2010 Kia Forte Sx Coupe 2-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Hyundai sees tough year ahead, plans to introduce 13 new models

SEOUL — South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group predicted another year of tepid car sales growth on the back of a slow 2018, saying trade protectionism adds uncertainty and major markets such as the United States and China remained sluggish. In his first New Year address to employees, group heir apparent Euisun Chung said Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors would complete a restructuring of South Korea's second-biggest conglomerate, which is widely expected to pave the way for him to formally succeed his octogenarian father as head of the group. The complicated succession plans come as Hyundai contends with a bunch of problems that have cost it market share in China and the United States and stalled its rise up the ranks of global automakers. It missed a boom in sports utility vehicles (SUVs), faces potential U.S. tariffs and a U.S. investigation over how it handled a vehicle recall, and lost ground in technological advances such as self-driving cars. "Business uncertainties are heightening as the global economy continues to falter. Walls of protectionism are being constructed around the world," Chung, 48, told hundreds of employees at the group's headquarters in Seoul. "Internally, we face challenging tasks such as stabilizing business in major markets like the U.S. and China, while simultaneously enhancing our responsiveness to drive future growth." Hyundai and Kia — together the world's fifth-biggest automaker — set what they called a "conservative target" of 7.6 million vehicle sales in 2019, a 3 percent increase from the 7.399 million vehicles sold last year. The 2018 sales fell short of the group's target of 7.55 million vehicles, marking its fourth consecutive annual sales goal miss. The duo sold 7.25 million vehicles in 2017. Morgan Stanley expects global auto production to fall 1 percent in 2019, the first drop in nine years. In that environment, the group said it would launch 13 new or face-lifted models in 2019, including a premium Genesis SUV, the big Hyundai Palisade SUV and the Sonata sedan. "Hyundai will be launching new models, but competitors will be also doing so, making it difficult for Hyundai to increase shares in the sluggish markets in China, U.S. and Europe," said Sean Kim, an analyst at Dongbu Securities. Hyundai shares ended down 3.8 percent and Kia slumped 2.7 percent, while the wider market <.KS11> was down 1.5 percent.

Trump encouraged by talk of 'a level playing field' on trade with South Korea

South Korea is a longstanding American ally, but President Donald Trump has spoken harshly about U.S. trade imbalances and threatened to tear up the bilateral trade pact. "We will do more to remove barriers to reciprocal trade and market access," Trump said, adding that the two leaders had talked about the thorny trade areas of steel and autos. Trump said he was encouraged by South Korea's President Moon Jae-in's assurances that he would seek a level playing field for American workers and businesses, particularly automakers. A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to work together to reduce over supply of basic materials such as steel and non-tariff barriers. It also said Trump had accepted an invitation from Moon to visit South Korea this year. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said it was unwise for Trump to air the trade issue so publicly. "Public complaints by Trump about unfair trade and inadequate defense spending provide opportunities for China and North Korea to drive a wedge between the allies," she said. The U.S. goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since the U.S.-Korea free trade pact known as KORUS took effect in 2012. The agreement was forecast to boost U.S. exports by $10 billion a year, but in 2016 they were $3 billion lower than in 2011. At the start of Friday's talks, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the largest component of the deficit was automotive trade and many non-tariff barriers to U.S. auto exports to South Korea remained. "I think the way to address it is to deal product by product with what we can do to change the export side and what we can do to reduce the bad imports side," he said. Ross said later on Friday that some progress had been made in the talks. The current pact was agreed to despite protests by supporters of Moon, who was then in opposition. But analysts have suggested that given the need to preserve a unified front in the face of a hostile North Korea, there could be compromise on both sides to resolve issues. (By David Brunnstrom and Lisa Lambert. Additional reporting by Fatima Bhojani, Roberta Rampton, Tim Ahmann, David Chance, David Lawder and Eric Beech; Editing by Bill Trott and Andrew Hay) Related Video: Image Credit: Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters Government/Legal Genesis Hyundai Kia trade

Camaro SS, Hellcat Widebody, and an Airstream camper | Autoblog Podcast #545

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Green Editor John Beltz Snyder and Senior Editor Alex Kierstein. We talk about a lot of American stuff, including the Chevy Camaro SS 1LE and the new Blazer, Dodge Challenger Hellcat Widebody, Ford's new train station and a diesel F-150 towing an Airstream trailer, as well as some Tesla pickup news. Somehow the Kia Stinger also made its way into this red, white and blue episode (because it's great, and it's our new long-termer). This week, we try something a little different in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #545 Your browser does not support the audio element. Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we've been driving: Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Widebody, Kia Stinger AWD Visiting Ford's new train station in Detroit Camping with a Ford F-150 Diesel and an Airstream Basecamp Chevy unveiled the new Blazer New Tesla pickup truck details Spend my money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Chevrolet Dodge Ford Kia Truck Coupe Crossover Electric Future Vehicles Performance Sedan RVs/Campers chevy blazer michigan central station