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Hyundai boosted production in March, so now its cars sit in U.S. ports

SEOUL — As Detroit's automakers shut production in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, South Korea's Hyundai cranked up its factories back home to ship cars to the United States, a move that is proving costly for the world's fifth-largest auto group. Hyundai ramped up domestic production to as much as 98% of capacity by late March, not only as the Korean market was recovering from a bad February but also because it bet on demand for Tucson SUVs and other models from U.S. customers, its biggest overseas market outside of China. While Hyundai is one of few global automakers whose production has recovered at home, its exports optimism has been dampened by the severity of the U.S. outbreak, weak consumer sentiment and as rivals have quickly moved to guard their turf. Consignments of cars shipped from South Korea are now sitting in U.S. ports, with dealers slow to take deliveries because of slumping sales and rising inventory, four people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The company idled a Tucson production line at home last week for five days, while sister firm Kia is looking to suspend three Korean plants for a week. And analysts now expect a sharp drop in first-quarter operating profit when it reports results on Thursday and some even forecast a second-quarter loss. "I hope that the situation will recover by the middle of next month. If not, we might have to lay off some people," said Brad Cannon, general manager of an exclusive Hyundai dealership in California, whose sales are down more than 50% from when the pandemic started. Hyundai runs a factory in Alabama — which is closed until May 1 — but imports are key to meet U.S. demand. Only about half of its vehicles sold in the United States are made in North America compared to between 68% and 85% for Japanese rivals Toyota, Nissan and Honda, who have also suspended production there till May. The South Korean company makes about 61% of its cars overseas, up from 48% a decade ago. That leaves it vulnerable to overseas factory shutdowns and shrinking demand outside of its home market. Hyundai's South Korean factory operation, which had recovered from a component shortage from China to nearly 100% capacity by March, could fall to as much as 70% in April, the company recently told analysts. "We will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action promptly," Hyundai said in an emailed statement. Minimizing the impact For its part, Hyundai has taken measures to minimize the impact.

Kia brings four jump-ready Tellurides and a modified Stinger to SEMA

Kia dropped the curtain on the Forte GT today at SEMA, but the Korean automaker also has a full plate of modified cars it will be showing there too. Four heavily modified Telluride SUVs, a Stinger, Forte and K900 are all making appearances in Las Vegas. All of the Tellurides look a bit different, but they share the same suspension modifications. It starts with KW Motorsports long-travel shocks with remote reservoirs and three-way adjustable damping. Then Kia fabricated new heavy-duty lower control arms, widened the track by three inches and added King hydraulic bump stops. Why did Kia add such an awesome suspension setup? Well, it plans on jumping these Tellurides all week long at a demonstration track outside of the SEMA show. We think that's a good enough reason. All the Tellurides are also sporting Black Rhino wheels shod with 32-inch Milestar Patagonia mud terrain tires. A straight pipe exhaust has also been fitted. Telluride Horizon Roamer This Telluride has a snorkel for deep-water fording and a large LED light bar on the roof. Kia says this one was designed for conquering the Rubicon trail. The orange paint ensures you won't be missing this big SUV on the rocks either. Telluride Cadet Leader Kia says this one was aimed more toward the trailblazing kind of off-roading. It has flat military style green and black paint and Rotopaks for gasoline on the rear quarter panels. Telluride Desert Drifter Painted to blend in with the desert, this Telluride might be our favorite looking of the bunch. The front LEDs actually blend in nicely with the paint, giving this tough looking off-roader a sense of style. Telluride Baja Glider Here's the only Telluride of the bunch without a massive brush guard. Instead, it gets a front tube bumper to go along with its skid plate. The black paint gives it a much more subdued appearance as well. 2019 DUB Kia Stinger GT DUB certainly went all-in on this Stinger, mounting massive 22-inch wheels and a wide body kit. There's a custom exhaust and intake for extra noise, and the engine bay gets a full dress-up kit. Air-ride suspension brings it all closer to the ground, while the brushed steel and carbon fiber wraps give it an even flashier appearance. A completely custom red/black leather and suede interior make the Stinger unique on the inside too. 2019 DUB Kia K900 The K900 seems like more of a DUB-style car to customize, and this example here is not lacking in the glam department.

Watch the 2020 Technology of the Year presentation to Kia

CHICAGO — Kia's Blind Spot System won the 2020 Autoblog Technology of the Year Award. Watch the presentation at the 2020 Chicago Auto Show as Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore hands the trophy to Kia Corporate Communications Director James Bell, followed by a Q&A of how the tech works. Autoblog editors judged the system, which combines blind spot monitoring and active crash avoidance features, as the best in our testing last fall. Kia beat out Mercedes E-Active Body Control, Subaru DriverFocus and Ram's MultiFunction tailgate. Every year, Autoblog editors test the latest technology features. Tech of the Year began in 2013, and Tesla, Lexus and Cadillac are among the previous winners. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.     Related Gallery 2020 Autoblog Technology of the Year Award Presentation Kia Technology Technology of the Year Truck SUV