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Hyundai Motor America announced today that it will be able to achieve a fleet average of 35 miles per gallon by 2015, five years ahead of the timetable for new fuel economy regulations. The company revealed its fuel economy goals at the Los Angeles Auto Show, where it unveiled Hyundai’s first gas-electric hybrid vehicle, the Hyundai Sonata sedan—slated for the North American market in 2010.

“We’re taking fuel efficiency higher and faster than any other carmaker. We’re going to pass Toyota and Honda by 2015,” said John Krafcik, vice president of product development at Hyundai Motor America, in an interview with HybridCars.com.

Maximizing MPG-Per-Dollar Ratio

Hyundai’s fuel efficiency campaign—dubbed “Hyundai Blue Drive”—features a range of advanced technologies, including hybrids powered by lithium batteries, turbocharged gasoline direct injection, and eventually plug-in hybrids and fuel cell electric vehicles. But in keeping with its brand, Hyundai will also focus on near-term, low-cost fuel efficiency strategies—such as low-rolling-resistance tires, enhanced aerodynamics, and revised engine calibrations—to offer the highest mpg at the lowest cost. Next year, Hyundai will introduce these measures in “blue versions” of its Accent and Elantra models, allowing the company to price the higher-mpg models lower than conventional models.

A base-level Hyundai Accent sells for approximately $11,000, and offers combined fuel economy of 30 mpg. An “Accent Blue” could conceivably sell for below $10,000, with mpg in the mid-30s.

“We don’t think you should have to be rich to afford a high efficiency vehicle,” said Krafcik. “That’s a backwards approach.” Krafcik believes there is a new wave of consumers willing to make significant compromises—such as reducing vehicle weight by riding without a spare tire, swapping power windows and door locks for manual cranks, and trading the smoothest ride for lower tire resistance—in order to maximize miles-per-gallon. Maybe it’s time for the return of the econobox, 21st century-style?

Krafcik compared today’s breed of efficiency enthusiasts with yesterday’s muscle car fans who opted for performance over comfort. “In this age, fuel efficiency is the new zero-to-60 time,” he said. “It’s more socially relevant.”

The Sonata Hybrid’s Lithium Batteries

Hyundai developed its own homegrown hybrid architecture for use in the Sonata. The technical design, known as a parallel hybrid system, will serve as the foundation for future hybrid drive vehicles introduced by Hyundai. In a parallel hybrid, the wheels are turned by power coming directly from the gasoline engine, the electric motor, or both together, as conditions demand. This approach is similar to the design used by Toyota and Ford.

The more significant innovation is the use of a lithium polymer battery system provided by Hyundai’s battery supplier, LG Chem. According to Hyundai, the lithium batteries deliver the same power as today’s hybrid nickel metal hydride batteries—but with 30 percent less weight, 50 percent less volume and 10 percent greater efficiency.

Despite industry concerns about the price and availability of lithium batteries, Krafcik said it wasn’t a hard decision to make the move to lithium. He admits that Hyundai is late to the hybrid market—the Sonata is about two years away from dealerships—and expressed the desire to demonstrate a leadership position with its first hybrid entry. “We asked ourselves where the technology is going to be in five years,” he said. “And how we can get to that end point ahead of time.”

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The company has hybrids on sale in Korea now and has announced plans to add diesel engines to its SUV in America. But those are follow-up or back-up strategies to its more immediate lower cost options.

Hyundai will use improved aerodynamics, lighter weight materials, tires with lower rolling resistance and electric power steering to replace the traditional hydraulic system. The latter move alone could add 1 mpg to Hyundai models.

On the powertrain side, Hyundai will move to six-speed automatic transmissions, recently introduced on its Veracruz SUV. In addition, the company will move to direct injection gasoline engines, which promise a 3 to 6 percent boost in fuel economy.

While the company focuses on incremental improvements at its U.S. tech center, more dramatic changes are being tried in Korea. Hyundai has had hybrid models available to government fleets for the last couple years and said it would introduce a hybrid that combines liquid petroleum gas and electricity in 2009, followed by a more conventional gas-electric hybrid the following year. In 2005, Hyundai had announced that it would release a hybrid version of its subcompact Accent. Those plans have been indefinitely delayed. The company also continues to work on fuel cell cars as a longer-term solution.

