Hyundai to Challenge “Marketing Conspiracy” with Super Bowl XLV Ads

With its three ads programmed to air during the Super Bowl XLV later in the day (Sunday, February 6), Hyundai wants to show the American public that not all compact cars have “uninspired design, cramped interiors and limited innovation”, as marketing portrays them. Two out of the three advertisements showcase the 2011 Elantra sedan, while the third features the 2011 Sonata Hybrid. Videos available after the break.

The first Elantra spot, called “Hypnotized”, will air during the first quarter and it “questions the idea that compact cars are as good as they can be”. It will be followed in the third quarter by the “Deprogramming” ad, which states, among other things, that “compact cars can be more”.

“We love the Super Bowl’s ability to transform over 100 million Americans into advertising aficionados, so we went with a playful theme that ties a marketing-driven conspiracy theory to our fresh take on the compact car segment, the 40-mpg Elantra”, said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “Building from the first two Elantra ads in the AFC Championship Game, and 10 viral spots online right now, the Super Bowl shifts the campaign into top gear with what may be the biggest group therapy hypnosis session ever attempted”.

Last but not least, the fourth quarter will bring the “Anachronistic City” spot starring the 2011 Sonata Hybrid. By creating a sharp contrast between the car and a variety of obsolete devices, Hyundai wants to highlight its commitment to innovation.

All three ads are the creation of Innocean Worldwide Americas and feature the brand’s 2011 “New Thinking, New Possibilities” vision.

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car to Land at 2011 Chicago Auto Show

Hyundai is certainly not wasting any time with its plans for the Veloster. Less than a month after the world premiere of the sporty three-door model at the Detroit Motor Show, and the South Korean firm released a teaser photo of a rally-prepped version, complete with Red Bull livery that will break cover at next week's 2011 Chicago Auto Show. Being a teaser, we don't get any additional information whatsoever with Hyundai pointing us towards its press event in Chicago on February 9 for more details.

We'll remind you that in the beginning of March, South Korea's largest automaker will also reveal the European specification Veloster at the Geneva Motor Show. It remains to be seen if we'll also see the rang4-topping version with a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine kicking out 208-ponies that we first told you about in our scoop story here.

Hyundai Releases First Real Life Photo of the New i40 Mid-Size Model

Hyundai today gave us a new sneak peek of its upcoming i40 mid-size model with the release of the first real life image of the car, which is scheduled to receive its world premiere at the Geneva Salon on the 1st of March. The new i40 will replace the older generation Sonata in Europe competing in the D-Segment with the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat. At Geneva, we'll see the estate version of the model (probably named i40 CW) with the four-door sedan variant to follow before the end of the year.

Up until now, South Korea's largest automaker had only released a set of illustrations of the i40 CW (CrossWagon). The new photo shows off the interior of the i40, and in particular the dashboard with its sculpted shapes.

There's a big screen display mounted high up on the middle of the dash flanked by a pair of small air vents, underneath which nestle a bank of push buttons for ventilation and minor controls.

The company claims that new i40 "will move the company towards a ‘modern premium’ positioning that will bring high-end features and vehicle quality to Hyundai customers at accessible prices."

Hyundai has not released any details on the engine line-up, but it is believed that at launch, the i40 will be offered with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder petrol with direct injection and an output of around 170-horsepower, plus two variants of the a 1.7-liter turbo-diesel with 115 HP and 136 HP.

The new i40 will be joined in Geneva by the European specification of the Veloster sports model (see our scoop photos here) and the Curb small crossover concept study, which we first saw at the Detroit Motor Show this past January.

Hyundai CEO Says Veloster Coupe Coming in 2011 with 140HP 1.6-liter Engine

Following the successful launch of the rear-wheel drive Genesis Coupe, Hyundai is now focusing on the development of a front-wheel drive replacement for the Tiburon sports coupe which is known simply as the Coupe in Europe and other markets. In an interview with Inside Line, Hyundai Motor America's CEO John Krafcik revealed some juicy new details on the forthcoming small coupe which he claimed will look 70-80 per cent like the Veloster Concept that was unwrapped at the 2007 L.A. Show.

Krafcik said that the production version of the Veloster, which by the way, is among the names being considered for the new model, will pack a surprise bodystyle feature never seen before in the category. "It might be doors or a unique roof or something with the hatch. But it won't be like anything out there before in the small car segment."

In terms of size, Krafcik mentioned that the Tiburon's successor will be quite compact. "It's Accent-sized. Think of it like a 4-passenger Honda CRX," he said. "It'll be a little car you can take out and ring its neck and still get good mileage. Fun and economical, with a great power to weight ratio."

In a previous interview back in March, the American CEO had revealed that the Veloster would be offered with a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine. This time Krafcik went into more details. "It'll be powered by a 1.6-liter four cylinder with Direct Injection making 140 hp. And it'll get over 40 mpg US (5.8lt/100km or 48mpg UK)," he told IL.

We're guessing that in other markets such as Europe and South Korea Hyundai will most likely offer the Veloster with diesel engines also, maybe even with the Korean firm's new 184HP 2.0-liter oil-burner that is available on the 2010 facelifted Santa Fe.

"There's just nothing out there right now with that kind of Eco-sport positioning" said Krafcik adding that the Veloster will arrive at Hyundai's dealerships before the end of 2011.

