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Hyundai Motor's two R&D vice chairmen reportedly resigning

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group's two vice chairmen in charge of research and development have offered to resign, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. R&D president Albert Biermann is likely to be named the new head of the division, two of the sources added, declining to be named as they are not authorized to speak to media. Hyundai is battling a plunge in sales, profits and its share price, and the reshuffle would be the latest since Hyundai promoted Euisun Chung in September to executive vice chairman, moving him closer to succeeding his octogenarian father as head of South Korea's second-largest group. The group has appointed new product strategy, design chiefs and replaced senior executives at its overseas operations, including China and the United States. The latest shake-up at the group, which includes Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, could be announced on Wednesday, one of the sources said. It is "part of a generational change Chung is pushing for," another person said. A Hyundai Motor spokesman declined to comment. The group's vice chairmen, Yang Woong-chul and Kwon Moon-sik, both aged 64, told senior officials on Tuesday that they would leave the company, the sources said, declining to say why they had offered to resign. Biermann, a former BMW performance vehicle development official, adds to a flurry of foreign executives that Chung, 48, has brought in to the company typically dominated by Koreans. In October, Thomas Schemera, also a former BMW executive, was appointed to lead product planning for autonomous cars, connected and electrified vehicles, while Luc Donckerwolke, a former Bentley design chief, was appointed to oversee design at Hyundai and Kia. Hyundai Motor's third-quarter net profit plunged by two-thirds, hit by U.S. recall costs that added to its problems. The automaker was already suffering with weak sales in its key U.S. and Chinese markets. Hyundai's share price is down more than 10 percent this quarter, despite a recent rebound driven by a share buyback plan announced on Nov. 30. Reporting by Hyunjoo JinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Insider trading ahead of Hyundai-Kia MPG debacle suspected

Reuters is reporting that large-scale insider trading may be at the heart of some particularly fishy stock-selling behavior, just prior to the original announcement about the Hyundai-Kia fuel economy ratings debacle.
On November 1st, Hyundai-Kia shares traded roughly 2.2 million times (the single highest-volume day of the year), and the stock price fell by about four percent. For reference, a standard daily trading volume for the stock in 2012 saw about 600k shares trading hands. On November 2nd, the company made public the bad news about the dropping fuel economy ratings for many of its models. In other words: No one outside of the company (and only a smallish group inside the company, we'd imagine) should have known anything about the impending bad news as of the first day of November. After the announcement, the stock price tanked, as you'd expect, and trading volume was way down as well.
Experts seem fully aware that the whole thing reeks of leaked information and subsequent insider trading. If chicanery on this sort of scale seems wacky to you, you'd be inline with the experts who report to Reuters that the level of trading is absolutely suspicious.

Kia debuts the compact Seltos crossover in Delhi

The Kia Seltos has had an unusual gestation, with two concepts, exterior sketches, interior sketches, an effective reveal during a photo shoot, a christening via mythology and more teasers. Even so, since the Kia Seltos small crossover began as last year's SP concept for the Indian market, it's fitting Kia hosted the production model's debut in Delhi. We're still missing a few details, like the look of the production interior and drivetrain options, but we have a bit more to go on. The detailing and materials are what could set the Seltos apart in the segment. The overall lines are familiar, however, Kia designers have worked to make those lines lyric instead of prosaic. The front fascia's been defined by three transverse metallic-look pieces shaping the upper and lower forms. The wide tiger-nose grille gets bracketed by crisp splashes of color with the LED headlights and intricate turn signals. The rear end's creasing, shadow and metallic effects are bounded by LED taillights and more "3D multi-layer indicators." We've seen renderings of the interior and know to expect a 10.25-inch infotainment screen atop the instrument panel. That screen display can be split up to show three infotainment applications at once. Kia says there will be an available eight-inch heads-up display on a glass panel behind the steering wheel. Optional eight-speaker Bose audio can pump tunes that guide the optional Sound Mood Lighting, which uses ambient lighting to create a light show timed to the beat. Indian buyers will have a choice of a 1.6-liter turbo four-cylinder with 175 horsepower, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 147 hp, and a 1.6-liter diesel four with 134 hp. Kia didn't specify how the transmission options will be assigned, but the selection includes a seven-speed dual-clutch, a six-speed automatic, and a CVT. A three-mode driving selector offers Eco, Normal, and Sport. The Kia release said "Sport mode increases responses from steering and electric motor to maximize the dynamic driving feel." As there's no mention of hybridization, we wonder if the electric motor refers to the electrically-assisted power steering, or something else. Wheel choices for India start with 16-inch alloys on 205/60 rubber, moving on to 17-inchers on 215/55 rubber, topping out at 18-inch wheels on 235/45 tires. In one of the interior drawings, we noted buttons that appeared to control all-wheel drive, hill descent control, and a locking rear differential.