Battleground for Hybrid Cars

Hyundai, Kia to ready to battle with Toyota, Honda in hybrid car market

Hyundai Motor and its sister car maker Kia Motors will start producing hybrid cars from next year, pushing forward the initial production schedule of the environment-friendly cars, automakers said March 21.
Hyundai Motor China also dedicated its second car plant near Beijing on April 8, bringing the production of its cars in China to 600,000 units annually. That number will increase to 1.03 million cars per year if the Kia Motors plant in Jiangsu Province, which turns out 430,000 cars per year, is included.
Chairman Chung Mong-koo told President Lee Myung-bak during the president's tour of Kia Motors'Gwangju auto plant that the plant will start producing the hybrid cars from next year, which will create job and be a growth engine for the economy in the years to come.
He said it is important to continuously carry out R&D activity for sustainable growth of environment-friendly futuristic vehicles vital for the survival of automakers.
At the present time, both Hyundai and Kia are working hard to expand the number of hybrid car models, preparing for mass-production systems and the development of technology to make sure that the schedule for mass-production of hybrid cars next year is on the right tract, the chairman said.
The auto makers under the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group plans to turn out such models as Pride, Verna models and pro-types of those car models are being test-driven by public organizations. The auto companies plan to expand the hybrid cars to mid-sized sedans in 2010 and mass produce them.
Hyundai and Kia's hybrid cars will burn LPG, a pollution free fuel, while Toyota's hybrid cars burn gasoline and use electric motors, in order to differentiate their hybrid models from Toyota's.
Hyundai Motor will produce the Avante LPI hybrid car model from next year and in 2010 the auto maker will follow with the production of mid-sized Avante hybrid model which will be powered by both gasoline and LPG.
World-wide, the sale of hybrid cars numbered 517,
911 units last year and the figure is expected to rise to 760,000 units this year and more than 1 million units in 2010.
In the face of the encouraging statistics, Hyundai and Kia plan to turn out battery-driven cars en mass in 2012. Before making the move, the two automakers will produce 500 test models of mid-sized cars including SUVs in 2010.
In 2000, the Korean automakers developed a battery-driven Sportage, an SUV, powered by an electric battery developed in 2004. The 80kw battery is installed on the Tucson, another SUV.
The domestic car market will be crowded with hybrid cars with Toyota Chairman Jo Fujio announcing that the leading Japanese car maker is ready to introduce its Camry and Prius hybrid cars in Korea from next year. Honda, another leading Japanese auto company has already been marketing its hybrid car model Civic from last year and the auto maker projects the sale of the Civic is likely to reach 120 units this year more than twice the sale last year. Honda officials in Seoul said the company will put on the Korean car market a brand new model of its cars next year.
Hyundai Motor is counting on the hybrid Avante, which will burn LPG, totally pollution free, will have an advantage over its Japanese rivals, which are powered by both gasoline and electric batteries.
Hyundai will follow it up with the hybrid Sonata in 2010. Kia, too, will introduce hybrid models of Mohave and Lotze in 2010. Officials of the Korean auto makers said they will boost their competitive edge in the environment-friendly car markets on which all rival car makers in the world believe their survival depend.
Toyota became the first automaker in the world to develop and produce a hybrid car in the Prius in 1997 and so far the car sold about 940,000 cars worldwide. The Japanese car maker will bring the Camry hybrid, which has been exclusively marketed in the United States to Korea next year, too. Toyota President Watanabe told the press in Tokyo the automaker will market over 1 million hybrid cars annually from 2010. nw

Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo