2003 Hyundai Elantra Gls Sedan 4-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Hyundai Motor's two R&D vice chairmen reportedly resigning

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group's two vice chairmen in charge of research and development have offered to resign, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. R&D president Albert Biermann is likely to be named the new head of the division, two of the sources added, declining to be named as they are not authorized to speak to media. Hyundai is battling a plunge in sales, profits and its share price, and the reshuffle would be the latest since Hyundai promoted Euisun Chung in September to executive vice chairman, moving him closer to succeeding his octogenarian father as head of South Korea's second-largest group. The group has appointed new product strategy, design chiefs and replaced senior executives at its overseas operations, including China and the United States. The latest shake-up at the group, which includes Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, could be announced on Wednesday, one of the sources said. It is "part of a generational change Chung is pushing for," another person said. A Hyundai Motor spokesman declined to comment. The group's vice chairmen, Yang Woong-chul and Kwon Moon-sik, both aged 64, told senior officials on Tuesday that they would leave the company, the sources said, declining to say why they had offered to resign. Biermann, a former BMW performance vehicle development official, adds to a flurry of foreign executives that Chung, 48, has brought in to the company typically dominated by Koreans. In October, Thomas Schemera, also a former BMW executive, was appointed to lead product planning for autonomous cars, connected and electrified vehicles, while Luc Donckerwolke, a former Bentley design chief, was appointed to oversee design at Hyundai and Kia. Hyundai Motor's third-quarter net profit plunged by two-thirds, hit by U.S. recall costs that added to its problems. The automaker was already suffering with weak sales in its key U.S. and Chinese markets. Hyundai's share price is down more than 10 percent this quarter, despite a recent rebound driven by a share buyback plan announced on Nov. 30. Reporting by Hyunjoo JinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Tucson hydrogen fuel cell CUV will allow Hyundai to sell more dirty cars

With the first Hyundai Tucson Fuel Cell Vehicle deliveries happening soon (a bit later than expected), it's time for the Korean automaker to explain why it's offering the H2 CUV here in the states. After all, there are only 10 public hydrogen stations in the US today, according to the DOE, so it can't be to take over the market. According to a Hyundai exec, the reason we are getting the Tucson Fuel Cell is to make up to $130,000 through California's ZEV credit system. "We really don't make any money out of selling the fuel cell vehicles for now" – Byung Ki Ahn According to Wards Auto, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will give the automaker up to 26 points worth of zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits for each of the $499/month hydrogen Tucson leased through the 2017 model year. Those credits could be worth up to $130,000 to Hyundai. Byung Ki Ahn, Hyundai's director of the fuel cell group, told Wards Auto that, "We really don't make any money out of selling the fuel cell vehicles for now. ... So just by selling the fuel cell (vehicle) we could get a lot of credit points, which you could sell at a later time if you want, like Tesla does. It could be a good business model." Ahn clarified that Hyundai does not plan to cash in on those credits, but to use them to offset the rest of its vehicle lineup. Other automakers also participate in the ZEV credit system, of course, but if Anh's numbers are correct, then fuel cell vehicles earn more credits than battery electric vehicles do, so if you want to earn a lot of credits, hydrogen is a good way to go. You can find more details over at Wards Auto. *This post has been updated to mention other automakers using the ZEV scheme.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla battery degradation graphed, Hyundai plans fuel cell hub in Korea

A man has created a graph of Tesla Model S battery degradation over time. Merijn Coumans of Holland is tracking the owner data gathered on from Model S owners in a single file and graphing it visually. Coumans continually updates the graph of drivers' maximum ranges to give a look at battery degradation over the life of the car. Coumans tracks mileage and even number of visits to Superchargers in his data. Tesla provides an eight-year battery guarantee regardless of mileage. Read more at the Steinbuch blog. US plug-in vehicle sales are expected to surpass 300,000 when the data is tallied at the end of this month. That is 30 percent of President Obama's goal of 1 million battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids by the end of 2015. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz admitted the US won't reach the goal, saying, "We're going to be a few years after the president's aspirational goal of the end of 2015, but I think that we are within a few years of reaching that goal." Green car analyst Alan Baum projects the 1 million EV milestone will be met in 2018. Read more at Hybrid Cars. Hyundai and the South Korean government plan to create a hub for fuel cell technologies. Hyundai and Kia will give up unused patents to automotive startups focused on fuel cells at a recently launched innovation center in Gwangju. "Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of corporate growth ranging from the development of ideas to industrialization to making inroads into global markets," says South Korea's President Park Geun-hye. Hyundai hopes this will make the city a center for hydrogen technology. Read more at Just Auto. Mayor Boris Johnson has approved a cycling superhighway for the city of London. Set to be built along the Thames embankment, the system of cycling lanes could help encourage more people to ride their bikes, reducing automotive traffic congestion and relieving pressure on other transit networks. Opponents are upset that the cycling highway will increase driving time across the city, and call cyclists a "loud minority," whose numbers doesn't justify the new lanes. Read more at Treehugger. Kansas and Nebraska are joining the challenge against the EPA's new ethanol emissions rules. The EPA's Moves2014 regulations seek to reduce automotive sulfur emissions by 60 percent, but, says Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the ethanol emissions measurement model is faulty and was adopted without public comment or review.