South Korea's Hyundai Sets 50 MPG U.S. Fleetwide Fuel Economy Goal for 2025
By Scott Doggett August 4, 2010
By Danny King and Bill Visnic
Hyundai Motor America plans to boost its fleetwide fuel economy for its cars and light-duty trucks to 50 miles per gallon by 2025, marking a 43 percent increase from Hyundai's goal for 2015 and signaling the domestic unit of the South Korean automaker's efforts to boost sales by highlighting its commitment to making more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Hyundai had already disclosed a plan for its fleet to reach a 35-mpg average in 2015, one year ahead of the 2016 deadline the U.S. government has set for automakers to get a 35.5-mpg rating.
The company, in a statement today, highlighted its mid-sized Sonata sedan, which earlier this year debuted a four-cylinder engine that gets 35 mpg highway and which will include a hybrid version this fall with even better fuel economy.
"We're committed to setting the pace in this industry on fuel economy," John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO, said in today's statement. "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."
During a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Michigan today, Krafcik wasn't afraid to admit that despite the gains Hyundai has made with the Blue Drive hybrid and other efficiency-pumping advances, the company doesn't know for sure how to deliver on the 50-mpg promise.
"Is it a classic Hyundai stretch target," Krafcik asked rhetorically. But he said it is the company's nature to first set goals and then determine how to make it happen. "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."
Krafcik said Hyundai will show a concept car at November's Los Angeles auto show that will be "an important piece of this fuel-economy puzzle."
Hyundai is looking to use its fuel-economy efforts and the announcement of its lofty gas-mileage goals to boost sales in the U.S. The company Tuesday said this year's U.S. unit sales through July jumped 24 percent to about 310,000 vehicles, with the Sonata accounting for more than a third of that total.
Hyundai in March unveiled the 2011 Sonata Hybrid (pictured) to the public and said at the time that the vehicle would have a lithium-polymer battery pack that would help make the car about 260 pounds lighter than the competing Ford Fusion Hybrid.
In June, Krafcik said the Sonata Hybrid, which will have 209 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, may have an EPA-rated highway fuel economy of as much as 40 miles per gallon, which best among mid-sized competitors. Its combined city and highway fuel economy isn't available yet, but it seems likely it would be ahead close to the Ford Fusion Hybrid's 39 mpg and better than than the Toyota Camry Hybrid's 33 mpg combined ratings.
Danny King is a regular contributor to Green Car Advisor. Bill Visnic is a senior editor for AutoObserver.
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Fer crying out loud. You're publishing this in FOUR of your blogs. See my comment in the Straightline blog as to why a 50mpg CAFE rating is meaningless.
You have an error above: the Fusion Hybrid is rated rather 36 mpg highway and the Hyundai is expected to be 40mpg. However combined it's expected that Sonata will be 1 mpg less.
There seems to be a ghost in the machine that prevents us from getting things right when comparing '11 Sonata and Fusion hybrid mpgs. Hope we have fixed it now and won't repeat error. Thanks for pointing it out.
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