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Hyundai to buy electric vehicle batteries from SK Innovation, according to report

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia Motors have decided to secure electric vehicle batteries from SK Innovation for the next four to five years, Maeil Business Newspaper said on Friday, citing industry sources. The sources said the deal was worth more than 10 trillion won ($8.6 billion). SK Innovation, Hyundai Motor and Kia declined to comment. Hyundai Motor said in October it would launch 16 EV models by 2025, aiming to boost EV sales 560,000 by then, a level that would be equivalent to more than 10% of its projected global sales this year. Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin. Related Video:    

2019 Kia Stinger gets IIHS Top Safety Pick+ rating

The 2019 Kia Stinger just officially received an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, which is the highest honor from the Insurance Institute. However, this award only applies to Stingers equipped with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights. All the crashworthiness ratings returned with a "Good" rating, and that applies to every version of the Stinger sold here. The forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian detection is an option on the Stinger, and this combined with trims sporting LED headlight projectors results in the TSP+ rating. In IIHS forward collision tests, the Stinger successfully avoided collisions at 12 mph and 25 mph. The base halogen projector headlights were rated "Poor," so watch out for those while Stinger shopping. Interestingly, the IIHS rated the static LED projectors as "Good" and the curve-adaptive LED projectors got lower marks as "Acceptable." For reference, the curve-adaptive LEDs are found on the Stinger GT2 trim. The IIHS just thinks the visibility with the adaptive LEDs is worse compared to the static units. We can't say we're surprised that the Stinger received the TSP+ award, as it shares a modified platform with the Genesis G70 that received the same rating from the IIHS. The new sport sedan and sportback from Genesis and Kia clearly crash well. That's always heartening to hear, especially as we continue with the long-term test of our Kia Stinger GT. We love the red bullet of a hatchback, and most recently compared it to a Genesis G70 with the same powertrain.

Kia Proceed wagon teased, could be sign of things to come for other Kias

One of our favorite cars from the Frankfurt Motor Show last year was the Kia Proceed concept (shown below). It was a rakish, sleek wagon that looked a bit like a smaller, more practically-minded Kia Stinger GT. One of the key questions, though, was whether a production version could look as good, as well as when that production version would arrive. To partially answer those questions, Kia has released a teaser image of the final product. The teaser shows us the rear of the car, and it does hint that this wagon will have a low roofline and an almost fastback rear hatch. This is evident by the small glass opening relative to the rest of the car. There are of course compromises for production. It doesn't look like the rearward side glass wraps around to the hatch glass, and the spoiler is reshaped. The taillights aren't just a single wide bar, either. Now they take a shape closer to that of the Kia Sportage or Stinger. We do like the looks of the wide haunches at the base of the glass, though. Between that and the low roof, this should be a very stylish hatch. The subtle high-mount brake light is a slick touch, too. Kia also announced that the car will be revealed in September and also be shown at the Paris Motor Show in October. We're excited to see the final product. We're less excited about the fact we probably won't get the car in the U.S. The Ceed line of cars has historically been European, and since wagons still aren't popular here, there's not much hope for this to have an American rendition. Stranger things have happened, of course. Hyundai has continued to sell the American Elantra sedan alongside the European i30 under the Elantra GT name. Kia could possibly do something similar. At the very least, there's a good chance that the Proceed's design will influence other Kia models, possibly even some of its crossovers, so that's a plus. View 5 Photos Related Video: