Hyundai Motor Co. plans to focus on developing countries and the small-car market next year as the global downturn weakens demand.

Mong Hyun Yoon, director for business strategy says the South Korean carmaker will concentrate on developing regions such as China, India, the Middle East, Africa and South America as demand slumps in North America and Europe.

The small-car market also offers better growth potential, he said, as a dreary economy leads consumers to buy cheaper, more fuel efficient vehicles.

The company, which along with affiliate Kia Motors Corp. forms the world’s fifth-largest automotive group, said last month that third-quarter net profit fell 37.8 per cent as labour unrest sapped production and warranty provisions increased. Sales also declined.

It lowered its annual sales target to 3.02 million vehicles from the previous 3.11 million, citing weakness in the global auto industry. On Tuesday, Yoon declined to specify a target for 2009.

Next year, the company plans to roll out a hybrid Elantra small car for the South Korean market, and bring a gas-electric hybrid version of its Sonata sedan to the U.S. in 2010.

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Joint-venture carmaker Beijing Hyundai Motor Company plans to launch the new-generation Sonata with the code name of NFC in late 2008 or early 2009, with a view to further expanding in the segment medium- and high-end vehicle market.

Co-founded by Beijing Automobile Investment Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Corporation of South Korea on October 18, 2002, Beijing Hyundai Motor owns a total registered capital of USD 886.8 million.

Presently, the company faces a great challenge of brand cognition upgrade now, so it will insist on the regular debut of new products in the near future, said the Beijing Hyundai Motor General Manager J.M. Noh.

As a hi-tech sedan model focusing on the Chinese market, NFC is revised from the Sonata car model, which was developed as early as 1985, and has munch advantage in engine, safety, and collocation. It is expected to elevate the power efficiency by 13%, while the oil consumption will decrease 6%.

Beijing Hyundai Motor expects that more customers can be charmed by such a significant product, on the background of furious competition in China’s medium- and high-end vehicle market, said people with the direct knowledge of the matter.

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Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, developed a new passenger-car diesel engine that meets Europe’s greenhouse gas-emission rules.

Hyundai spent 250 billion won ($194 million) over 3 1/2 years to develop 2- and 2.2-liter engines that comply with the so-called Euro-5 emission standard, it said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.

The Seoul-based carmaker and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. will begin installing the engines in new vehicles from the first half of 2009, the filing said.
Loan tax deductions seen

Toyota Motor Corp. and Chrysler LLC said federal income-tax deductions for interest on car loans could help stem the slide that sent U.S. sales to their lowest monthly total since 1991.

General Motors Corp., the biggest U.S. automaker, also said Tuesday it had studied the idea of boosting auto demand through a government-backed program to encourage scrapping older vehicles.

The companies floated the ideas after posting October sales totals that GM called the worst since 1945. While the automakers said they hadn’t actively lobbied for such changes, the calls added to mounting pressure for government aid as GM pursues a merger with Chrysler.
German car sales sink

The number of newly registered cars hitting German roads sank 8% in October as the financial crisis prompted customers to hold off major purchases, the country’s main auto industry group said Tuesday.

The VDA group said new car registrations last month declined to 258,800 from an already weak result in the same month last year. The group said it was cutting an already cautious full-year forecast from 3.2 million to 3.1 million at most.

It said consumers’ increasing uncertainty in the face of the global financial crisis, high fuel prices and a lack of clarity over future car taxes and emissions regulations all contributed to holding back sales.

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Hyundai and Kia cars both made the top 10 of the 2008 Car Reliability Survey issued on Sunday by Consumer Reports, an American organization that reviews consumer products and services. This is the first time the Korean automakers’ models were included in the top 10 list of the annual survey.

According to the survey, Hyundai cars ranked 8th, up 7 spots from last year, while Kia cars came in 10th, up 12 spots from last year. Consumer Reports picked Avante in the compact car category and Lotze in the family car category as Hyundai and Kia’s best models, respectively.
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Hyundai will invest $600 million to build a new low-cost small car in Brazil that could be exported to neighboring countries in the Mercosul region.

