Hyundai-Kia Vehicle Fuel Economy To Increase 25% By 2020
Hyundai may not be considered as the leader in fuel economy figures at this point, however, they are aiming to become one by 2020, if not earlier.
The carmaker has revealed a plan, called “2020 mileage improvement roadmap”, which calls for revolutionary development of the Hyundai-Kia powertrain lineup and introduction a slew of new low-pollution and zero emission vehicles.
The “2020 mileage improvement roadmap” plan reveals significant improvements will be made in three main fields:
introduction of smaller displacement gasoline and diesel engines with GDI and turbo technology- reducing weight of the vehicles
- launch of a large number of hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, all electric models and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles
1. More fuel efficient engines: Under the new initiative, Hyundai and Kia plan to replace around 70% of their current engines with new ones by the year of 2020!
There will be a range of new small turbocharged gasoline and diesel engines introduced in the coming years, with the gasoline units expected to increase the fuel economy by 11 to 13 percent, while the new diesel engines will be responsible for a 16 to 18 percent improvement.
2. Lower weight of the vehicles: The automaker aims for a 5% reduction in weight on average through the use of high-strength steel and other lightweight materials.
For an example, if the vehicle weighs 1,500 kg at this point, a 5% reduction means 75 kg less!
Hyundai and Kia will also continue to increase the use of high-strength steel, a stronger but lighter alternative to conventional steel.
The current rate of the high-strength steel used in their cars is rated at around 52%, however, by 2020, the plan is to increase the figure to as much as 62 percent.
3. New eco-friendly cars: Hyundai, together with Kia Motors, is hard at work to bring a range of new eco-friendly vehicles to the market.
Known as the leader in the cars powered by fuel cell technology (Tucson FCEV is already on sale in the USA and Europe), Hyundai will also take a larger part in hybrid car segment.
According to latest reports, the automaker is working on a brand-new “stand alone” hybrid car that will compete against the well-known Toyota Prius.
They company is also all set to launch a brand-new Sonata hybrid vehicle and a Sonata plug-in hybrid car in 2015.
Latest rumors also suggest that Hyundai is also developing a new all-electric compact sedan that is planned for a release in 2016. This will be a nearly “125 mile” compact sedan, built on the same platform as the new Elantra.
Kia on the other hand will also introduce new hybrid and plug-in hybrid version of their hot-selling Optima midsize sedan next year.
Within two years, we are also expecting to see a new small crossover hybrid car to be launched in the USA and Europe, as well as an enhanced Soul EV with increased driving range (possibly up to 150 miles).
