Hyundai Genesis Coupe wins Coupe of the year award

Hyundai's first-ever rear-wheel-drive coupe, the Genesis Coupe has won the Coup of the year award in the Middle East. It has happened for the very first time, that a Korean car has won the prestigious award.


The Genesis Coupe has been selected as the best vehicle in the coupe segment by a number of automotive experts and from the region. It was one of the 10 cars that received the title, each in its own category.

Some other vehicles that also won this year's Car Middle East Awards were the Lamborghini LP670-4SV, which was named the supercar of the year. Range Rover Sport was named the SUV of the year, while Nissan GT-R received the overall Car of the year victory.

Congrats to Hyundai!

Hyundai sales in Eastern Europe slows down

According to KAMA, Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, South Korean automakers experienced slower sales in Eastern Europe in the first eleven months of 2009.

Their sales performance has been affected by economic slump in the region. Overall auto sales in Russia fell from 2.69 million units in 2008 to 1.34 million units in 2009.

Reportedly, Hyundai Motor Company and other South Korean automakers including Kia and GM Daewoo have sold a total of 88.547 new cars in Russia and some Eastern European markets in the first 11 months, while a year earlier they sold 378.395 new cars.


The report also mentioned that on the other hand, Hyundai achieved some good results in the US market. Its manufacturing plant, which produces Santa Fe SUV and Sonata sedan rolled out a millionth car last month after only four and a hlf years since opening!

2010 Hyundai Santa Fe beats competitors in terms of fuel consumption

The 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe SUV equipped with 2.2L four-cylinder diesel engine has been recognised as the most fuel efficient mid-size Sport Utility Vehicle in Australia.

During the week long Global Green Challenge, which crosses the continent from Darwin to Adelaide, the Santa Fe achieved an outstanding fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km and beat all of its rivals, including Kia's new Sorento crossover.

According to hyundai Australia, after seven days of intense competition, the 2010 Hyundai Santa FE consumed a total of just 160L of diesel and leaved only 137 grams of CO2 per kilometer.

The 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe is equipped with Hyundai's latest diesel engine, which produces 197 horsepower and achieves EURO5 emission standards. It is mated to the all-new six-speed automatic gearbox, which helps the vehicle to achieve such impressive fuel consumption ratings as mentioned above.

But, this is not the very first "green competition" win for Hyundai brand in Australia. At the World Solar Challenge event two years ago, Hyundai also beat its competition with its brandnew i30 hatch and an astonishing 3.2L per 100 kilometers consumption. Under the hood, the i30 featured a 1.6L diesel engine from Hyundai, which is recognized as one of the best diesel engines in the segment.

Hyundai Alabama produces 1 millionth car

Hyundai Alabama celebrates 1 millionth car milestone!

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama (HMMA) President and CEO H.I. Kim, announced HMMA’s 1,000,000 vehicle last week. A white, 2010 Sonata sedan, which was the millionth car built by the venture, was driven off the assembly line with Mayor Todd Strange, Hyo-Seung Kim, CEO and President of Sejong and HMMA Team Member Angela Collins.

Hyundai reached the 1.000.000 vehicle milestone in a span of little more than four and one-half years announced HMMA CEO during his speech at the celebration.

Hyundai's Alabama manufacturing plant produced two different vehicles since 2006, the mid-size Sonata sedan and Santa Fe SUV. In the past four year and a half, a total of 655.496 Sonatas and 344.504 Santa Fe SUVs were built to reach this achievement in the plant’s short history.

Hyundai Sonata, which will soon undergo a major redesign, has been the company's best-selling vehicle in the US market. The Korean carmaker expects it to remain the top-selling vehicle in Hyundai's US vehicle line-up in the coming years.

"Our guests of honor today are without a doubt the team members wearing the Hyundai logo on their chest," H.I. Kim proudly exclaimed to the crowd gathered for the ceremony. "We've over came many challenges since production began in 2005 and through it all our Team Members never turned away from those challenges. It is because of you that we were able to accomplish this tremendous milestone."

Go Hyundai!

November 2009 car sales in Korea

Korean newspaper Koreaherald reported yesterday that Korea's five automakers increased their sales by 25,1% from a year earlier to 555.246 units. Domestic market sales increased by 93% to 136.607 units, while overseas market sales gained 22% to 418.639 units.

Among all five automakers, Hyundai saw its sales rising 33 percent in November from a year ago to 308.873 units, while its parent firm, Kia Motors experienced a 25 percent sales gain - Kia sold 166.614 new vehicles in November 2009.

According to the sales report, GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co sold 54.501 new vehicles last month, while Renault Samsung, the local unit of Renault SA, announced its sales gained 81 percent in November from a year ago to 20.562 units. Even Ssangyong Motor, which has been under bankruptcy protection since the beginning of the year, reported it sales rose to 4.696 units (+22 percent compared to last year).

The best selling vehicle in Korea last month was Hyundai Sonata sedan with sales once again topping 19.000 units.

2010 Renault-Samsung SM5

Korean fourth largest carmaker, Renault-Samsung, has released the very first official images of the SM5 sedan ahead of its official South Korean debut, scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.

The all-new SM5 sports more sophisticated exterior design and more modern interior lay-out than its predecessor. Based on the same platform as Renault Laguna, the 2010 SM5 features Nissan's powertrain technology, including a 2.0L gasoline engine and six speed automatic transmission. The model is also available with a fuel-sipping 2.0L diesel powerplant that gets even better gas mileage than its gasoline counterpart.

The all-new Renault-Samsung SM5 has been developed at the company's Korean R&D headquarters. It took the engineers 36 months to develop the model from scratch, while the development process cost company a whopping 400 million won.

Renault-Samsung executive chief officer, Jean-Marie Hurtiger, is confident that the 2010 SM5 is good enough to boost image of the brand in both, the South Korean and International markets, as well as boost the overall brand's sales.

According to the company, the all-new SM5 will be equipped with some high-tech features such as adaptive xenon headlights and massage front seats. It is expected to be priced attractively, which means it will probably cost less than its main rivals from Hyundai or Kia Motors.

Check also the designer sketch of the new SM5, which has been released a few days ago, as well as some general information on the Renault-Samsung brand.

Renault-Samsung SM5 images: