Hyundai Cars Blog :: 2011 Hyundai models, new Sonata, Tucson SUV, dealerships, spy shots, reviews, sales…

Hyundai plans to introduce a brand-new entry-level sedan in Russia and emerging markets.

Hyundai will introduce a budget entry-level sedan in Russia, which will be based on the upcoming Verna compact sedan (next-gen Hyundai Accent in the USA). The all-new budget model will receive a slight styling makeover for the Russian market and therefore will differ from the model sold in China and South Korea. It will also feature a specially tuned suspension set-up adapted to Russian road conditions.

The forth-coming Verna-based Hyundai car will be built at Hyundai’s St. Petersburg manufacturing plant, which will commence serial mass production at the beginning of 2011. Hyundai hopes it can reach 100.000 units-per-year production already by the end of 2011.

The new entry-level Hyundai contender is rumored to carry a $10.000 price tag, which means it will be more affordable than its main rivals. Those include sub-compact cars such as new VW Polo sedan, popular Ford Fiesta hatchback and Chevrolet Aveo, which has been one of the top-selling cars in the market this year.

Under the hood, Hyundai’s new budget model is rumored to feature one of the four-cylinder engines that are currently available in the Hyundai i20. It will either be powered by a 109-horsepower 1.4L engine or a 122-horsepower 1.6L engine. No diesel engines will be available.

Hyundai has truly arrived. What was once a fledgling Asian car brand that always lagged behind other huge names such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan is now one of the five most sought after car brands in the world.

Surprisingly, Hyundai began its ascent when the competition was struggling to stay afloat amidst the global economic crunch. The secret was to produce quality cars at affordable prices backed up by a generous warranty package. Hyundai kept its sales up and never looked back. Today, more and more people are looking to buy a Hyundai for its reliability, fuel efficiency and quality while sold at a relatively low price.

This Korean automotive line is now the fifth most sought after non-luxury car brand, according to the Kelly Blue Book Market Intelligence Brand Watch study. It finally kicked Nissan out of the list of top selling cars.

The Top Five Most Considered Car Brand according to the market intelligence brand watch are Ford (29%), Toyota (22%), Chevrolet (21%), Honda (20%) and  Hyundai (13%).

The percentages represent the number of people who choose to buy these products. There were about 3,000 car shoppers who participated in this study that was conducted from April 6 to June 17, 2010.

The car watch study revealed that car buyers are looking for five important car qualities in making a decision to buy. These qualities are durability and reliability, driving comfort, fuel efficiency, driving performance and safety, in that order.

It’s been a long time since an American brand led this list. Ford has taken the top spot, thanks in part to Toyota’s manufacturing booboos that have caused the Japanese carmaker to drop down the list.

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500 units of Hyundai i30 Trophy special edition models launched in Australia…

To applaud the enormous success of the i30 model range in Australia, Hyundai Motor Company Australia is launching i30 hatchabck and i30 CrossWagon special edition models.

Named Hyundai i30 Trophy, the model is based on the 2.0L gasoline SX model and features some exclusive exterior and interior enhancements. The i30 Trophy Special Edition model comes equipped with 16-inch titanium finish alloy wheels (including matching full-size spare wheel), rear spoiler, standard front fog lamps and “Trophy” badging. Its exterior also features four unique colors, including Ceramic White, Shine Red, Vivid Blue and Hyper Silver

Inside, the special edition i30 TROPHY is available with a host of extras including standard cruise control, leather wrapped steering wheel and matching transmission gear knob. Other features include air-conditioning with pollen filter, remote keyless entry with alarm, full AUX, USB and fully integrated iPod connectivity and power windows and mirrors.

Standard safety features include six airbags, Electronic Stability Control -ESC and Traction Control System -TCS, Anti-skid Braking System -ABS, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution -EBD, Hyundai Active Locking Operation (HALO), and “anti-whiplash” front head restraints.

According to Hyundai, production of the i30 Trophy special edition models will be limited to 500 units.

