**maryland Inspected** 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe Gls on 2040-cars

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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.

Hyundai ix25 Concept foreshadows B-segment CUV

Hyundai introduced an all-new crossover concept to the crowds at the 2014 Beijing Motor Show, showing the ix25, a near-production concept that heralds the arrival of a new compact CUV for the People's Republic.
Boasting Hyundai's "Fluidic Sculpture 2.0," the ix25 is a handsome little soft-roader that we could see slotting in nicely below the vehicle we call Tucson (the rest of the globe knows it as the ix35), and would serve as the entry point for Hyundai's Chinese CUV range. Under hood sits a familiar 2.0-liter, "Nu" four-cylinder, which we've sampled in assorted Hyundais and Kias over the years.
At 168 inches long it's ten inches shorter than a Ford Escape and five inches longer than the Soul, from sister company Kia. Despite these differences, the ix25 Concept's wheelbase is less than an inch longer (eight-tenths to be exact) than the Soul's 101.2-inches. More notably, the ix25 is roughly the size of the new Chevrolet Trax.

2019 Subaru Ascent, 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe earn highest IIHS safety ratings

Two important crossovers introduced this year, the 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe and 2019 Subaru Ascent, have finally been crash tested by the IIHS, with both receiving a Top Safety Pick+ rating. Both crossovers earned the highest score of "Good" in every crash test, including the tricky passenger small overlap frontal test. Each comes with forward collision prevention technology that adequately warns the driver, and can bring the car to a complete stop before hitting an object at speeds up to 25 mph. View 72 Photos One of the other key tests to merit the Top Safety Pick+ award is headlight performance. In this case, each gets a "Good" rating to earn the award, but there's a caveat. Only high-end versions of each vehicle have highly rated lights. On the Subaru Ascent, the "Good" headlights are LED units on the Limited and Touring trims, and the Hyundai's are LED units that come with the Limited and Ultimate trims. The lower trim levels of both vehicles come with halogen headlights. The Ascent's halogens were rated "Poor" for not providing enough illumination while also causing glare for oncoming drivers, while the Santa Fe's lights were rated "Marginal," the next highest rating from bottom, for simply not illuminating enough, but they didn't cause glare. View 65 Photos While this doesn't apply to a Top Safety Pick+ rating, the Subaru Ascent has one additional commendation. The IIHS also evaluates how easy it is to access LATCH anchors for mounting child seats in a car, as well as how many there are. In this case, the three-row, family-friendly Subaru received the "Good" rating and a "+" for having extra anchors for more placement flexibility. The two-row Santa Fe just received an "Acceptable" rating in this regard, the second highest rating from IIHS. Related Video: