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Hyundai pickup truck coming ASAP, says design chief

Hyundai first showed its HCD-15 Santa Cruz pickup truck concept at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. In the years following the concept's debut, reports have kept surfacing that yes, Hyundai wants to build it and yes, it's only a matter of time when the Santa Cruz will spawn a production version. In August 2017, Reuters reported that a pickup had been greenlit as Hyundai needed to correct a sales slide; a year later, we envisioned a 2020 unveiling date for the finalized truck. Now, Autocar says Hyundai is launching the truck "as soon as possible." Autocar cites a discussion with Hyundai's new Chief Design Officer Luc Donckerwolke, who formerly led Genesis design and has also worked as the head of design at Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi. Donckerwolke said the design process of the new truck has now been completed, and Hyundai is now in the midst of engineering the design into production. Donckerwolke told Autocar that the truck will arrive "as soon as possible. From my side it is finished, the process to put it into production is now underway." Leftlane News estimates the truck could be here by 2021 at the earliest. For Donckerwolke, the truck is very much a development of the 2015 concept; as Motor Trend earlier quoted Hyundai Motor America's Brian Smith, the original two-door concept has evolved into a five-seater four-door truck. The understanding is that the Santa Cruz's production version will be underpinned by the same platform and mechanicals as the expected and redesigned 2020 Tucson. The pickup is also to be followed by a corresponding Kia-badged version, Donckerwolke said. The Hyundai and Kia trucks are likely to battle for sales with the Ridgeline, Ranger, Tacoma and Gladiator — and the Tanoak, if Volkswagen comes out with a production version of its recent concept truck. Related Video:

Weekly Recap: Kia leads Korea's quality surge

The rapid rise of Korea's auto brands in the US market has been apparent on the sales charts for several years, and now it's showing up in an area that's just as crucial: quality. Kia and Hyundai earned the highest rankings among mainstream brands in the J. D. Power Initial Quality Study released on Wednesday. The study tracks problems owners report during the first 90 days they own their car. Kia reported 86 problems per 100 vehicles, or fewer than one problem per car sold, to take second in the rankings behind luxury sportscar-maker Porsche (80). Kia's score improved by nearly 20 percent compared with the 2014 study. "The big industry story is Kia," Renee Stephens, vice president of U.S. automotive quality at J.D. Power, said in a video statement, noting Kia's infotainment systems were the key reason for its improved performance. Hyundai was fourth for the second straight year, though its score actually worsened by one, to 95. Even with Hyundai's slight dip, Korean quality increased 11 percent, according to the study, which far outpaced American and European companies' three-percent increases. Japanese brands improved one percent. Hyundai Motor Co. (parent company of the Hyundai and Kia brands) captured four individual vehicle awards, which tied for the most with General Motors, Nissan, and Volkswagen. "The Korean brands have really taken off," Stephens said. "There's movement in the industry, and the patterns are shifting." Another luxury brand, Jaguar (93 problems), slotted in between Hyundai and Kia in third place. Infiniti was fifth, followed by BMW. Chevrolet was the highest domestic brand, taking seventh place, followed by Lincoln, Lexus, and Toyota, which were all well above the industry average of 112 problems per 100 vehicles. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Kirk Kerkorian dead at 98 Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire activist investor who wielded enormous influence on the Detroit Three car companies in the 1990s and 2000s, died Monday. He was 98 years old. Kerkorian made headlines in 1995 for trying to take over Chrysler – with the help of former chairman Lee Iacocca – before being fended off by Chrysler management. His takeover attempt ultimately pushed Chrysler to be sold to German giant Daimler. He tried to buy Chrysler again in 2007 when Daimler put Chrysler on the market, but Kerkorian fell short and the automaker was sold to private equity firm Cerberus.

Hyundai Kia asked to pay $28.9M in patent infringement case

After years of litigation, Hyundai and Kia have lost their hybrid technology patent infringement case against Paice LLC. The jury ordered the South Korean automakers to pay $28.9 million, but according to Bloomberg, because the violation was allegedly intentional, the judge could triple that amount. The automakers have announced plans to appeal the ruling. Paice's patent dates from 1994 on a piece of tech called the Hyperdrive, and it was a way to seamlessly switch between power from an electric motor and an internal combustion engine. This lawsuit was first filed in 2012 and covered the systems in the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Kia Optima Hybrid. According to Bloomberg, the companies tried to argue that the patent was no longer valid, but the strategy failed. "Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit," the company said in a statement to Autoblog. Paice is certainly no stranger to litigating over the Hyperdrive patent, though. It and Toyota had a similar court battle that lasted years. Eventually, there was a settlement, and the result was Paice getting royalties for each hybrid that the Japanese automaker sold. Similarly, there's a lawsuit pending against Ford over tech in the C-Max, Fusion, and Lincoln MKZ. Hyundai Statement: Hyundai believes that the verdict returned by the jury today in the matter of Paice v. Hyundai Motor Company et al., is not supported by the evidence. Accordingly, Hyundai has requested that the presiding judge enter a judgment in its favor notwithstanding the verdict. Hyundai strongly believes its position and will appeal any remaining adverse findings to the Federal Circuit.