Since launched in Australia two years ago, the i30 range won a wide number of trophies. Those include Australia’s Best Mid-size car for an incredible two years in a row, ECO Car of the Year award and the Australian International Design Mark.

Hyundai Motor Company Australia announces record July sales!

Hyundai continues to post impressive sales numbers in Australia. Last month, the South Korean largest carmaker posted a sales result of 6.531 units (7.9 percent of new car market share). This was Hyundai’s best-ever July sales result since the automaker established a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia.

The multi-award winning i30 range, which includes i30 five-door hatchback and i30 wagon, continues to sell well. With 2.333 units sold last month, the i30 range acquired 12.1 percent market share in the small car segment in Australia.

Another strong performer last month was a newly launched Hyundai ix35 crossover vehicle. Known as Hyundai Tucson in the States, the model posted its best-ever sales result of 809 units. The ix35 crossover took 8.9 percent market share in the compact SUV/CUV segment.

The good old Getz hatchback, which competes in Australia against many established nameplates, including the all-new Ford Fiesta and VW Polo was ranked second in the light car segment. Hyundai sold 1.581 units of Getz during the month of July 2010. Popular iMax people mover and iLoad van posted  sales of 253 and 473 units, respectively.

Hyundai still haven’t started posting sales results of its brand-new i45 sedan, which went on sale in Australia about two months ago. The i45 sedan is a rebadged Hyundai Sonata mid-size sedan, which offers a polished performance delivered by the all-new 2,4L Theta II Gasoline Direct Injection -GDI engine that was designed to achieve impressive fuel efficiency, low emissions, class leading power and minimum operating costs.

The all-new Hyundai i45 (Sonata) was recently named “Best mid-size sedan under $30.000 by Top Speed. Since being launched earlier this year, the 2011 Sonata sedan already received 14 global awards. To mention just a few, the all-new Sonata/i45 was named “Car of the Year 2010″ by GulfAuto, “Top 10 Best Dark-Horse Car of the Year” by Edmunds.com, 2010 “Best Car of the Year” by Sports Auto, and an “Australian International Design Award”.

Hyundai’s future model lineup to achieve an average of 50 mpg (or better) by 2025!

Hyundai’s model lineup is the most fuel-efficient vehicle lineup currently available on American soil. Hyundai is also the sole automaker in the USA that averages a fuel economy rating of 30 mpg. And the South Korean carmaker is poised to stay on top and maintain its fuel-economy leadership in the future.

Yesterday, the automaker revealed ambitious plans to boost the fleet fuel efficiency average from a current level of 30 mpg to a whopping 50 mpg by 2025. “We are committed to setting the pace in this industry on fuel economy, and we are inspired by the possibilities that our advanced Blue Drive technologies afford. Getting to 50 mpg and beyond seems like a huge leap, but by making this commitment and aligning our R&D initiatives now, we know we can get there,” said John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO.

To achieve an average of 50 mpg, Hyundai plans to improve its current model lineup by introducing a range of fully redesigned models with vastly improved powertrain technologies. Technical improvements will affect each model in the automaker’s line-up, starting from sub-compact Hyundai Accent and Elantra sedan to the automaker’s luxury Genesis sedan and coupe.

Hyundai claims that each new car and crossover vehicle wearing a Hyundai badge will adopt a large number of fuel-saving powertrain technologies. Those include gasoline direct injection technology, turbocharging and light-weight materials. The carmaker will also develop new hybrid vehicles, electric cars and its first-ever plug-in hybrid vehicle. Add some fuel-cell powered vehicles and you get a perfect eco-friendly vehicle lineup.

One of the very-first Hyundai models that features some of the afore-mentioned innovative powertrain technologies already hit the market. This is the hot-selling 2011 Sonata sedan, which went on sale in the US-market earlier this year. The all-new Sonata features Hyundai’s state-of-the-art 2,4L Theta II 4-cylinder engine with gasoline direct injection -GDI technology.

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Hyundai US sales in July 2010 increase 19 percent to 54.106 units.

