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Hyundai, Kia to put solar panels on vehicle roofs

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that future Hyundai and Kia models will be equipped with solar panels capable of generating electricity as a way to increase fuel-efficiency and range and lower CO2 emissions. Hyundai says the solar panels will feature in the rooftops or hoods of select vehicles "after 2019" and will supplement traditional internal combustion, hybrid and battery-electric vehicles. The parent group said it's developing three different types of solar roof charging systems comprised of a solar panel, controller and battery. The first generation will be a silicon solar panel system mounted to the rooftops of hybrid models and capable of charging 30 to 60 percent of the battery per day, depending on weather conditions and other factors, starting as early as 2020. The second generation involves a semi-transparent solar roof system applied to a panoramic sunroof and capable of charging an electric-vehicle battery or a battery mounted on a gasoline engine. Hyundai says the latter configuration will help it increase vehicle exports, since solar-equipped ICE vehicles will be able to adhere to regulations limiting CO2 emissions. A third-generation system is being tested right now. It will add solar production capability in the hood and roof of EVs – but the companies don't provide more detail than that at this moment. "In the future, various types of electricity-generating technologies, including the solar charging system, will be connected to vehicles," said Jeong-Gil Park, executive vice president of engineering design at Hyundai Motor Group. "This will enable them to develop from a passive device that consumes energy to a solution that actively generates energy. The paradigm of the vehicle owner will shift from that of a consumer to an energy prosumer." To date, solar vehicle charging technology has mostly been for light-duty tasks, like cooling off the interior or trickle-charging a conventional battery, such as the system offered in the previous Nissan Leaf. Systems that do more than this have typically come with a very steep pricetag for modest capabilities. Panasonic has developed a 180-watt solar roof available for the Japanese version of the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid that is capable of adding up to 3.7 miles of range per day – at an unspecified (as of this writing) but undoubtedly high cost. Elon Musk, unsurprisingly, has also discussed making a solar roof optional for the Tesla Model 3.

Hyundai will invest $35 billion in autonomy and emerging technologies

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group said it plans to invest $35 billion (41 trillion won) in mobility and other auto technologies by 2025, part of which will be directed to an ambitious effort to become more competitive in self-driving cars that has also received government backing. The plan, which Hyundai said encompasses autonomous, connected and electric cars as well as technology for ride-sharing, comes after the automaker and two of its affiliates announced an investment of $1.6 billion in a venture with U.S. self-driving tech firm Aptiv. South Korea's government is also onboard, unveiling more funding for autonomous vehicle technology with President Moon Jae-in declaring on Tuesday that he expected self-driving cars to account for half of new cars on the country's roads by 2030. "The self-driving market is a golden market to revitalize the economy and create new jobs," Moon said in a speech at Hyundai Motor's research center near Seoul. The government intends to spend 1.7 trillion won between 2021 and 2027 on self-driving technology. It expects Hyundai to launch level 4, or fully autonomous, cars for fleet customers in 2024 and for the general public by 2027, an industry ministry official told Reuters. But some experts question whether targets set by the government and the automotive group, which also includes Kia Motors, are realistic given the technological and cost challenges and the lack of home-grown technology. In a 45-page report on future automotive technology, the government acknowledged South Korea lags in some key areas necessary for self-driving cars such as artificial intelligence, sensors and logic chips. "Hyundai has to buy technology from someone else because it lacks software technology. Even though it has a lot of cash, this could become a financial burden if its earnings deteriorate," Esther Yim, an analyst at Samsung Securities, said. Other analysts noted that the prospects for self-driving cars are quite murky. General Motors' self-driving unit, Cruise, said in July it was delaying the commercial deployment of cars past its target of 2019 as tech firms and automakers acknowledge it will take more time and money than they had expected to make autonomous vehicles safe for unrestricted use on public roads. South Korea's government said it would prepare a regulatory and legal framework for autonomous cars and the safety questions they pose by 2024.

Hyundai i20 WRC gets shakedown in Finland

It's always a good day when we get to post a video about rally racing. It's even better when that video is of a new WRC competitor undergoing testing. This spy video shows Hyundai's i20 WRC, a car that debuted nearly one year ago at the 2012 Paris Motor Show. It's set to usher in Hyundai's return to top-flight motorsports, and will do battle with the cars from Citroen, Ford and Volkswagen that are currently contesting the 2013 season.
This video, which shows the i20 testing on the notoriously tough Finnish rally stages, gives the impression that progress on the new WRC contender is going well. It certainly looks fast, and as with the vast majority of rally cars, it sounds absolutely wonderful (listen to some of those gun-shot-like backfires). Take a look below for the whole, glorious three minutes and 20 seconds of unadulterated rally noise, flying dirt and jumping.