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Hyundai's battle plan: More crossovers, no more Azera

We're living in a crossover world, and Hyundai is open about the fact that it's been struggling to meet demand for its utility models. Without production constraints, says Hyundai Motor America CEO Dave Zuchowski, the Tucson compact crossover would be outselling Hyundai's perennial volume model, the Elantra. There's a wide-reaching plan in place now to make sure Hyundai dealers are stocked with the models people want to buy. Step one involves upping output of existing models. Hyundai has brought tooling into its Montgomery, AL, factory to build Santa Fe Sport models alongside the Elantra and Sonata. (The bulk of Santa Fe Sport production takes place at the maxed-out facility in West Point, GA.) This will increase the model's annual production capacity by about 50,000 units. The new Tucson, which just went on sale last year, is being afforded an extra 50,000 or so units of capacity this year, which should put it ahead of the Elantra in the company's internal sales race. View 27 Photos The second part of the plan will bring new models. A B-segment crossover is in the works. This is a catch-up move to go up against several new models that seemingly popped out of nowhere: the Jeep Renegade, Fiat 500X, Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Chevy Trax, and Nissan Juke. Toyota is the only other volume player still noticeably absent from, or at least not on the way to, this party, and that will be fixed with the next Scion model. The Genesis luxury brand has also promised crossover models, and we anticipate the engineers are doing all they can to get those to market as quickly as possible. Because Genesis models will be on platforms distinct from those Hyundai uses, it could be a couple years before the fancy utes land. When the lineup is filled out, bet on luxurious subcompact, compact, midsize, and fullsize crossovers. There's a good chance Genesis crossovers will outnumber its car models. As for the Hyundai brand's car models, remember the Azera? Neither does anyone else. Getting rid of this slow-selling sedan will help free up capacity as well as showroom space. The fullsize sedan is likely to continue on in other markets – specifically the home market, where it's called the Grandeur – but Hyundai Motors America won't go through the trouble of getting it ready to sell (or not sell) in the States any more.

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.

Hyundai will open up some hydrogen fuel cell patents in Korea

Last year, Tesla made its electric vehicle patents open source. Last month, Toyota did the same with some of its hydrogen fuel cell patents. Now, Hyundai is going to let some Korean companies get access to the automaker's patents as parts of a innovation center project in Gwangju, South Korea. Just Auto reports that about 1,000 "unused patents" belonging to Kia and Hyundai will be made available to participants in a new automotive start-up hub. There will be 12 of these hubs in Korea, not all focused on hydrogen fuel cells. Hyundai said that it will help raise $164 million to help turn Gwangju in a center for eco-friendly industry. Phil Floraday, Hyundai Motor America manager of Midwest Product Public Relations, told AutoblogGreen that, "The main purpose of the patents mentioned in the story will be to nurture small- and medium-sized businesses in the Gwangju area. While we cannot clarify all the patents at this time, we can tell you that they are not entirely focused on FCEV or eco-friendly patents only." Featured Gallery 2015 Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell View 29 Photos News Source: Just Auto Government/Legal Green Hyundai Hydrogen Cars patent