Recent reports indicate that Hyundai may be set to introduce the world to its hybrid Santa Fe sport utility vehicle at the Paris Motor Show in October. The Korean automaker says that its hybrid 'ute will look the same as its gas-powered counterpart but be completely new under the sheet metal. Expect Hyundai's proven 2.4-liter four cylinder engine to be paired with a 30kW electric motor and mated to a six speed automatic transmission. Lithium ion batteries will provide the juice for the electric motor. Fuel mileage should come in at 44 mpg in the UK (roughly 36mpg in the U.S.) In the UK, where carbon emissions are closely monitored, that consumption equals 148g/km of CO₂ and is pretty good for a sport utility vehicle. Alongside the Santa Fe will be a much less environmentally-friendly seven-seater based on the Veracruz platform known, rather cryptically, as the ix55.

Update: Spelling mistake in the title fixed.

[Source: Hyundai]

Hyundai will release its first hybrid vehicle for sale to the general public in 2009, as long as the general public in question lives in Korea. Though the automaker has been testing hybrids for the last few years, only government officials were able to drive the vehicles. According to Hyundai, though, none of the research and development costs for its hybrid drivetrain were paid for through government grants. This information seems much more important after Mark Fields' recent assertion that the Korean government had provided assistance to its automakers for the development of the fuel-saving technology. There has also been some question as to whether the Japanese government helped pay for hybrid development, though Toyota denies these allegations.

Regardless of who has funded its development, Hyundai's first hybrid will be the Avante, which is known as the Elantra in the U.S. Interestingly, the first versions of the vehicle will use liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for fuel, along with, of course, electricity. The year 2010 will bring a flex-fuel version capable of using gasoline or LPG. So far, there is no announcement regarding a launch date in the states, though Hyundai indicates it would like to be selling hybrids here by 2011. By that time, the market will be much more crowded.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), a state-run South Korean think tank, said this past week that South Korea will enter the hybrid car market in a big way in 2011 and then continue to play a big role in the global hybrid market. As you can guess from the links below, there has been movement in this direction for a while, especially by Hyundai/Kia, but Asia Pulse said that earlier reports were hinting at a 2010 start date. KIET cited the added cost of making hybrids as the reason for the later date.

KIET gave these numbers for Korea's domestic hybrid production:

• 500,000 by 2015
• 1.8 million by 2020 (exporting 70 percent)

What vehicles these hybrid drivetrains will be put into is of course unknown at this point. Adding more than a million hybrids a year to the global marketplace will certainly help drivers use less gas (vs. driving standard vehicles), but Korean companies may want to rethink the delayed target date. Thirteen years is a long time to wait for the small MPG gains most hybrids deliver.
Related:

• Hyundai Kia group's new environmental technology R&D center
• Hyundai to produce LPG Hybrid Avante for Korea
• Hyundai shows off its hybid development center
• Hyundai needs government help to compete with the Japanese on hybirds

[Source: EDTA / Asia Pulse]

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]