05/30/2008, 3:25 PM

Hybrid

Hyundai CEO calls out Toyota Prius technology

Hyundai has made some tremendous improvements over the past few years, but the Korean automaker might be trying to climb the mountain a little too fast. Hyundai will soon launch its Lexus-targeting Genesis sedan, but it already has its sights set on dethroning another Toyota vehicle by 2010.

According to Autocar, Hyundai is confident that its upcoming hybrid — set to launch in 2010 — will be superior to Toyota’s bread-and-butter Prius. Hyundai CEO Dr. Kim Dong-Jin even went so far as to call the Prius “quite old-tech” and claimed that Hyundai’s offering will be “more advanced than the Prius.”

Pretty strong words from a company that has yet to produce a hybrid, especially when one considers Toyota has been in the business since the 1990s.

But Toyota isn’t one to back down and Hyundai will have to deal with an all-new Prius — with an updated hybrid system — come 2010.

Dong-Jin also revealed in the same report that Hyundai plans to market its first fuel cell vehicles in limited quantities by 2011.

 
 

05/30, 3:42 PM

posted by:

mayer_ray_nagin

Toyota sucks. Go Hyundai!

05/30, 3:46 PM

posted by:

jumpoffit

i keep seeing 4 white prius’ here in south texas all with michigan manufacturers plates on them- i wonder what they are testing

05/30, 3:50 PM

posted by:

DrFill

Hyundai needs post a YTY sales increase before they utter the word Toyota ever again.
Sonata and Elantra are tanking in a strong car market. What does that tell you?
Hyundai to stop pulling on Superman’s cape, and get to work on a SUCCESSFUL sales/product matrix.
They’ve already admitted the CAN’T fund a new lux channel. Why?
Because they can’t sell the sleds they make now!
How can they high-end crap, when they can’t sell cheap crap?

DrFill

05/30, 4:02 PM

posted by:

gbb

High end Hundai…..thats the funniest I have ever seen in print. Any so called auto spewed out the anus of the Korean crap maker makes a Yugo look sweet! Yech!

05/30, 4:03 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

GOOD for them! their [new] cars are surprisingly awesome. in more ways than one…

05/30, 4:05 PM

posted by:

cookie4me

Where did yo find the numbers of the Elantra? I find it astonishing that the Elantra is experiencing a decrease in sales with its recent consumer reports crowning. The Sonata is explainable with the model year switch. That new interior may bring the sales back but we will need to wait and see.

05/30, 4:08 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

the Elantra is about to get a minor facelift so that COULD be why sales are a little slow now… just a theory. I didn’t know about hyundai’s new “crown as mentioned above but i did know that KBB recently gave hyundai [& kia?] a bump in trade-in value. don’t mark my words but i heard it was like 33% or something. thats awesome. puts them up there just below honda & toyota, right?

05/30, 4:15 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

I thought Hyundai was doing diesels while Kia was doing the hybrids (yes they are under one roof, but are seperate brands technically).

05/30, 4:25 PM

posted by:

TOZO

http://www.hyundainews.com/Corporate_News/Sales_Releases/05_01_2008_2776.asp shows the latest Hyundai sales. looks like Elantra is up for last month, but down for this year so far. Sales are off by 10,000 vehicles this year so far.
Anyway, even Hyundai thinks Toyota sucks. The general consensus is changing.

05/30, 4:44 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

as of now, Kia is the one making hybrid Rios & fuel cell Sportages… [in regards to nonamedenton]

05/30, 4:45 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Yes, but a year or two ago when they were talking about hybrids, they said only the Kia brand will use hybrids, Hyundai will use diesels.

05/30, 4:46 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Pauly, South Korea has always been a liberal democracy and all they are doing is using the same trade system that made the Japanese auto companies so powerful.

05/30, 4:47 PM

posted by:

Pauly

I hate Hyundai because they’re a bunch of cheaters. South Korea only allows 5,000 non-Korean built cars into their country while we have no limits in the U.S for theirs. Not to mention that their leadership through 1990 was tied into the military dictatorship in that country whereby the brutalized dissenters in and out of the company. The truth is, is that they’ve gotten rich by screwing the U.S. and Europe (they also don’t allow their cars in) and so they have all of this money to make their cars better. And they call this free trade?

05/30, 4:49 PM

posted by:

Stinky007

Everybody is bashing Toyota these days…
Come on people, leave the poor corporation alone! They’re just going through some tough time and keep pouring tasteless cars plagued by small technical problems that are mediocre in performance to say the least! Everybody did that at one point, just look at Mercedes a couple of years ago or at VW now!
For me, this means only one thing: buy cars from small to medium size manufacturers that still try to innovate, not only to sell!
Hyundai seems to be that these days, but they’ll soon turn into a money-hungry corporation if they have any success.

05/30, 4:52 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

That is what I was wondering too

05/30, 4:52 PM

posted by:

mayer_ray_nagin

Why does Denton’s post show before Pauly’s?

05/30, 4:54 PM

posted by:

jumpoffit

looks like some of Hyundais tech is involved with LLN which is acting screwy - should we make a recall on this?

