2014 Hyundai Sonata Gls on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Auto execs surveyed say VW, BMW most likely to grow

A new survey of top global automotive executives indicates both Volkswagen and BMW are the most likely to grow their market share over the next five years.
Tax advisory firm KPMG LLP has released its 14th annual Global Automotive Executive Survey, which includes responses from over 200 executives. A total of 81 percent of respondents said they expect to see Volkswagen make gains, compared to 70 percent last year. BMW, meanwhile, saw 70 percent of those surveyed say they believe the company will increase its market share. That's a jump of 7 percentage points over last year. This is the first time in the history of the survey that BMW has claimed the second-place spot.
Meanwhile, Hyundai has seen its perceived market share potential slacken for the third year in a row. Around 61 percent of those surveyed predicted gains for Hyundai, down from 63 in 2012. Toyota also has a surprising year, but for just the opposite reason. While the manufacturer had slipped in ranking since 2011, it enjoyed the largest increase of any company in the 2013 survey, jumping to 68 percent from 44 percent last year.

Hyundai Prius-fighting hybrid spied wearing new camo

Hyundai's engineers certainly don't want the public to see its upcoming dedicated hybrid model in several of these new spy shots, but the company can't deny that the machine is on the way. These test cars were first spotted last summer as Prius-like five-door hatchbacks. However in these photos and the second set, it would seem that the model has morphed into a more sedan-like shape similar to the Chevy Volt. Unlike the last time we saw this car during arctic testing, the vehicle no longer is covered in plastic concealment. That obfuscation has been replaced with a very effective camo pattern on everything but the roof, and in several photos, workers are actively standing in the way of the spy shooters' lenses. Beyond the whole model's general shape, there are a few details to pick out, though. You can easily spot the outline of the brand's hexagonal grille up front. There appears to be a rather complicated air dam design there, too. In profile, the shape of the rear hatch creates an integrated spoiler at the back. While the camouflage makes it very hard to tell, we don't see a plug-in port on this example. According to our spies, this test car was being driven with a slew of other electrified models, including a BMW i3, Nissan Leaf, Volkswagen e-Golf, and Kia Soul EV. Given that group, perhaps the engineers were specifically benchmarking the electric performance for this outing. Earlier reports suggest that Hyundai's latest hybrid could debut in the second half of 2016. Power reportedly comes from a 1.6-liter four-cylinder with hybrid assistance and a lithium-ion battery. Plug-in and five-door hatchback versions are also rumored.

Hyundai and Kia invest $110 million in UK electric van startup Arrival

Korea's Hyundai Group is backing a UK electric vehicle startup that plans to begin selling battery-powered delivery vans in 2021, the companies said on Thursday. Hyundai and sister firm Kia are making the investment of $110 million (100 million euros or 84.34 million pounds) in Arrival. Founded in 2015 and based in London, Arrival has developed a boxy, futuristic-looking shuttle bus aimed at the commercial delivery market. The company said its van will have a range between charges of 300 miles. In a statement, Arrival said it will work with Hyundai and Kia to develop a variety of electric vehicles, initially for the commercial market. Those vehicles will be built on Arrival's modular vehicle platform or "skateboard" that bundles motor, batteries and chassis components, similar to the skateboard developed by U.S. startup Rivian. Rivian is backed by Ford and Amazon, and has a contract to build 100,000 electric delivery vans for the e-commerce giant, starting in 2021. Hyundai and Kia last year invested $89 million in Rimac Automobili, a nine-year-old Croatian company aspiring to build electric supercars that is also backed by Porsche. Arrival said its vehicles will be equipped with advanced driver assist features and can be upgraded with self-driving systems. The vehicles are designed to sell for the same price as similar models powered by internal combustion engines and to be built in small "microfactories." That strategy is the opposite of U.S. electric vehicle rival Tesla which uses massive "gigafactories." Last fall, Arrival, which until now has operated largely in stealth mode, hired General Motors veteran Michael Ableson to head its new North American operations. With a small factory in Banbury, England, Arrival said it now has 800 employees in five countries, including Germany, Russia and Israel. Arrival previously said it would use BlackBerry's QNX operating system to connect safety features in its electric vehicles. Arrival said its prototype delivery vans are being tested by the Royal Mail, DHL and UPS. Related Video: Green Hyundai Kia Commercial Vehicles Electric Future Vehicles electric delivery van