2011 Kia Sorento Lx on 2040-cars

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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.

Kia Sportage crossover is feeling 'Sporty' with 2020 refresh

The 2020 Kia Sportage crossover, which has been spied testing on the Nurburgring of all places, gets unveiled this week at the Chicago Auto Show. The 2020 model year marks a light visual refresh for the 2017-on Sportage generation, and among other details, it's recognizable from updated bumpers front and rear. The headlights have been discreetly redone, offering available LED technology, and they also incorporate LED turn signals on select trim levels. In addition, the fog lights are also available with LED. The taillights also have new trim, and there's a redesigned skid plate on both bumpers. You can also spot the 2020 Sportage from a new selection of alloy wheels in 17-, 18- and 19-inch sizes. Inside, the 8-inch touchscreen is standard, with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capabilities. Modem-enabled telematics and navigation are optional, as is a wireless smartphone charging tray. The steering wheel is a new design, and "Sofino" leather trim is a new option. For 2020, the optional driver assists have been updated to include attention warning, lane keeping assist, high beam assist, adaptive cruise, start-stop and a forward collision assist with pedestrian detection. The cruise control radar is visible in the middle of the tiger-nose grille, below the Kia emblem. The powertrain continues as previously, with a naturally aspirated, 181-hp 2.4 and a 2.0-liter, 240-hp turbo four on offer, and a choice of FWD or AWD to go with the standard six-speed automatic. No mild hybrid has yet been announced, but we're expecting it to appear later on — sans diesel power. As for the trim levels, there's a new S level joining previous LX, EX and SX trims, and according to Kia, S stands for "Sporty"; it features sporty trim both inside and outside. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

2020 Kia Cadenza shows its new face in mid-cycle refresh

When we drove the all-new 2017 Kia Cadenza a few years back, our main takeaway was that "it's fine." There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, but it's a solid sedan. With the facelifted and refreshed 2020 Cadenza just revealed today, Kia looks like it's reaching a bit more, in an attempt to move beyond general goodness. The 2020 Kia Cadenza, teased last week, takes a stab at bold design. A concave V-shaped grille is the main styling element up front, as our eyes constantly drift to that funky chrome every time we examine the car. It looks like Kia was just riffing off the old grille, and decided to make it bigger while adding in a crease. Those headlights are new, too. They're much narrower and smaller than the old units, and we think they help the face of the new car tremendously. Kia attacked the rear of the Cadenza in a similar fashion. The taillights now stretch across the entire rear of the sedan, connected by an interesting dashed line coming in from both sides and meeting in the middle. It's just another example of Hyundai/Kia designing taillights with a sense of style. We're reminded of the new Hyundai Sonata that went in a bold new path itself at the NY Auto Show. Changes to the interior are relatively significant for just a mid-cycle refresh. There's a new, widescreen 12.3-inch touchscreen that forced a new air vent layout. Along with the rethought center stack, the center console gets changed up with a new gear shift lever and button/storage layout below that. It all comes off as a much more premium design than before. Adding further to that motif is a digital gauge cluster seen on this model. The Cadenza is supposed to be a luxurious sedan, and Kia is certainly answering the call with added tech on the interior. Unfortunately, we're still in the dark from a powertrain perspective. The Cadenza is currently offered in the U.S. exclusively paired to a 3.3-liter V6 and eight-speed automatic transmission. This reveal today was for the Korean-spec K7, (same as our Cadenza), so U.S. powertrain options remain unspoken. We'll expect details on the U.S. spec car to drop before the end of the year, and for this model to go on sale later in 2019 or sometime in 2020.