| (AUG.20.2008) During a media event in Ann Arbor, MI John Krafcik VP Product Development, Hyundai Motor America reveals that the company's first North American market hybrid vehicle will debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Hyundai will install its in-house developed hybrid system in the mid-size Sonata sedan.
The Hyundai system will be a strong-parallel hybrid system using a lithium ion battery pack. Hyundai has been testing hybrid systems in Elantras running in government fleets in South Korea for the past two years. LG Chem is supplying lithium polymer batteries for those vehicles although no announcement has been made about the Sonata hybrid yet. After showing the Sonata hybrid in Los Angeles, it will debut in production in 2010 as a 2011 model.
Since the event was a regional media drive for the recently introduced Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan, Green Fuels Forecast asked Krafcik about the possibility of a rear wheel drive hybrid system. Krafcik categorically said the company has "no plans" for a hybrid suitable for the Genesis.
 The all-new Hyundai Genesis
Krafcik also discussed other future powertrain options for the Genesis. The combination of the high cost of both aftertreatment systems and diesel fuel make it a difficult proposition to sell.
"It's true, it's really expensive and you can make gasoline engines more diesel-like now and not have to worry so much about after-treatment" says Krafcik.
"DI (direct injection) is the first step and HCCI (homogeneous charge compression ignition) is the next step" to approaching the fuel efficiency of diesel engines with gasoline or other fuels, he notes.
HCCI engines run on gasoline or ethanol, but are able to operate in a compression ignition mode like a diesel during certain light load conditions. An HCCI engine is able to achieve an approximately 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency compared to a standard spark ignition engine while using the same types of emissions control systems. A number of manufacturers currently have prototype vehicles with HCCI engines, including Daimler and General Motors.
A 3.0L clean-diesel V6 was displayed on the Kia stand at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show and was described as being suitable for a number of products. The first applications were expected to be the Kia Borrego and Hyundai Veracruz, but those are now in doubt due to continuing high diesel fuel prices. |
