Hyundai gearing up to launch hybrid cars

Seoul August 27, 2004; Kim Tae-gyun reporting for the Korea Hearald reported that while Korea is on a red alert over rising oil prices, Hyundai Motor Co., the nation's largest carmaker, is stepping up efforts to develop fuel-efficient cars that run on a combination of gasoline and electricity.

Company officials said introduction of the hybrid cars should come around 2007 or possibly earlier.

"The bottom line here is introducing the hybrid as soon as possible. We are doing our best to get it ready for launch. The remaining work now is safety testing and tuning," Kim Chul-soo, senior researcher of Hyundai Motor, told The Korea Herald.

Hyundai plans to give about 50 hybrid Click minicars to the government for test driving by the end of this year. The data collected from the tests will be used to fine-tune the car.

"Commercialization is tentatively scheduled for 2007, but it could be done earlier," Kim said.

The hybrid project is quickly gaining momentum with the latest national campaign to tackle rising oil prices. The government said on Wednesday it will offer tax breaks on hybrid vehicles beginning in 2008. It will also require that state agencies buy the efficient cars.

Hybrid cars run on battery power at low speeds and switch to a traditional combustion engine at higher speeds. These engines get about 25 kilometers per liter - up to 50 percent greater fuel efficiency than gasoline-powered cars. "But the hybrids are not inferior to gasoline vehicles in engine power or speed. Customers should not see any big difference here," Kim said.

Hyundai is considering introducing several hybrid models. But the company declined to elaborate on the product line-up, citing strategic reasons. Industry watchers say the hybrids are expected to be priced at at least 5 million won more than gasoline cars.

Kia Motors Corp., the nation's No. 2 carmaker, is sharing research and technology facilities with Hyundai Motor. The Hyundai affiliate said it does not have a separate project to develop a hybrid model. GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the third-largest carmaker here, also said it is not developing such a car.

Hybrids are already sold in countries such as the United States and Japan. Three global carmakers - Toyota, Honda and Ford - have models in production. The hi-tech cars are already gaining huge popularity in some markets. In the U.S., the wait for Toyota's hybrid Prius is six months to a year.

Hybrids were initially designed to fill the gap between gasoline-powered cars and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that are being developed. The fuel cell generates electricity from a chemical reaction of hydrogen and oxygen. Although hailed as an ideal car to replace gasoline power, the fuel-cell vehicles are still in the middle of the development process, experts say.

"Producing a fuel-cell car is still too expensive. Moreover, countries need to build hydrogen fueling stations before introducing these cars and such a project costs an enormous amount of money. We will wait at least until 2010 before seeing fuel-cell cars enter the market," said Yun Kyung-sun, a researcher at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Hyundai in April joined the U.S. government's project to test hydrogen-fueled vehicles.

(ktg1217@heraldm.com)

By