Hyundai On A Roll But Hybrid Ambitions Continue To Stall

By all accounts, the South Korean auto maker is on a roll. Sales for both Hyundai and Kia in Canada are enjoying double-digit growth numbers in overall sales, and customer satisfaction is at an all-time high.

But as soon as you start talking about their hybrid strategy, the winds change, the sky darkens, and an ominous feeling overtakes you. Ok, I'm exaggerating. But you have an interesting recipe brewing; a company chairman recently charged with embezzling funds and could be facing a prison sentence + funds were being accumulated for a political slush fund + Hyundai hybrid program to be heavily subsidized by the government = an interesting recipe, indeed. Corporate politics aside, Hyundai is hard at work building an independent hybrid motor system to rival that of Toyota's, but partially in lieu of the recent turmoil with the company's leadership, we won't likely see the fruits of their hybrid labour on the road until 2009 at the earliest.

The first Hyundai hybrid offering is likely to come in the form of their Accent model which is already being used by the South Korean police (in hybrid form). One other reason for Hyundai's late entry into the hybrid game has to do with resources. The company had allocated a fair share of their R & D resources to fuel cells, and now they are in the process of shifting much of that cash over to hybrids. At this rate, 2010 is looking like a safe'ish bet to see Hyundai finally be in a position to put both hybrid feet forward. Better late than never.

via ibtimes, cnw
image businessweek

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Hyundai On A Roll But Hybrid Ambitions Continue To Stall

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