 1 — but imports are key to meet U.S. demand. Only about half of its vehicles sold in the United States are made in North America compared to between 68% and 85% for Japanese rivals Toyota, Nissan and Honda, who have also suspended production there till May. The South Korean company makes about 61% of its cars overseas, up from 48% a decade ago. That leaves it vulnerable to overseas factory shutdowns and shrinking demand outside of its home market. Hyundai's South Korean factory operation, which had recovered from a component shortage from China to nearly 100% capacity by March, could fall to as much as 70% in April, the company recently told analysts. "We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action promptly," Hyundai said in an emailed statement. Minimizing the impact For its part, Hyundai has taken measures to minimize the impact.

2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport aims to be the Korean Jetta GLI

We've had a good idea of what the upcoming Elantra Sport would be like thanks to Hyundai's reveal of the Avante Sport, the quicker version of the Elantra's Korean-market twin. Now we know just how similar the two are: essentially identical. The Elantra Sport features a turbocharged 1.6-liter four cylinder engine that anyone familiar with the Veloster Turbo will recognize. Oddly though, at 200 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque, the engine is rated 1 horsepower and 5 lb-ft of torque less than either the turbo Veloster or Avante. The front-wheel drive Elantra Sport can also be ordered with either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed dual clutch transmission. We're happy to report the Elantra Sport and its Avante twin will share a new multi-link rear suspension. This replaces the less sophisticated torsion bar suspension and will hopefully contribute to more agile handling. Hyundai did not announce whether the Avante Sport's optional "extreme package" anti-roll bars, springs and shocks would be available in the States. We certainly hope they will at least be an option. The Avante Sport and Elantra Sport will also share exterior and interior updates. These updates give the fastest Elantra a subtle, classy look. Larger intake vents, a rear diffuser panel, larger wheels and slightly extended ground effects all say sporty without shouting it. The theme continues inside with red stitching on the flat-bottom steering wheel and more aggressive "sport" seats. The Elantra Sport also finds itself in an odd position. Many of the performance cars in its size segment have moved up in power. There are some small sedans that come close to the Elantra Sport's 200 ponies such as the turbocharged Honda Civic, 2.5-liter Mazda3 and the lame-duck 2.4-liter Dodge Dart. But when it comes to enthusiast-oriented small sedans with at least 200 horses, there's only one true option: the Volkswagen Jetta GLI. In fact, the 210-horsepower GLI matches the Elantra Sport quite nicely, as it also features subtle styling and just enough sportiness to feel special. Hyundai has yet to announce pricing, but if it undercuts the German veteran by a significant margin, it could become a bargain choice for the driver who wants some, but not too much, fun. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport View 19 Photos Image Credit: Hyundai Hyundai Performance Sedan turbocharged jetta gli

Hyundai recalling 140k Sonatas over seatbelts

Hyundai is recalling about 140,000 examples of the 2015 Sonata in North America to repair a problem with the front passenger seatbelt not latching. Specifically, the problem affects 129,000 of the sedans in the US and 10,401 in Canada. On these models, if the seatbelt tongue is forcibly inserted into the buckle at a certain angle, then it can jam and not latch. Only the front passenger side is affected, and driver would be notified because a warning light would illuminate on the dashboard. The safety campaign covers 2015 Sonatas with production dates between April 25 and December 4, 2014, according to a statement to Autoblog from Hyundai, but there are no reports of injuries from this issue. Owners will receive notification by mail in about a month. To fix the problem, dealers will inspect the part and repair or replace it as necessary. Hyundai has already notified NHTSA about the recall, but the campaign hasn't been added to the agency's website yet. Transport Canada has already posted some information about it, though. Related Video: Hyundai Statement: We recently notified NHTSA of a safety recall we are initiating in the U.S. to repair or replace the front passenger seat belt buckle in approximately 129,000 2015 Sonatas that were built beginning April 25, 2014 through December 4, 2014. We are initiating this action to ensure the safety and quality of the vehicles and the continued satisfaction of our customers. In some cases, if the front passenger seat belt "tongue" is inserted into the buckle forcibly at an angle, the buckle may jam, preventing the front passenger from fastening the seat belt. The front passenger's seat belt warning lamp will illuminate if the front passenger seat belt is not buckled while the seat is occupied. This condition does not result in partial latching of the belt and does not affect the driver or rear passenger seat belt buckles. There are no reports of injuries attributed to this condition.