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Hyundai will invest $35 billion in autonomy and emerging technologies

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to invest $35 billion (41 trillion won) in mobility and other auto technologies by 2025, part of which will be directed to an ambitious effort to become more competitive in self-driving cars that has also received government backing. The plan, which Hyundai said encompasses autonomous, connected and electric cars as well as technology for ride-sharing, comes after the automaker and two of its affiliates announced an investment of $1.6 billion in a venture with U.S. self-driving tech firm Aptiv. South Korea's government is also onboard, unveiling more funding for autonomous vehicle technology with President Moon Jae-in declaring on Tuesday that he expected self-driving cars to account for half of new cars on the country's roads by 2030. "The self-driving market is a golden market to revitalize the economy and create new jobs," Moon said in a speech at Hyundai Motor's research center near Seoul. The government intends to spend 1.7 trillion won between 2021 and 2027 on self-driving technology. It expects Hyundai to launch level 4, or fully autonomous, cars for fleet customers in 2024 and for the general public by 2027, an industry ministry official told Reuters. But some experts question whether targets set by the government and the automotive group, which also includes Kia Motors, are realistic given the technological and cost challenges and the lack of home-grown technology. In a 45-page report on future automotive technology, the government acknowledged South Korea lags in some key areas necessary for self-driving cars such as artificial intelligence, sensors and logic chips. "Hyundai has to buy technology from someone else because it lacks software technology. Even though it has a lot of cash, this could become a financial burden if its earnings deteriorate," Esther Yim, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said. Other analysts noted that the prospects for self-driving cars are quite murky. General Motors' self-driving unit, Cruise, said in July it was delaying the commercial deployment of cars past its target of 2019 as tech firms and automakers acknowledge it will take more time and money than they had expected to make autonomous vehicles safe for unrestricted use on public roads. South Korea's government said it would prepare a regulatory and legal framework for autonomous cars and the safety questions they pose by 2024.

Kia's Australian arm wants a Toyota Land Cruiser-like SUV

The team in charge of Kia's Australian division is asking the company's top brass for a rugged, body-on-frame SUV with Toyota Land Cruiser-like off-road capacity. The model could arrive quickly if it's approved for production. "We need probably one or two bigger [SUVs], to be quite honest. That would help us dramatically," affirmed Damien Meredith, the chief operating officer of Kia Australia, in an interview with Motoring. He added there's room above the Sorento for a new SUV, and he requested a sturdy model capable of towing and going off-road. In the United States, Kia's biggest SUV — and the largest car it has ever put its name on — is the well-received Telluride (pictured) released in 2019. It's not as tough as the body-on-frame model Meredith has in mind, and it's not sold in Australia because it's currently only available with left-hand drive. Kia would need to create a new model to challenge the Land Cruiser Prado (which is smaller than the standard model, and sold as the Lexus GX in the United States) and the Ranger-based Ford Everest in Australia, but it might not have to start from scratch. In 2019, Meredith confirmed Kia and sister company Hyundai are jointly developing a body-on-frame pickup aimed at Toyota's Tacoma-sized Hilux and the Ford Ranger, Australia's best- and second-best-selling vehicles in 2019. Kia could follow the path blazed by its rivals and turn its upcoming medium-sized truck into a family-friendly SUV. This strategy would give its Australian division the Land Cruiser-punching model it's asking for, while allowing it to leverage the benefits of economies of scale by sharing parts across several model lines. Kia stressed the SUV on Meredith's wish list hasn't been approved for production yet, so it's far too early to tell whether it will be available in the United States. Offering it outside of Australia is a must, though. Toyota sold 18,335 units of the Land Cruiser Prado on the Australian market in 2019; even if Kia tops it with 20,000 sales, that's not nearly enough volume to justify developing a new car, even one built on an existing platform. We'll have a better idea of what the future holds for Kia's global SUV range when the aforementioned trucks make their debut. Both are expected on sale by 2021, so they're around the corner, and neither has been confirmed for the American market yet; Hyundai's version is unrelated to the Santa Cruz also under development. Related Video:    

Autoblog Electric launches; we talk EV news, VW ID.4 and Kia EV6 | Autoblog Podcast #770

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. In company news, we launched the Autoblog Electric hub this week, and as such, we spend a lot of this episode talking about EVs. WE start by talking about some electric pickups on the way, EV charging and U.S. infrastructure plans, states banning ICE sales, the happiest EV owners, thoughts on the viability of smaller electric automakers and Formula 1's renewed stance against goinf electric. We also share notes on the Volkswagen ID.4 and Kia EV6 we've been driving, as well as other memorable EVs we've driven in the past year. Finally, we reach into the mailbag for a Spend My Money update before talking about late winter/spring beverages.  Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #770 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Autoblog launches Autoblog Electric Electric pickup trucks available in 2023 and beyond The current and future state of EV charging New Jersey is the next state to ban light-duty ICE vehicle sales by 2035 Rivian R1T, Mini Cooper Electric owners happiest with their EVs Thoughts on smaller electric automaker firms F1 CEO vows there will never be an electric car on the grid Cars we're driving Long-term 2022 Kia EV6 2023 VW ID.4 Other memorable EVs Spend My Money update: Replacing an Alfa Romeo Giulia with a BMW i4 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: Government/Legal Green Motorsports Podcasts Kia Lotus Volkswagen Green Automakers Green Culture Green Driving Truck Crossover SUV Electric Racing Vehicles Infrastructure Lucid