It’s great to look at latest Hyundai sales report coming from the USA. The Korean largest automaker just revealed it has sold more than 54.000 new vehicles during the month of July 2010, while its monthly sales increased 19 percent, compared to a year ago. This represents an all-time sales record for the month of July and marks only the fourth time Hyundai has surpassed 50.000 units in a month.

The Alabama-built 2011 Sonata sedan continued selling at a record pace last month. Although US Hyundai dealers sold 17,836 units of Sonata in July, the model failed to take the first place at Hyundai’s monthly sales chart. Surprisingly, the all-new Sonata was beaten by the outgoing Hyundai Elantra compact car, which experienced a significant sales increase compared to a year ago (18,215 units sold last month - 13,616 units sold in July 2009).

The US-built Santa Fe SUV continues to sell good. Last month, it was the third best-selling Hyundai vehicle in the US-market. Hyundai sold 7,047 units of 2010 Santa Fe SUV. Santa Fe’s little brother, the Tucson crossover, saw its July sales soar more than 200 percent for the fourth month in a row.

Hyundai Genesis sales continued at a brisk pace thanks in part to its mid-luxury segment-leading 53 percent residual value, exceeding such strong competitors as BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz S Class.

Continue your read to see the sales by model table…

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The all-new Elantra compact sedan, which made its official worldwide premiere at the 2010 Busan Auto Show in April, was first rumored to hit the U.S. showroom floor in the first half of 2011. But latest news, confirmed by Hyundai itself, reveal that this striking compact sedan will go on sale in the USA earlier than we first thought.

According to Hyundai Motor Company, the sales of the 2011 Elantra will commence before the end of the year. This means Hyundai will probably officially introduce the new model at the up-coming Los Anglese auto show in the middle of November.

The all-new Elantra is already on sale in South Korea where it is badged as Hyundai Avante. In Korea, the Avante is priced between 14.9 million won to 18.9 million won ($12.750 to $16.150). At its home market, there’s only one engine option available and that includes the all-new 1.6L GDI engine, which churns out 140 horsepower and achieves impressive fuel economy rating of 16,5km/l. US-market Elantra is expected to be offered with more than just one powertrain option.

As mentioned before, deliveries of the new model have already begun in Korea and they are expected to reach 83.000 units by the end of the year. Domestic sales of Hyundai Elantra in 2011 are expected to increase further and reach 125.000 units, while overall sales next year are expected to hit as much as 400.000 units! [Source: Hyundai]

Hyundai Elantra video presentation:

Dave is interested in purchasing a brand new vehicle. He currently drives a Honda CR-V, but he’s like to switch it for a brand-new Hyundai car - 2011 model year, if possible. So, he kindly asked us whether we already have anything new on the up-coming 2011 Hyundai car models.

Our answer: Hyundai has already announced some details about their 2011 model line-up. A few weeks ago, the South Korean carmaker released an official press pack for the 2011 Tucson crossover and 2011 Genesis Coupe. The 2011 Hyundai Tucson received an all-new entry level GL trim, which is available with 2.0L Theta II four-cyl. engine and front wheel drive configuration.

The 2011 Genesis Coupe gets minor interior updates, a revised lineup, and its hottest model ever, the 3.8 R-Spec. We will soon provide more details about the hot-looking 2011 Genesis Coupe, which has already joined the 2011 Hyundai model line-up.

Just recently, the automaker also revealed its 2011 Genesis sedan received some new standard features for the 2011 model year, as well as 10 additional horsepower. The 2011 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 sedan now delivers 385 horsepower and gets from 0-60mph in 5,7 seconds.

The 2011 Genesis 4.6 also gets standard Technology Package, which includes features such as Ultimate Navigation System featuring the intuitive Driver Information System with 8-inch screen, smart cruise control, cooled driver seat, electronic parking brake, adaptive front lighting system, HID headlights and others. Pricing starts at $33,000 for the entry-level Genesis 3.8 V6 and $43,000 for the 2011 Genesis 4,6.

Feel free to browse our daily-updated Hyundai-Blog to find more information on 2011 Hyundai car models!