Via: Inside Line

Hyundai Slashes Price of Coupe by Almost 30 Percent in the UK

Truth to be told, whenever we hear about automakers announcing huge discounts on new vehicles, we tend to think about their previous, huge profit margins... But anyways, Hyundai's UK division announced today that it is offering a massive £5,035 ($8,170 US or €5,800) or 28 percent deduction off the price of the 2.0-liter Coupe, bringing it down to just £12,995 ($21,100 or €15,000) on the road. That makes the 141HP two-door coupe £2,600 cheaper than the first generation model which was launched in 1996.

According to Hyundai, the Coupe is now more affordable than many superminis like the three-door, 1.4-liter Vauxhall Corsa Design.

Despite the massive discount, the basic 2.0-liter Coupe is well equipped packing leather upholstery, climate control, 17-inch alloy wheels, twin exhausts, cruise control and heated front seats as standard.

The range-topping Coupe TSIII version also comes with a discount of £5,220, making it available for just £14,295. Standard features include anthracite-finish alloys, quad exhaust tailpipes, a larger boot spoiler, quilted leather sports seats and Eibach sport springs.

In addition to these discounts, buyers can also receive a further £1,000 price cut under the government's scrappage scheme.

2011 Hyundai Sonata Caught Testing in Dubai

The crew over at the Arabic website Assayyarat dropped these photos of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata in our mail this morning. The prototype model that was captured in Dubai had its front- and rear-end covered in plastic wrapping but we do get a general idea of what the mid-size sedan will look like when it hits showrooms in early 2010. And judging by the raked roofline and the 'stubby' boot design (first-gen Audi A6 ring a bell?), Hyundai is going for a more than welcome 'four-door' coupe look.

The photographer also managed to snap a few pictures of the Sonata's interior that is completely new featuring a swoopy dashboard design with very Volvo-like controls on the center stack and a pair of deeply set gauges which seem to be the industry standard these days.

The Korean automaker's Honda Accord and Toyota Camry fighter is expected to be powered by four-cylinder and V6 gasoline engines while Europeans will also be offered the choice of four-banger turbo diesels including a new 2.0-liter four-pot with 185 horsepower.

Photo Courtesy: Assayyarat

Hyundai Sells 3.6 Million Vehicles in 2010, up 16.3% from 2009, Net Profits Soar 78%

Hyundai continues its juggernaut-like growth breaking one record after the other. In 2010, the South Korean carmaker not only replaced Toyota as Europe’s best-selling Asian brand and passed the 500,000 sales mark in the US for the first time since entering the market in 1986, but the company also posted record sales and impressive profits.

Not including affiliate Kia Motor's results, Hyundai alone recorded global sales of 3,612,487 units (domestic plants: 1,730,682, overseas plants: 1,881,805) in 2010, which represents a 16.3 percent increase from a year earlier.

Sales revenue rose 15.4 percent to 36.8 trillion won (US$ 33 billion) from a year earlier thanks to the introduction of new cars and an improved product mix, while operating profit also soared 44.4% to 3.2 trillion won (US$2.8 billion). Net profit increased 77.8 percent to 5.3 trillion won (US$4.8 billion).

South Korea's largest automaker has set even higher goals for 2011, stating that it plans to "reinforce its internal competitiveness" and achieve a global sales target of 3.9 million units.

Spied: 2010 Hyundai Tucson Compact SUV Development Continues

If our sources are correct, we will be seeing the next-generation Hyundai Tucson making its world debut this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show with sales beginning in Europe and Korea before the end of the year and in North America, sometime during the first half of 2010. In the meantime, Hyundai is continuing to develop the Tucson which was captured here out in Death Valley by Automotive Traveler's Rich Truesdell.

The prototype models are still under heavy camouflage but Hyundai gave us a taste of the styling direction it plans to take with the new Tucson in Geneva with the 'ix-onix' concept study (see pics below).

Eyeing Toyota's RAV-4 and Honda's CR-V, the Korean firm's compact SUV will most likely carry the iX35 moniker at least in Europe and it will be offered with various petrol and diesel engine options including the final production version of the concept vehicle's 175HP 1.6-litre turbocharged four-banger petrol.

Spy Photos: Automotive Traveler

Hyundai Begins Producing Cars at its New Russian Plant

Hyundai is continuing its ambitious plan to further increase global sales with the start of production at its first factory in Russia located at Saint Petersburg. The company’s sixth newest overseas assembly plant will make the Solaris, a subcompact sedan we will come to know as the new Accent.

“This is a historic moment, not only for Hyundai, but for Russia, as we are the first foreign automaker to operate a full-cycle manufacturing plant here,” said Gui-Il Chun, General Director of HMMR, a fully-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company. “We are now truly part of Russia and we will focus on supplying customers with the best products at the best time.”

The Korean firm's Saint Petersburg factory currently employees more than 1,300 workers, but Hyundai has stated that it aims to create some 5,300 jobs by 2012, together with eleven parts suppliers. The plant’s annual capacity is said to be around 150,000 vehicles, while this year’s production target is 105,000 units.

The plant's first car, the Solaris, will be offered with a four-cylinder gasoline engine available in 1.4- and 1.6-liter displacements. Hyundai said the subcomact sedan has been adapted to cope with Russia’s vicious weather and tough road conditions. Aside from raising the car's ground clearance to 160mm, the company's engineers also added a large four-liter washer fluid reservoir with fluid-level sensor to warn drivers when a refill is required, a more robust 60Ah battery for improved cold-start performance and a heater duct for rear-seat passengers.