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Hyundai’s way forward focuses on technology



AFTER what Hyundai Australia chief executive John Kett described as “a challenging year as supply issues dropped us to fifth place in Australia,” the brand is aiming for from 2023 onwards with a range of new or refreshed “fun to drive” models. , more zero-emission vehicles and fully connected cars.

“We would have been third this year if it weren’t for the supply issues,” said Mr Kett at the launch of the Santa Fe hybrid in Australia, the first petrol-electric SUV in the company’s local lineup. Hyundai.

“Our situation this year is not ideal but as things are changing, we plan to focus on technology, driving pleasure and pride in ownership in our plan to introduce 17 models. new car in the next 19 months.

“Hyundai is transforming, constantly innovating, and we will continue to decarbonize our fleet to transition to an all-ZEV (zero-emission vehicle) product line by 2045.”

“Over the next two years, Hyundai will launch six zero-emissions vehicles that will reinforce our EV credentials.”

While all this unfolds, the company is aiming to have a full line of ‘connected cars’ in Australia within two years through its smartphone app-based Bluelink telecommunications technology. Smart debuted on the large SUV Palisade earlier this year.

Hyundai Australia product planning manager Jonathan Lam said Bluelink opens a lot of tech doors for Hyundai owners but the company has no plans to switch to a paid subscription like Toyota has done with its suite of services. your connected.

“We are closely monitoring what happens to other brands in relation to subscription services but at this time they are not being considered,” he said.

“Our focus with Bluelink is on delivering more features to our customers, not starting to charge them a monthly fee,” he said.

GoAuto was told that the hybrid would be the last variant of the fourth-generation Santa Fe, which returned in 2018 and will be replaced in 2024.

At the launch event, members of Hyundai Australia’s product planning team told GoAuto that the next-generation model will be built on an internal combustion engine platform rather than a dedicated EV architecture. E-GMP is being used more and more by Hyundai.

When asked the age-old question of the possibility of a Hyundai one-ton tank car, product planners became wary.

The spokesman said: “What specifications should we (Hyundai) build on the powertrain and what size?” before speculating on directions including “a large ute about the size of a full-size American F-150 pickup and a one-ton as we are used to here Down Under and diesel, gasoline engines , electric or hybrid”.

Neither description matches the description of Hyundai’s North American-market Santa Cruz, which shares a unibody platform with the Tucson and Santa Fe SUVs, as well as the Sonata sedan.

“There is a huge market for monocoque vehicles that Hyundai has not yet tapped into and we would love to have one but we are focusing on other areas at the moment,” said the spokesperson. Spokesperson said, probably referring to Santa Cruz.

When asked about the possibility of a low-cost (under $30,000) electric car, the spokesperson said: “We are looking at a number of options and have a buyer profile available for a friendly car. with city (small, easy). for parking, limited range, fast recharge).

In a statement, back in July, Hyundai confirmed that it had developed an electric version of the i10 for sale in Europe that could potentially be adapted for the right-hand drive market.

The statement said: “Hyundai will produce an affordable electric model for Europe, possibly based on the i10 light hatch.

An existing i10-based small Hyundai EV will cut costs by reusing components from the recently discontinued Ioniq electric vehicle.

This means a single 100kW/295Nm electric motor drives the front wheels and is powered by a 38kWh lithium-ion battery that can be recharged in just 54 minutes using a 100kW DC fast charger.

Meanwhile, GoAuto has discovered a level of opposition from automakers, including Hyundai, to the ACT’s proposed ban on internal combustion engines by 2035.

The ACT government’s ambition is that 80 to 90 percent of new light vehicles sold by 2030 are zero-emissions models, with a stricter ban expected to come into effect after five years.

Our sources said Hyundai and others with staff in Canberra lobbied politicians regarding the ban, which they consider impossible for the time being.

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