Hyundai Promises 50-MPG Fleet by 2025
By Bill Visnic August 4, 2010
Admitting "we don't specifically know how to get there," Hyundai Motor America president and CEO John Krafcik announced today that Hyundai plans to achieve a fleet-wide Corporate Average Fuel Economy of "at least" 50 miles per gallon by 2025.
Krafcik says it's not just a technical goal or to satisfy regulatory demands - he said Hyundai views fuel-economy leadership as a competitive advantage in the current and future marketplace.
"We're committed to setting the pace in this industry on fuel economy," he said, "and we're inspired by the possibilities our advanced Blue Drive technologies afford," Krafcik said in a release.
But during a speech at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Michigan today, Krafcik wasn't ashamed to say 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."
Photos by Hyundai
1 - John Krafcik is Hyundai Motor America president and CEO.
2 - The Hyundai Sonata will come with a hybrid powertrain.
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