The new plant, Hyundai’s second in Brazil, is to be located in Piracicaba, a countryside town in a region regarded as the “Brazilian California” for its high standard of living. The plant has a planned annual capacity of 100,000 units. Construction is slated to begin in 2009, with the first cars rolling off the line about two years later.

According to Hyundai Vice President Kim In-Seo, the model to be made in Brazil is already under development in Korea. The car will meet South American standards and will have 1.0- and 1.6-liter bifuel engines.
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Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, plans to start mass production of the i30 hatchback at its new plant in the Czech Republic beginning next month to meet the growing demand for smaller cars, a company official said Monday.

The planned mass production of the popular i30 model at the 1.1 billion euro (US$1.476 billion) plant in Nosovice comes three months ahead of an originally scheduled date.

“If mass production begins, sales of i30 in Europe will surge,” the official at Hyundai Motor said.

Sales of the i30, which was unveiled in July last year, are expected to surpass a cumulative 100,000 units this month, according to Hyundai Motor.

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China has suspended car imports from South Korea’s Hyundai and Kia, apparently after complaints they violated anti-trust rules by pressing local dealers to meet sales targets, Hyundai said on Thursday.

Hyundai has not received any official notification from the Chinese government and hopes the import ban will be lifted as soon as possible, said Hyundai Motor spokesman Jake Jang.

He said the ban only applies to cars produced in South Korean plants by Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world’s fifth-largest carmaker by sales.

Hyundai also produces vehicles at its plants in China but these are unaffected.

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All new Hyundai Tucson was testing in durable at southwestern part of the U.S. Production for the Korean market is expected to start in the last quarter of 2009.

Pictures Source:Autowerld.com

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iSimple® (www.isimplesolutions.com), today announced that its award-winning iPod and portable media integration solution is now compatible with most late-model Nissan and Hyundai vehicles. The iSimple system is now compatible with the factory systems in over 69 million vehicles in the United States, including most late-model Acura, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Honda, Hummer, Isuzu, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercury, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Scion, Toyota and Volkswagen vehicles. iSimple products are sold through Best Buy, Circuit City, Crutchfield, and other specialty electronics and car audio retailers.

iSimple offers true hardwired interface solutions that allow car owners to directly interface their iPod or other portable audio source directly into their vehicle’s factory-installed entertainment system, providing crystal clear, static-free sound and unparalleled ease of use. The product provides real integration between today’s popular portable audio devices and the advanced sound systems in most late-model cars, trucks and SUVs. iSimple gives drivers the opportunity to interface their iPod or iPhone directly to their vehicle – as well as input audio from a GPS or a satellite radio receiver – while maintaining the look, feel and functionality of the original factory system. The iSimple kit can also be upgraded with an optional iSimple HD Radio tuner, to provide even more in-vehicle listening options.

According to Ron Freeman, CEO of AAMP of America, “We are thrilled to deliver iSimple to drivers of late-model Nissan and Hyundai vehicles. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and in the world of car audio that ‘weak link’ is usually the bridge between an iPod or other portable device and the factory-installed sound system. The iSimple approach is based on overcoming this fatal flaw by providing a true hardwired integration that allows users to take full advantage of their high-quality digital sound files. And when you add in the ability to expand the iSimple interface with our HD Radio tuner, you get a system that is far superior to any other on the market.”

About iSimple

iSimple offers true hardwired integration solutions that allow car owners to directly wire their portable audio equipment into their automotive audio systems, providing unparalleled ease of use, sound quality and efficiency. iSimple is a brand of AAMP of America, a global supplier of award-winning car and home audio video accessories, installation supplies and OEM integration solutions. AAMP’s brands include Stinger®, Peripheral®, iSimple®, RoadKill®, Parrot®, EGO®, iDatalink™ and Street Eagle™.

iPod is a trademark of Apple, Inc in the United States and several other countries. HD Radio™ is a proprietary trademark of iBiquity Digital Corp. Peripheral Electronics and AAMP of America are not affiliated with Apple or iBiquity, and this press release is not endorsed by either party.

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