Hyundai opened the European facility at the end of 2008. It produces the i30, i30cw, and newly launched ix20 and exports to 50 countries across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
Now, following the announcement on the completely redesigned Picanto city car that will break cover at the Geneva Show, our spy photographers snapped the next new model to be added to Kia's range, the 2012 Rio subcompact, while testing in Germany.
The prototype seen in these scoop photos is the five-door hatchback model, but the range will also include a four-door sedan. Although disguised, it's not hard to see that the new Rio 5d will be a more stylish proposal than the current model. From what's visible, the roofline looks more sloped while the front-end appears to feature a similar styling to the European market Picanto and Venga.
Underneath the skin, the new Rio will most likely share its platform with the latest Hyundai Accent, while powertrain options will depend on the market. In Europe, buyers should expect a similar engine lineup to the Kia Venga and Hyundai ix20, including a choice of 1.4-liter and 1.6-liter diesel and gasoline units.
Look out for an auto show debut later in the year, with sales kicking off in most markets before the end of 2011.
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
While official details on powertrain options remain scarce, it has been reported that the Veloster will be offered with a 1.6-liter unit boasting direct-injection tech and an output of around 140-horsepower. The four-cylinder unit is said to be hooked up to a dual-clutch transmission returning up to 40mpg (5.8 lt/100km).
Source: Hyundai , Via: Autoblog
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
"Hyundai Motor Group's 2011 target appears to be conservative and fully achievable," Tong Yang Securities analyst Ahn Sang-jun told Reuters.
"Sales growth will be slowing because of a high base effect during the 2009 downturn, but Hyundai will still gain a share in the market, which is expected to grow 7 percent this year led by China and the United States," Ahn Sang-jun added.
In order to achieve its goal, the South Korean automaker is planning to roll out a variety if new or refreshed products in 2011 including the Hyundai Veloster small coupe, Azera sedan (Grandeur in South Korea), the European-market i40 SW and Saloon, as well as the Kia Picanto and pro_cee'd facelift. Last year the two companies overhauled their vehicle lineups with an array of new products such as the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and Elantra, and Kia Sportage CUV and Optima saloon.
Source: Reuters 
For the creation of the advertisement, Hyundai turned to the makers of the Avatar movie. Even though this is not evident in the 2-D version of the advert seen in the video below, the 4-D movie shown in theaters combined a 3-D film with special physical effects such as vibrating seats, wind and steam which occur in synchronization with the film.
We'll have to wait and see if Hyundai will make use of the 4-D commercial for the North American version of the car when it arrives in the market later this year.
Hat tip goes to Jinhwan!
_______________________________VIDEOS_______________________________
“We launched two new models this year and we want to launch a new model in 2012”, In-Kyu Bae, head of Kia Motors Slovakia told reporters, after a meeting with Prime Minister Iveta Radicova.
Located near Zilina, in the northern part of Slovakia, Kia’s factory has an annual capacity of 300,000 units and builds two SUVs (Kia Sportage/Hyundai ix35) and the Kia Cee’d compact.
The highest demand is for the Sport Utility Vehicles, therefore the Korean maker announced that the plant’s maximum capacity is expected to increase next year.
In the first eleven months of 2010, 207,000 vehicles left the plant's assembly lines, representing a 50% increase compared to the same period last year, while this year’s total output is estimated to reach around 228,000 units.
By Csaba Daradics
Source: Reuters via Yahoo
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
"Sonata has delivered some pretty incredible results for us this year," says John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO. "Sonata is the Hyundai brand and it's appropriate that it has led our best year ever. Sonata's innovation has reset the most hotly contested, largest segment in the U.S. car market, with Sonata delivering more year-over-year retail sales growth – about 90,000 units – than any other car in the entire industry."
According to Hyundai, more than 70 percent of Sonata buyers previously owned a car from a brand other than Hyundai with more than 20 percent coming from Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
"This car has meant so much to the success of our brand and our dealers," says Krafcik. "While cars like Camry and Accord spend more than 50 days on a dealer lot, Sonata leads the segment in 'days-to-turn' through the first three quarters. The average Sonata is sold in 16 days."
The Hyundai CEO also added that the Sonata vastly improved its fleet sales record moving from sixth place in its segment last November with a mere 5% retail share, to third, averaging 13-to-16% retail segment share for most of the year, behind Accord and Camry.
In the States, the new Sonata is offered with three engine choices, a 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four producing 198HP or 200HP (depending on the version), a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-banger with 274HP and a 2.4-liter hybrid variant delivering a combined output of 209HP.
_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________
