Hyundai to Mass Produce Hybrids in 2009, Starting with Elantra Hybrid
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 03.24.08
Hyundai has made about 2,800 compact hybrid cars since 2004, but they haven't been available to the public, only to government agencies in South-Korea. This is about to change: The company has announced that they will begin mass production of hybrids in 2009, starting with their Avante model (known as the Elantra in North-America).
Not too many details are known yet. Apparently, the Elantra hybrid will be powered by LPG at first, and a gasoline version will follow. No word on what kind of hybrid technology, or whether it will be plug-in. Hyundai also plans to "produce a small fleet of fuel cell electric vehicles from 2012." We will keep an eye on this story and update you when we find out more about Hyundai's hybrid-car plans. ::Hyundai Press Release, ::Hyundai says it will mass produce hybrid in 2009, ::Hyundai Unveils New 2006 Accent Hybrid
Powered by LPG at first? I presume they're selling those to government and commercial customers only. My two questions: How long before regular people get to buy one, and is it a real hybrid or a b.s. Honda Accord style hybrid that only gets 1 MPG better than the regular version?
This is great!...Hyundai not only has improved their reliability ratings on their cars...but now they are stepping up to compete with other asian manufacturers' hybrid compact cars. I love my civic just as much as anyone else, but the more competition honda and toyota get, the better hybrids will be.
Some versions of this announcement mention their hybrids are already sold in South Korea, to government. Good chance the technology released here will be well debugged and problem free due to this.
Hyundai also is building (built?) a massive new factory in the US.
FINALLY!!! When I visited Korea last winter, I was very pleased to find out they were decades ahead of us as far as green practices go... Everything you hear about here that you should do if you want to take up the mantle of being an environmentalist... it's all mandatory or in common use there! recycling, insulation, energy efficiency in all their appliances and technology, radiant floor heating, using clotheslines, mass transportation... (Actually, most civilized countries do this, except the US) The only things I didn't see were wind turbines and hybrids, presumably because they're relatively expensive, and because everything is so cutthroat in Korea... It's awesome to know that Korea is keeping up with the hybrids!