As parent companies, Hyundai and Kia should theoretically work in the same direction. In reality, however, their future green cars will take different paths.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group vice president Yang Woong-Chul announced that Kia will now focus on electric cars, while Hyundai will work on plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
He believes the move will allow Kia to manufacture the group's first high-speed electric vehicles under the project name "TAM" and sell them as early as the end of 2011. Whether they will be mass produced or not has yet to be confirmed.
On the other side of the fence, Hyundai will continue R&D efforts initiated with the Tucson FCEV. Last seen in Washington earlier this year, the compact crossover uses hydrogen fuel cells to cover 643 kilometres on a single tank, even when the temperature dips to minus 25°C. A limited number of units will hit the market in 2012, while mass production is expected to start around 2015.
Do you think Hyundai-Kia's green car strategy will pay off or are they bound to hurt each other?
Source: Autoblog Green
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group vice president Yang Woong-Chul announced that Kia will now focus on electric cars, while Hyundai will work on plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles.
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| Photo: Hyundai |
He believes the move will allow Kia to manufacture the group's first high-speed electric vehicles under the project name "TAM" and sell them as early as the end of 2011. Whether they will be mass produced or not has yet to be confirmed.
On the other side of the fence, Hyundai will continue R&D efforts initiated with the Tucson FCEV. Last seen in Washington earlier this year, the compact crossover uses hydrogen fuel cells to cover 643 kilometres on a single tank, even when the temperature dips to minus 25°C. A limited number of units will hit the market in 2012, while mass production is expected to start around 2015.
Do you think Hyundai-Kia's green car strategy will pay off or are they bound to hurt each other?
Source: Autoblog Green