05/30, 4:58 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

denton, i dunno about the kia=hybrid & hyundai=diesel technology. im GUESSING its just cuz kia is marketed to be the more eco-friendly of the two while hyundai is more of the luxury brand & the perception is that hybrids are the most eco-friendly (when in all actuality manufacturing a hybrid is more harmful than just driving a good gas engine anyways)

05/30, 4:59 PM

posted by:

tripleonefive

I personally like Hyundai and think they make a damn fine product but they are not ready to deal with Toyota or Honda just yet.
They need to make more fuel efficient gas engines first then step up to the big boys
It’s funny how everyone bashes Toyota but they are still selling more cars than and earning more $$$ lol
Hyundai can outdo GM and other domestic auto makers but they are far from the Japanese
It’s a marathon not a race Hyundai wait your turn

05/30, 5:01 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

& just cuz i know how people online get defensive… i’ll explain the latter of my last post (the hybrid thing)…

the manufacturing & disposal of a hybrid vehicle is more harmful to the environment supposedly (as i’ve read, i’m not the one making this up) cuz the energy & materials used in them is whats actually more harmful to the environment to manufacture whereas a gas vehicle isn’t. its just that [in theory] the hybrids are better to RUN simply cuz of less emissions & better MPG…

my tidbit: so wouldn’t a diesel be the best bet!? the diesel-fueled cars get better MPG and should only harm [to manufacture] just as much as a gas-powered car, which is ‘better than manufacturing a hybrid’???

05/30, 5:03 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

1115…
if hyundai is to “wait their turn” then how are they ever gunna push their way in??? just sitting back and letting the world turn never got anyone anywhere… look at the difference between hyundai/kia in sayyy…. 1995 to hyundai of 2005 to current… they’re obviously not the lazy car company out there. i don’t think hyundai is better than honda or toyota but i don’t think they’re [now] any worse…

05/30, 5:15 PM

posted by:

Payton Byrd

This is actually a pretty reasonable stance for Hyundai as long as they go with dry-cell Li-Ion batteries. Toyota is sticking to Ni-metal hydride batteries which have much less energy density and thus lower range and performance.

And Toyota is not the company that is booming right now, it’s Honda. Toyota is seeing sales declines, Honda just keeps going up. The only reason Toyota passed Ford and is neck-to-neck with GM is because Ford and GM are doing so poorly at the moment.

05/30, 5:20 PM

posted by:

johnnycanuck

Hyundai should just keep doing what they do best and that’s make cheap crap for those who are suckered in by low sticker prices. I don’t give a sh*t whose sandbox they THINK they can play in, truth is they’re still bottom feeders despite the gullible press whores looking to have their egos massaged. Name me one car they’ve produced that will in any shape or form end up being anything else but recycled dog food tins. And don’t give me any rhetoric that they haven’t been in the game long enough. The Pony showed up in Canada in 1984 so that’s been damn near a quarter century to come up with one- just one- model of any status other than appliance. Hyundai can f*ck my thawed out Canadian ass. I wouldn’t buy one if it sh*t loonies and beer came out the tailpipe.

05/30, 5:34 PM

posted by:

DrFill

Payton
The only reason Toyota has slowed is because of their trucks, as no one can sell a truck right now.
Honda only sells cars, so they can ignore the gas problem.
They also missed the profits over the past 15 years that go along with those trucks.
Toyota is up to 17% share. Up about 70% since 2000.
I think they’re ok.
And don’t go breaking your arm to pat Honda on the back.
The Accord hasn’t exactly been lighting it up against Camry, or Altima for that matter.
DrFill

05/30, 5:41 PM

posted by:

Payton Byrd

Ridgeline
Pilot
CR-V
Element

Those play in the same markets as

Tundra
Tacoma
Highlander
Sequoia
Rav-4

Yet, Honda is still selling these vehicles well because they are designed better and more efficiently.

As for johnnycanuck, you should do yourself a favor and go spend $50 to rent a Sonata for a day and another $50 to rent a Camry for a day. You’ll have a completely different opinion of Hyundai afterwards.

05/30, 5:49 PM

posted by:

injunraiv

“As for johnnycanuck, you should do yourself a favor and go spend $50 to rent a Sonata for a day and another $50 to rent a Camry for a day. You’ll have a completely different opinion of Hyundai afterwards.”

You should do yourself a favor and crawl under a 2002 Sonata…

05/30, 6:05 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

I actually agree with you Joshy, I hate hybrids for that reason, I much prefer diesels.

05/30, 7:03 PM

posted by:

DrFill

Payton
Please don’t drink and blog!
Ridgeline and Element sell well?
Didn’t know Honda sold a BOF truck? Huh?
Who you kiddin?
I guess Camry has been better than Accord for about a decade now then huh?
I guess Corolla is designed better and more efficent than the Civic, or any Honda ever, right?
DrFill

05/30, 10:25 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

The Ridgeline is awful, I know Honda of America begged for a V8 to be developed for it and are now calmoring for a diesel version.

05/30, 11:59 PM

posted by:

olds307

In Soviet Russia, Hyundai CEO calls out YOU!!

05/31, 1:59 AM

posted by:

WEKS

Well, the Prius has been around pretty much unchanged since 1997, so I guess it really could be called old tech.

