2014 Hyundai Elantra Limited on 2040-cars

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NHTSA opens probe into 3 million Kia, Hyundai vehicles for fire risks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Monday it would open a new safety defect investigation into three million Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fires not caused by crashes. The investigation is in response to a petition seeking a probe by the Center for Auto Safety. The auto safety agency since 2007 has been investigating some Hyundai and Kia vehicles for fire risks. The South Korean automakers have recalled more than 2.3 million vehicles since 2015 to address various engine fire risks. Hyundai did not immediately comment, while Kia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NHTSA said the decision to initiate the additional safety defect probe was based on its analysis of information received from multiple manufacturers, consumer complaints and other sources. Last month, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said a group of U.S. states is investigating Hyundai and Kia for potential unfair and deceptive acts related to reports of hundreds of vehicle fires. In November, Reuters reported that federal prosecutors had launched a criminal investigation into Hyundai and Kia to determine if vehicle recalls linked to engine defects had been conducted properly. Reuters reported in January that the companies would offer software upgrades for 3.7 million vehicles not being recalled. A South Korean whistleblower in 2016 reported concerns to NHTSA, which has been probing the timeliness of three U.S. recalls and whether they covered enough vehicles. In 2015, Hyundai recalled 470,000 U.S. Sonata sedans, saying engine failure would result in a vehicle stall, increasing the risk of a crash. At the time, Kia did not recall its vehicles, which share the same "Theta II" engines. In March 2017, Hyundai expanded its original U.S. recall to 572,000 Sonata and Santa Fe Sport vehicles with those Theta II engines, citing the same issue involving manufacturing debris. On the same day, Kia also recalled 618,000 Optima, Sorento and Sportage vehicles, all of which use the same engine.Reporting by David Shepardson.

Honda readying Veloster-rivaling concept for Beijing?

Maybe the rumors of the CR-Z's death have been exaggerated. Honda has just released the first teaser of a new concept that it plans to debut at the Beijing Motor Show at the end of April. It shows off a sporty looking coupe that looks like the child of a CR-Z and Hyundai Veloster. However, the concept looks to be for the Chinese market, as it's a joint proposal with one of its domestic partners there, Guangqi Honda Automobile.
Unfortunately, we don't have any other details about the concept yet - not even a name. The teaser also doesn't give a very good indication of the car's size. It appears to be roughly the size of a small coupe, and if Honda hadn't already tried the idea with the CR-Z, you could almost see it as a modern CRX, but it could be a little bit larger, too.
In addition to the coupe concept at the Beijing show, Dongfeng Honda will premiere the concept for the next Spirior, which is the foreign version of the Accord. Guangqi Honda will also bring a mid-size SUV and the third-generation Fit. Acura will also be there and will have both the NSX Concept and a model of its powertrain. Scroll down for the full release about everything Honda will show in China.

Hyundai sticks to EV rollout plans, sees solid growth this year

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor said on Thursday it would not delay plans to roll out new electric vehicles and was upbeat about prospects for continued growth this year — a contrast to recent steps by rivals to cut back on EV output. Electric vehicle sales are growing strongly but not as much as carmakers had forecast, with demand hit by high interest rates. "We do not plan to dramatically reduce EV production or our line-up due to likely near-term hurdles as we believe EV sales will grow longer term," Seo Gang Hyun, an executive vice president at the South Korean automaker, told an earnings briefing for analysts. The Hyundai Motor Group, which encompasses the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, said in April it plans to launch 31 EVs by 2030. This includes the launch of the Ioniq 7 SUV next year. Seo said Hyundai's EV sales next year could be slightly lower than previously expected, but the automaker had the production flexibility to boost output of gasoline engine cars if demand shifted that way and he did not expect a significant impact on overall sales. When asked about the impact on Hyundai Motor of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reaching a tentative labour deal with Ford, Seo said the company expects the deal will have an impact on wage increases at its U.S. factories, but such costs could be covered as the automaker has been putting effort into reducing costs, such as in logistics. Hyundai Motor, which is not a member of the UAW, operates an assembly plant in Alabama and is building a factory to produce EVs in Georgia. For the third quarter, Hyundai booked a net profit of 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion), more than double its year-earlier result and beating an LSEG SmartEstimate of 2.9 trillion won, with the automaker helped by a favourable exchange rate. Sales also increased, climbing 8.7% to 41 trillion won on solid demand for high-margin gasoline SUVs. Sales of EVs and hybrids also grew, up by a third to 169,000 units. This month has seen a flurry of downbeat EV announcements. Citing flattening demand for EVs, GM said it would delay production by a year of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra electric pickup trucks at a plant in Michigan. Ford is temporarily cutting one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. Tesla is also slowing plans for a Mexico factory, while GM and Honda announced on Wednesday that they were ending a $5 billion plan to develop lower-cost EVs together.