2005 Hyundai Accent Gt Hatchback 3-door 1.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2015 Hyundai Tuscon Fuel Cell will lease for $499/month, comes with free hydrogen

If nothing else, Hyundai wants to make it as easy as pie for you to check out its upcoming hydrogen-powered 2015 Tucson Fuel Cell vehicle. Given that the Korean automaker will be the first to offer a mass-produced fuel cell vehicle in the US (sorry, Honda, the FCX Clarity just doesn't cut it for this category) and that the hydrogen-powered Tuscon is coming next spring, there's no time like the present to lower hurdles.
Here's how Hyundai is trying to remove your worries. First, if you want to have an extended test drive, you can go rent a fuel cell Tuscon at participating Enterprise locations, starting next spring. Nothing was said about buying one of these SUVs outright, but after putting $2,999 down, you will be able to lease the H2 Tuscon for $499 a month for 36 months, and that includes "unlimited free hydrogen refueling" and a hydrogen version of the "At Your Service Valet Maintenance." Since there are only ten public hydrogen refueling stations in the US, and nine of them are in California, it makes sense that the Tuscon will be available only in the Golden State, specifically at just four dealerships. Hyundai said in a statement that, "Availability of the Tucson Fuel Cell will expand to other regions of the country consistent with the accelerating deployment of hydrogen refueling stations." In other words, don't hold your breath.
Speaking at the unveiling, Hyundai Motor America CEO John Krafcik praised the hydrogen work that Honda and Toyota are doing here at the show and said, "We think fuel cell technology will increase the adoption rate of zero-emission vehicles, and we'll all share the environmental benefits." In the Tuscon, that means an estimated 300-mile range and a refill time of under 10 minutes along with the instant torque of an electric motor. We'll be most interested to see how that plays out in the marketplace. Feel free to read more in the press release below.

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.

Hyundai swims against the current with new i20 Coupe

Coupefying hatchbacks is all the rage in the European market these days. Its what Opel and Vauxhall did with the latest Astra, and what Renault did with the Mégane, and now Hyundai is preparing to follow a similar formula, only in a smaller form.
While the i30 is the model with which Hyundai competes with the aforementioned Astra and Mégane, to say nothing of the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus, it's the smaller i20 - recently introduced in five-door form - which the Korean automaker plans to give the coupe treatment.
Previewed in the teaser image above, the upcoming new i20 Coupe will enter a somewhat shrinking market for three-door superminis. Though the VW Polo, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 208 and Opel Corsa are still available with three portals, their forms are otherwise no more coupe-like than their five-door counterparts. (Mini has tried a similar approach with its Coupe, and Citroën has forked the C3 five-door and DS3 three-door, but those are decidedly more upscale offerings.) Alongside the Seat Ibiza, Hyundai is one of the few mainstream automakers offering three-door superminis significantly distinguished from its five-door versions.