05/31, 3:04 AM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

Prius is not gonna change tech, since Toyota is sticking with alkaline batteries instead of researching lithium ion batteries like some smarter companies, since lithium batteries are more efficient and weight less.

05/31, 7:33 AM

posted by:

DrFill

It’s like talking to a room full of Hillary Clintons!
Freightening……
DrFill

05/31, 9:46 AM

posted by:

DeansterTJ

Why is this such a shocking story?

Hyundai has the distinct advantage of not having invested major capital yet in hybrid tech. They can afford to sit and watch from the sidelines as major forces like Toyota refine things, then jump in when the tech spreads at a way cheaper price. Meanwhile Toyota has to secure an ROI on their old hybrid tech.

Same thing happened in Greece in the 90’s. They went from nonexistent telephone tech in 1990 to the latest/greatest wireless service by 1998, pushing way ahead of more advanced nations like the US and UK. That’s how it goes fags

05/31, 11:01 AM

posted by:

horvatic

Toyota is coming out with a new version of the Prius in 2009 which will boast even better gas milage. Lithium batteries are weight efficient but have a bad tendency to BLOW UP, and are not as reliable as the alkaline batteries yet. Hyundai’s cars are getting excellent ratings in quality, fit and finish, and reliability. But, they don’t have the experience of Toyota when it comes to Hybrid technology so the CEO might be putting his foot in his mouth. However another Hybrid choice isn’t a bad thing as it will also bring down the prices even more. And at over $4 a gallon we need this badly!

05/31, 12:09 PM

posted by:

Payton Byrd

@horvatic

Liquid lithium batteries blow up, solid ones do not. The solid ones will be in mass production for the car manufacturers this year, which happens to correspond to the scheduling of most of the new hybrids coming on the market. So far, GM is the only one who’s announce they will be using liquid batteries, but they claim to have created some new safety tech to keep them from blowing up.

Also, newer lithium batteries charge and discharge faster than nickel batteries, and they don’t have a memory like nickel batteries, which is a huge issue. A lot of the weight of nickel batteries is wasted because the computers in these hybrids keep the charge between 30 and 70 % because going to extremes either way causes memory issues and shortens the useful life of the batteries. Lithium batteries do not have this issue.

05/31, 5:19 PM

posted by:

Supermann1

Hyundai is like the sleazy kid in class copying off the smart kid’s papers to try and get ahead.

05/31, 5:45 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

I have a lithium ion battery in my cell phone, thing has never blown up on me.

05/31, 8:23 PM

posted by:

DrFill

Hope that cancer clears up, Captain Kemo
DrFill

05/31, 8:37 PM

posted by:

JoshyLofty

I have an idea, instead of biting eachother’s heads off on who’s is bigger than who’s, lets let Hyundai work their way up as they are as Toyota & Honda work off their already established reps & when Hyundai/Kia are up to par when your kids are older, they can have the same fights about car companies abc fighting car company xyz… just a thought.

Denton, I agree folks need to rent a H/K to really understand that they’re really not crappy cars. I’ve had 2 Kias, one a 2002, one a 2005 both were bought new & i loved them both. never had a problem with either & my 05 Spectra5 was an AWESOME car, lots of fun, & actually more comfy than my work car, a 2006 Cadillac CTS, on long trips.

06/01, 1:39 PM

posted by:

autonut

Johnny, I am with you 100% on Hyundai, but “Hyundai can f*ck my thawed out Canadian ass.” as a bit drastic and bordering something LaFeigele would wish for. You are respectable, married with children, member of society, giving up you rectum is not what we love you for :)

06/01, 1:42 PM

posted by:

autonut

Hopefully Hyundai will develop hybrid before their next CEO will start swapping fluids with cell mates in Korean version of “big house”. If they not going to buy technology, it will them time to develop it. I give them credit for being a quick study in engine technology, but electronics is not their strong suit.

06/01, 9:02 PM

posted by:

NoNameDenton1

autonut, they let him out of jail to open a factory, he is not going back in, though he is being sued.

 
 
You need to log in with your user name and password before you can leave comments.

    

Forgot your Password?

Don't have a user name yet? Simply fill in the form below and click the link provided in the
confirmation email. You must supply a valid email address to complete the registration process.

  
 
 
 
  • Login
  • About
  • Contact
Please note that you need to log in with your user name and password before you can leave comments.
  

login
cancel
Forgot your Password?
Don't have a user name yet? Click here to register now.

Simply fill in the form below and click the link provided in the confirmation email. You must supply a valid email address to complete the registration process.

  
submit
cancel
Leftlane is the leading source for automotive industry and vehicle news, new car research, future vehicle information, and reviews. Read by car shoppers, driving enthusiasts, autoworkers, executives, and investors, the website is updated throughout the day with the very latest auto news - as it happens.

Leftlane also provides consumers with accurate and media-rich information on every car currently on the market. In-market shoppers can review specs, read overviews, view high-resolution images, watch videos, and estimate pricing. No other automotive publication brings together the same degree of timeliness, thoroughness and accuracy as Leftlane.
 
submit
cancel