The post Hyundai: Simple Improvements First appeared first on HybridCars.com.

“The importance of developing futuristic, environmentally-friendly cars is increasing for sustainable growth,” said Chung Mong Koo, chairman of Hyundai. “Therefore, technology for advanced cars, like the hybrid, is imperative.”

To date, Hyundai has produced approximately 2,800 small hybrids for various government demonstration projects in South Korea. In 2004 and 2005, the company announced plans to invest nearly $1 billion in its hybrid program, with the goal of producing 10,000 hybrids per year by 2009, including a hybrid version of the Hyundai Accent. Those plans were delayed in 2006, when the company faced a series of corporate scandals which landed its chairman in jail.

The latest announcement suggests that Hyundai is ready to resume its hybrid plans—although the decision to use propane as a fuel source indicates that the Avante will initially be targeted to fleets. More than three million vehicles worldwide operate on propane, mostly for municipal and corporate fleet use in Australia, Canada, Holland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, and Korea.

The post Hyundai To Mass Produce Hybrids in 2009 appeared first on HybridCars.com.

A hybrid version of the Hyundai Elantra, powered by lithium ion batteries, could arrive in the U.S. as early as 2010. But the lithium battery technology has not yet been proven safe, reliable and cost-effective.

The race for the coveted lithium ion hybrid has a new contender. Hyundai has announced intentions to build a hybrid version of the Elantra sedan using lithium battery technology. The vehicle could show up in the U.S. as early as 2010—but the wait for lithium batteries that are sufficiently safe and affordable might put Hyundai in the same “wait and hope” situation as General Motors with its Chevy Volt.

The use of lithium batteries in the next generation of hybrids and electric vehicles could yield significant increased in fuel efficiency.

The battery itself is being developed by Korea’s own LG Electronics. Hyundai is already testing a fleet of hybrid Elantras, according to Jae Won Lee, Hyundai’s senior executive vice president of product planning. Lee told Automotive News that he doesn’t expect much of a premium in cost for the new lithium ion batteries over the nickel metal hydride employed in today’s hybrids—but he didn’t explain how the company would bring down the cost of lithium batteries. Lee did express concern about stability and thermal issues related to the new battery technology.

Unlike Honda and Toyota, Hyundai has no plans for a dedicated platform for hybrid vehicles. It simply can’t afford that kind of initiative. But it does plan on utilizing hybrid technology in other vehicles in the existing model line.

Hyundai had planned to launch a hybrid version of their Accent subcompact sedan back in 2005, but halted all such plans citing market factors and low overall demand. Scandal in the top ranks of the corporation at that time also presumably played a role in the delays. The release of a lithium-powered Hyundai hybrid could help the company make up for lost time in the hybrid marketplace.

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Summary: All that sells does not a profit make. Not at first, anyway. But if you have a guaranteed market and a product that’s in demand, it seems likely that profit will be forthcoming eventually. And if it doesn’t, well, that risk is part of doing business, isn’t it? These analysts seem to forget that.

"SCOTT JAGOW: Today, Hyundai said it’s gonna start mass producing hybrids in 2009. It’s a bit of a risky move, getting into the hybrid business. It’s costly, and even though U.S. sales boomed last year, now they’re starting to slow down. David Welch of BusinessWeek Magazine is with us. David, why aren’t the hybrids moving as fast?

"DAVID WELCH: Well it’s still a very small niche. There’s a core buyer who really loves hybrids but penetrating the mass market has been incredibly difficult because economically they just don’t make sense yet. You buy a hybrid Honda Accord, there’s a $3,300 premium over a V6- powered regular old Honda Accord and you even have some pretty aggressive incentives. Toyota started offering lease deals as cheap as $219 a month to move the Prius, which has been the hottest hybrid."

Hybrids don’t make sense yet? Ay, ay, ay. To prove that point, Welch had to choose a poorly selling muscle hybrid that gets about 20 mpg less than the best-selling Prius. In the very next sentence, he contradicts himself with the great deals Toyota is now offering on Prius leases.

Good for Hyundai, making an effort to provide cleaner vehicles. But note that South Korea’s public policy leans heavily toward requiring deep cuts in pollution. If the US were to encourage government agencies to replace Crown Vics in the fleet with Escape Hybrids (or even muscular Honda Accord Hybrids), analysts might be singing a different tune.

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