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Hyundai: hydrogen cars will gain wider acceptance in 10 years

Hyundai Motor Company said Monday it believes hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are the future for eco-friendly cars despite challenges of limited infrastructure and slow sales. South Korea's largest automaker has sold or leased 273 Tucson fuel cell SUVs since beginning production in 2013, mostly in Europe and California. The company had plans to make 1,000 in its first year of production. Kim Sae Hoon, general manager at Hyundai's fuel cell engineering design team, said fuel cell cars represent a bigger opportunity than electric cars because competition is less fierce. Hydrogen-powered cars also give more flexibility to designers, he said. They can be scaled to big vehicles such as buses as well as small cars. They can also be refueled as quickly as gasoline cars while traveling more miles than electric vehicles. The Tucson's European version, called the ix35 Fuel Cell, can travel up to 594 kilometers (369 miles) while its US model travels up to 265 miles (426 kilometers) on one charge on the various government efficiency tests. It emits water vapor and no greenhouse gases. High prices and the dearth of fueling stations are barriers to sales of fuel cell vehicles. Hyundai said it will be another 10 years before hydrogen cars start gaining wider acceptance. In the meantime, sales of eco-friendly cars are dominated by hybrid models such as Toyota's Prius and electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, which are more affordable than fuel cell cars. Hyundai also produces hybrid cars and electric vehicles. It plans to invest 11.3 trillion won ($10 billion) in eco-friendly technology including hybrid cars, electric battery vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells in the four years from 2015. To boost sales, Hyundai slashed the Tucson fuel cell's price in South Korea in February to 85 million won ($76,000) from 150 million won ($134,000). South Korean customers are local government offices as there is no government subsidy for consumers. South Korea's government plans to establish 10 charging stations for fuel cell cars and expects 1,000 hydrogen-powered vehicles will be on the streets in South Korea by 2020. Japan started production of hydrogen-powered cars later than South Korea but such vehicles are experiencing faster growth in Japan with support from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government. Toyota started sales of its Mirai fuel cell sedan in December and has decided to increase production to 3,000 vehicles in 2017, which is quadruple production this year.

Hyundai's Genesis luxury brand not going to Europe this decade

After dipping into the premium market with the Genesis and Equus sedans, Hyundai made headlines with the planned launch of a separate premium brand, Genesis. It starts with the renamed G80 (nee Genesis) and redesigned G90 (Equus) sedans here in the US, but European consumers will have to wait. "To launch a premium brand in Europe is a challenge and it's an even bigger challenge if you don't have the products you need for the market," Hyundai Europe Chief Operating Officer Thomas Schmid told Automotive News Europe. "Europe won't see it before 2019. The main reason is we need different powertrains." Powertrains aren't the brand's only shortcoming. With the G70 – a 3 Series competitor – coming as the third showroom product, the brand also won't have a competitor in the increasingly important crossover ranks. As Schmid told ANE, "we don't yet see the right moment to do it because at the end, we want to be successful, and successful also means profitable." Initially, Genesis will launch in North America, the Middle East, China, and South Korea. Pushing back the European launch to 2019 or 2020 should give Genesis some breathing room, ANE reports. By that point, the company will offer six different vehicles, including two CUVs. According to Schmid, the brand would launch in Europe with just five vehicles. At halfway through 2016 and nothing but the G70 on the radar, expect an aggressive product launch schedule in the coming years if Genesis is going to stick to that timeline. Related Video: Featured Gallery Genesis Hybrid Sport Sedan Concept View 10 Photos News Source: Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Genesis Genesis Hyundai Crossover Luxury

2016 Hyundai Tucson shows off its European trim ahead of Geneva

Hyundai is unleashing the first details about its next-generation Tucson ahead of the crossover's official debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show on March 3. So far, the Korean automaker is only talking about European specifications for the latest model that goes on sale in the second half of 2015 there. Still, this glimpse should give a good idea of what to expect from the future version inevitably coming to the US. The new Tucson largely blends the look of the current Santa Fe and last year's Intrado concept into a more angular, rugged CUV than the current model. As in the earlier teaser video, Hyundai's designers gave the latest generation horizontal, chrome-accented slats in the hexagonal grille to match the look of the other recent members in the lineup. The hood also takes on the somewhat flatter design from the Santa Fe, but the lower air dam wears an eye-catching mix of intakes, foglights and LEDs. In profile, there's a distinctive crease down the side, and the wheel wells subtly reinterpret the squared-off look from the Intrado. Inside, Hyundai claims that it focuses on improving material quality, and it's offering an attractive new Wine Red leather interior with black contrast to European buyers. There are also available heated and ventilated seats, and a faster infotainment system. The company is upping the safety assists too with features like Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keeping Assist, Blind Spot Detection and more. These European models are made in the Czech Republic and offer quite an array of powertrain options. The gasoline choices are either a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 133 horsepower or turbo 1.6-liter mill with 174 hp. Diesel selections include a 1.7-liter with 113 hp, 2.0-liter with 134 hp or another tune with 182 hp. Transmission possibilities are either a six-speed manual or automatic, but the 1.6-liter turbo is available with a seven-speed dual clutch. North America will likely get its own drivetrain mix, though. Hyundai didn't release too many shots of the new Tucson. But we'll have live images from the Swiss show floor in a few weeks time.