Hyundai shows off its hybid development center
Just because Hyundai thinks that diesels are a better option than hybrids, it doesn't mean they aren't hedging their bets. In the car business as with others if you want to succeed you have to offer customers what they want to buy. That's why carmakers have been churning out as many different SUVs as possible for the past decade and a half. It's also why everyone is now developing hybrids.
Hyundai has a team actively developing hybrid technology at their Namyang Technology Research Center in South Korea. They recently took journalists on a tour of their tech center for the first time to see development of the Avante Hybrid. The Avante is the Elantra in the US market. Hyundai plans to produce about 3,000 hybrids in 2008 for the Korean government and then start commercial sales in 2009. Right now Hyundai's biggest problem is getting the cost down. They are trying to get parts from Korean suppliers at the same prices that Japanese makers get from their suppliers.
[Source: TheAutoChannel]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Manu Sharma 3:48PM (4/16/2007)
What's this new trend of auto makers showing off their hybrid or electric development centers where they are supposed to be busy "actively developing" these technologies or facing "real problems"???
Show us the cars! We don't care how you do it. We don't care about the development part. We want electrics / hybrids on the road available for under $20,000. Now, what have you got to show for that?
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