2004 Hyundai Santa Fe 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Automakers drop support for Trump effort against California emissions

WASHINGTON — Toyota, Fiat Chrysler (now known as Stellantis following its merger with Peugeot) and other major automakers said on Tuesday they were joining General Motors in abandoning support for former President Donald Trump's effort to bar California from setting its own zero emission vehicle rules. The automakers, which also included Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Mazda and Subaru, said in a joint statement they were withdrawing from an ongoing legal challenge to California's emission-setting powers, "in a gesture of good faith and to find a constructive path forward" with President Joe Biden. The automakers, along with the National Automobile Dealers Association, said they were aligned "with the Biden administrationÂ’s goals to achieve year-over-year improvements in fuel economy standards." Nissan in December withdrew from the challenge after GM's decision in November shocked the industry and won praise from Biden. On Monday, the Justice Department asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia to put the California emissions litigation on hold to "ensure due respect for the prerogative of the executive branch to reconsider the policy decisions of a prior administration." Biden has directed agencies to quickly reconsider TrumpÂ’s 2019 decision to revoke CaliforniaÂ’s authority to set its own auto tailpipe emissions standards and require rising numbers of zero-emission vehicles, as well as Trump's national fuel economy rollback. Asked to respond to the automakers' action, White House climate adviser Gina McCarthy said in a statement that "after four years of putting us in reverse, it is time to restart and build a sustainable future, grow domestic manufacturing, and deliver clean cars for America." California Governor Gavin Newsom praised the automakers on Twitter for "dropping your climate-denying, air-polluting, Trump-era lawsuit against CA" and urged them to join the voluntary framework. TALKS WITH BIDEN Separately, an industry trade group on Tuesday proposed to start talks with Biden on revised fuel economy standards that would be higher than Trump-era standards but lower than ones set during the prior Democratic administration. The Trump administration in March finalized a rollback of U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards to require 1.5% annual increases in efficiency through 2026, well below the 5% yearly boosts under the Obama administration rules it discarded.

Hyundai outlines EV strategy as it struggles with cost of engine defects

SEOUL — South Korea's Hyundai Motor pledged to boost sales of electric vehicles to over half a million by 2025 as part of a bid to focus on new technologies and catch up with rivals, but some analysts saw the target as conservative and warned of the costs. The announcement by Hyundai, the world's fifth largest car maker along with affiliate Kia Motors, underscores the accelerating strategy shift under Euisun Chung, who became the motor group's executive vice chairman last year. Hyundai announced a $35 billion investment last week in mobility and other auto technologies by 2025, less than a month after unveiling a $1.6 billion deal to develop self-driving vehicle technologies with Aptiv. The firm said on Thursday it plans to launch 16 EV models by 2025 to boost sales of such vehicles 17-fold to 560,000 by that year. Still, that would be equivalent to just over 10% of its projected global sales this year. The projection compares with more bullish forecasts offered by its bigger rivals. Volkswagen AG expects to make 22 million EVs over the next decade, while General Motors aims to sell 1 million EVs annually by 2026. "That is not an ambitious target. If Hyundai fails to boost volumes fast enough, costs of electric cars will weigh on profitability," Lee Jae-il, an analyst at Eugene Securities & Investment. Hyundai said that the EV market would face intensifying competition and oversupply soon and automakers failing to meet toughening European emissions regulations will face heavy penalties and suffer a serious blow to their reputation. "EV supply is expected to surpass demand from the second half of next year," Ka Suk-hyun, vice president of Hyundai Motor, told an earnings conference call. Quality issues Hyundai's third-quarter net profit rose 59% to 427 billion won ($365 million), well below the average 684 billion profit estimate of analysts based on Refinitiv data, due to 600 billion won provisions it earmarked to address potential engine defects in the United States and South Korea. Quality issues have been a major drag in Hyundai's attempt to steer a recovery from six consecutive annual profit declines and constrained its financial firepower to invest in future technologies. It is still under investigation by U.S regulators and prosecutors over potential faulty engines in some models. Total retail sales fell 3% in the third quarter, as higher U.S.

Guess which brand's not on a top 10 list of best EVs (hint: it's Tesla)

Few surprises lurk in Autotrader’s list of its 10 best electric vehicles of 2023, but there is one that stands out: no Teslas. There's Hyundais and Kias, Porsches and Fords, a BMW and a Nissan. But Â… no Teslas. Although many of us admit to being over-Musked and tired of reading about him, the lack of a Tesla model on a selection of the 10 most desirable current EVs is conspicuous by its absence. Asked about this particular omission, we received this rather vague response from Autotrader spokesperson Brenna Buehler at Cox Automotive: “Tesla models were included in consideration but didnÂ’t get sufficiently high scores by the Editorial team to qualify for the top 10.” At least some Tesla offerings appeared to meet all the requirements set by the website. The manufacturers must offer 2023 model year vehicles, and they have to be sold in at least 15 states. Check. Only pure EVs were allowed on the list; there are no hybrids, plug-in hybrids or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Check. The base manufacturer's suggested retail price must be less than $100,000. Check. Let the debates begin. Moving on, it should be noted that two Genesis models, a G80 sedan and GV 60 SUV, are listed, along with a Lucid Air midsize sedan, the Rivian R1T pickup, and the Porsche Taycan. Here is the full list, with the remarks and comments from Autotrader's raters. (And we've included links to Autoblog's own reviews for a deeper dive). The EVs are listed in alphabetical order by brand, so don't read anything into the order of presentation: 2023 BMW i4 BMW reboots its EV approach and comes up with a winner: Whatever you thought of BMW's first run at EV, the i3, it was missing a certain something – it didn't look or perform like a BMW. The 2023 BMW i4 corrects course with a Gran Coupe that our editors agree looks and drives like a BMW. 2023 Ford F-150 Lightning Ford's electric pickup gathers steam in its second year: The F-150 Lightning somehow synthesized decades of pickup truck knowledge with the latest and greatest EV technology and infused thoughtful details and user-friendly features. 2023 Genesis Electrified G80South Korea's luxury brand shows how to elevate the executive EV sedan without breaking the bank: Genesis, Hyundai's luxury offshoot, rethought the gasoline-powered luxury sedan, the G80, and developed the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80. Precisely as the name hints, the Electrified G80 replaces the G80's engine with an all-wheel-drive EV powertrain.