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Hyundai bets big on crossovers sporting diesel, electric, hydrogen powertrains by 2020

Hyundai announced a very aggressive crossover strategy for the next couple of years, with a total of eight vehicles launched between now and 2020. One of those is the already revealed sub-compact Hyundai Kona. The other seven crossovers range in size and fuel types, and Miles Johnson at Hyundai confirmed to us that all of them will be coming to the U.S. The first to launch is the aforementioned Kona, coming in early 2018. Also coming early that year is an unnamed hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. This hydrogen crossover will likely be sized and styled similarly to the FE Fuel Cell Concept shown at this year's Geneva show. A previous report about the production version stated that it would have a range of about 360 miles. Later that year will be two unnamed crossovers without any indication of size. They will also be joined by an electric crossover. In 2019, Hyundai has three crossovers planned for release. Early in the year will be a diesel-powered crossover. Hyundai gives no indication of what segment it would compete in, but so far we've only seen diesels in compact crossovers such as the Chevy Equinox diesel and upcoming Mazda CX-5 diesel. Mid-year will welcome a midsize crossover, and the year will be capped off with an A-segment crossover. Johnson also confirmed that this A-segment crossover will be smaller than the Kona. It could be an outright replacement for the Hyundai Accent hatchback, which did not return to the U.S. with the new sedan. Though we don't have much information regarding the unnamed and unspecified crossovers in the plan, Johnson did confirm that some of the crossovers in this rollout will include redesigned versions of existing offerings. This may include a new Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport, or whatever the Santa Fe Sport will become. The company has previously stated that the Santa Fe Sport will be resized and probably renamed, and the regular Santa Fe would be larger the next time around. These changes would also make room for another small to midsize crossover. Related Video: Image Credit: Hyundai Green Hyundai Crossover SUV Diesel Vehicles Economy Cars Electric Future Vehicles Hydrogen Cars hyundai kona

2018 Honda Accord charges into slumping sedan market

DETROIT - Honda on Friday revealed its newest-generation Accord, one of four re-engineered midsize sedans that Asian automakers are betting on to win market share as Detroit automakers shift focus to SUVs, crossovers, and pickup trucks. The new Accord, like rival Toyota's all-new Camry arriving this month, offers major improvements in fuel economy, technology, styling and safety. Honda declined to discuss details ahead of Friday's event in Detroit. The Accord and Camry are pillars of their manufacturers' US businesses, each selling well over 300,000 vehicles a year. In the coming months, Nissan is expected to launch a new Altima midsize sedan, and Hyundai will launch a new Sonata. Both are popular marques that will be promoted heavily. "There has been no new news on the midsize sedan side for three years, and we think this is a great opportunity to bring attention back to the segment," said Jack Hollis, Toyota's head of marketing for North America. Year to date, US passenger car sales are down 11.4 percent, and sales of midsize sedans are down 14.2 percent. Still, Americans bought 7.1 million sedans in 2016. With General Motors and Ford cutting sedan production, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles abandoning the segment, Honda and its Asian rivals could boost sales with updated models, dealers said. "They could take share from other brands, which is traditionally what happens when a new product is launched," said Pete DeLongchamps, vice president for manufacturer relations at Group 1 Automotive Inc, the third-largest US auto dealer group. "NOT FINDING A PLACE WITH CONSUMERS" The Accord for years was Honda's top-selling model in the United States. Within the past year, US sales of the Honda CR-V have eclipsed the aging Accord, and Honda has expanded production capacity for the compact crossover. Passenger-car sales have steadily declined since 2012, when they made up 51.2 percent of the US market. Sedans have sagged to a 38.1 percent share in the first half of this year. IHS Markit said US consumer loyalty to SUVs and pickup trucks has risen since 2012, but declined for sedans. The new Accord and Camry "may stem the decline," said IHS Markit's Tom Libby. "I don't think they will cause a marked reverse." Improvements to the Accord should boost sales at Galpin Honda in San Fernando, California, general manager Ed Hartoonian said.

Why Toyota's fuel cell play is one big green gamble

Imagine going to the ballet on Saturday evening for an 8 pm performance. The orchestra begins warming up shortly before the show, but it turns out the star performer isn't ready at the appointed time. The orchestra keeps playing, doing its best to keep the audience engaged and, most importantly, in the building. It keeps this up until the star finally shows and is ready to dance ... which turns out to be ten years later. That's a Samuel Beckett play. It's also how many observers, analysts, alt-fuel fans and alt-fuel intenders feel about the arrival of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) – the few of them who are still in the building, that is. Toyota's hydrogen development timeline rivals that of the US space program. In fact, within the halls of Toyota alone, research on FCVs has been going on for nearly 22 years, meaning that one company's development timeline for FCVs rivals that of the US space program – it was 1945 when Werner von Braun's team began re-assembling Germany's World War II V2 rockets and figuring out how to launch them into space and it wasn't until 1969 when a man set landing gear down on that sunlit lunar quarry. The development of the atom bomb only took half as long, and that's if we go all the way back to when Leo Szilard patented the mere idea of it, in 1934. Carmakers didn't give up on hydrogen in spite of the public having given up on carmakers ever making something of it, so there was a good chance that hydrogen criers announcing the mass-market adoption of periodic chart element number two one would eventually be right. Now is that time. And Toyota, not alone in researching FCVs but arguably having done the most to keep FCVs in the news, isn't even going to be first to market. That honor will go to Hyundai, surprising just about everyone at the LA Auto Show with news of a hydrogen fuel cell Tucson going on sale in the spring. The other bit of thunder stolen: while Toyota's talking about trying to get the price of its offering down to something between $50,000 and $100,000, Hyundai is pitching its date with the future at a lease price of $499 per month ($250 more than the lease price of a conventional Tucson), free hydrogen and maintenance, and availability at Enterprise Rent-A-Car if you just want to try it out. We've seen and driven Toyota's offering and we all know its success doesn't depend on cross-shopping, showroom dealing and lease sweeteners.