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Hyundai spotted testing Prius-style hybrid

The Toyota Prius has become an automotive icon – maybe less so among actual automotive enthusiasts than with the public at large – to the extent that most anyone on the street would recognize its five-door hatchback form and immediately identify it as a hybrid. Little wonder that Honda tried to emulate it with the second-gen Insight, but while that didn't work out so well for Honda, it looks like Hyundai is preparing to go down the same road with a dedicated hybrid of its own. Our paparazzi on the ground in the Arctic Circle have spotted this protoytpe and tell us what we're looking at is a new Prius-fighter from the Korean automaker. Snapped up high on a transporter truck, you can see the orange high-voltage cables underneath and a label with the letters AE HEV – the latter standing, of course, for Hybrid Electric Vehicle. We wouldn't be surprised if the AE stood for Advanced Experimental or Alternative Energy or something of the sort. Tipped to be based on the same platform as the next-generation Elantra, the new Hyundai hybrid is said to pack a 1.6-liter inline-four working in parallel with an electric motor juiced by a lithium-ion battery pack. It's expected to begin production in the second half of 2016, with a plug-in and possibly other variants to follow a year to a year and a half after its initial launch.

Center for Auto Safety wants Hyundai and Kia to recall 2.9M vehicles

DETROIT — A nonprofit auto safety group is demanding that Hyundai and Kia recall 2.9 million cars and SUVs in the U.S. due to consumer complaints that they can catch fire. The Center For Auto Safety said Friday that there have been more than 220 complaints to the U.S. government since 2010 about fires and another 200 complaints about melted wires as well as smoke and burning odors. The complaints involve the 2011 through 2014 Kia Sorento and Optima and the Hyundai Sonata and Santa Fe. Also included is the 2010 through 2015 Kia Soul. The fires are being investigated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as part of a 2017 probe into Hyundai and Kia engine failures. "The volume of fires here make it appear that Hyundai and Kia are content to sit back and allow consumers and insurers to bear the brunt of poorly designed, manufactured and repaired vehicles," Jason Levine, the center's executive director, said. The fire reports have come in from across the country, including a death in Ohio in April 2017, he said. Hyundai says it monitors safety concerns and acts quickly to recall defective vehicles. "We have a robust system in place for monitoring and investigating reported vehicle fires that includes investigation and reporting to NHTSA as required. Vehicle fires can result from a variety of reasons," the company statement said. Kia said it is using company and third-party fire investigators to determine what caused the fires so it can address them. "A vehicle fire may be the result of any number of complex factors, such as a manufacturing issue, inadequate maintenance, the installation of aftermarket parts, an improper repair, arson, or some other non-vehicle source, and must be carefully evaluated by a qualified and trained investigator or technician," the company said in a statement. The Center for Auto Safety filed a petition asking NHTSA to investigate the fires in June. The agency said Friday that it is still evaluating the petition and it has sent information requests to Hyundai, Kia and other automakers about the issue. Levine says the center does not know what's causing the fires. In May 2017 the government began investigating whether the automakers moved quickly enough to recall over 1.6 million vehicles because of engines stalling. NHTSA is looking into three recalls by the related Korean brands, and it's also investigating whether the automakers followed safety reporting requirements.

Recharge Wrap-up: Elio unveils E1A, Hyundai UK prices Ioniq

Russia could launch a hyperloop project as early as December 2016. Hyperloop One recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Summa Group to explore the possibility, but now, Moscow's Deputy Mayor and head of transport Maxim Liksutov says that the project will begin by the end of the year. "In the next few years we'll see a major breakthrough in the development of technologies which will facilitate our lives," says Liksutov, speaking at the Moscow Urban Forum. "Hopefully, hyperloop technology will be developed, and, as far as I know, the pilot project will be launched in December. We will see how the theory works in practice." Read more at Electrek, or learn more from RT. Hyundai has revealed specifications and pricing for the Ioniq EV and Hybrid for the UK. The Ioniq Hybrid SE will start at GBP19,995 (about $26,093 as of this writing), with the Hybrid Premium and Hybrid Premium SE starting at GBP21,795 ($28,442) and GBP23,595 ($30,791), respectively. The Ioniq Electric starts at GBP28,995 ($37,838) for the Premium trim level, placing it in competition with the Nissan Leaf, while the Premium SE starts at GBP30,795 ($40,187). The Ioiniq Electric should be also be eligible for a discount of GBP4,500 ($5,872) through the UK's Plug-in Car Grant. Hyundai will announce prices for the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid before it goes on sale in 2017. The Ioniq Hybrid goes on sale on October 13, 2016, with the Ioniq Electric beginning a limited rollout before expanding sales to all UK dealerships in 2017. Read more at Electrek, or in the press release from Hyundai. India is launching a bus route fueled by 100-percent biodiesel. In an effort to help reduce air pollution (with the added benefit of saving on fuel costs), the Karnataka State Road Transport Corp. will operate the country's first all-biodiesel bus between the cities of Bangalore and Chennai. Last year, India's Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas removed its 20-percent biodiesel restriction on bus operators. Read more from Biofuels International. Elio Motors has built its first E-Series test vehicle, dubbed the E1A. Elio is touting the unveiling of its test car as a major milestone toward the launch of a fuel-efficient, three-wheeled production vehicle with a target price of $6,800.