18 • AUGUST 13, 2012

>Hyundai and Kia are planning more prestige-class offerings

ot only have Hyundai and Kia been piling upmarket share in recent years, they have movedsteadily into higher-priced segments. And both

Korean brands plan to continue their march upscalewith a series of new models and updates in the nextthree years.

Kia will launch the Cadenza, an upscale, front-wheel-drive sedan next summer. And a source says Kia hasbeen given the green light for U.S. sales of its rear-wheel-drive flagship, known as the K9 in South Korea and the

Quoris in overseas markets.At Hyundai, a rwd sports sedan that targets BMW’s 3

series is in the works, though a source says it won’t arriveuntil 2015 at the earliest. The vehicle, known insideHyundai as “RK,” is said to be based on the rwd platformused for the Genesis Coupe.

A re-engineered and restyled Hyundai Genesis luxurysedan is due to hit U.S. showrooms in late 2013 as a 2014model, or perhaps during the 2015 model year.

The Equus, Hyundai’s rwd flagship will get a freshened

exterior next summer for the 2014 model year.While the Koreans continue to move upmarket, Chi-

nese carmakers were once expected to flood into thesame low-price segments where Hyundai and Kia gottheir start. But that surge of Chinese cars coming to theUnited States never happened, and there is little indica-tion that it will anytime soon.

Here are the product plans for the 2013-15 modelyears for Hyundai and Kia and an update on what someChinese carmakers are planning for the U.S. market.

futureP R O D U C T S >Model year 2013 2014 2015

HYUNDAI AND KIA PRODUCT PLAN

Hyundai Elantra coupe, GT debut Equus freshen Azera freshenGenesis Coupe reskin, Elantra sedan freshen or 2015 Possible Equus restyle

re-engineer Genesis restyle, re-engineer Genesis Coupe restyleSanta Fe redesign or 2015 Sonata restyle

Sonata freshen Plug-in hybrid possible debutTucson freshen

Kia Sportage re-engineer Cadenza sedan debut Quoris sedan debutForte redesignOptima freshenSorento freshenSoul redesignSportage freshen

Hyundai broadensits lineup, tonesdown its curves

Ryan Beenerbeene@crain.com

OS ANGELES — Hyundai’s curvysheet metal has been well-re-

ceived since it debuted on theTucson crossover in 2010.

But the automaker will tone downthe curves with a new design language,starting with the restyled Sonata mid-sized sedan in the summer of 2014.

In the meantime, a redesigned 2013Santa Fe hits showrooms starting thismonth, and a new seven-passengerversion of the Santa Fe will replace theaging Veracruz early next year. Bothwill be 2013 models. A re-engineeredGenesis sedan could arrive in late2013.

A four-door sports sedan is still in thepipeline, though it’s not expected toarrive for at least a few years.

Here are the highlights for the 2013-15 model years from company andother sources.

Accent: The Accent was redesignedlast summer. No major changes areplanned until the 2016 model year.

Azera: A redesigned 2012 Azera largesedan went on sale in the spring. Afreshening is expected for the 2015model year if Hyundai follows typicalimprovement cadence.

Equus: Hyundai’s rear-wheel-driveflagship will get a freshened exteriornext summer for the 2014 model year.A major restyling or re-engineering forthe Equus isn’t expected until 2015 orlater.

Elantra: This summer’s launches ofnew Elantra variants — a two-doorcoupe and five-door hatchback — cre-ated a family of products for the 2013model year.

The Elantra sedan is scheduled to befreshened in late 2013 for the 2014model year. The changes could occurin the 2015 model year. An optional2.0-liter gasoline direct injection en-gine will be added to complement thecurrent 1.8-liter port-injection engine.

A redesigned or restyled Elantra isexpected to arrive in the United Statesin calendar 2015.

Genesis: A re-engineered andrestyled Genesis sedan is on track tohit U.S. showrooms in late 2013 as a

The first shipments of the 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, the successor to the five-passenger Santa Fe crossover, arrive at dealerships this month.

Ryan Beenerbeene@crain.com

OS ANGELES — After a slow 2012 for newproducts, Kia will be back on the gas in 2013.

A redesigned Forte compact sedan willbe launched in January, followed by a

five-door hatchback and a coupe by next sum-mer. The upscale Cadenza sedan arrives at Kia’sU.S. dealerships next summer.

A rear-wheel-drive flagshipsedan, known as the K9 inSouth Korea and the Quoris inoverseas markets, arrives state-side for the 2015 model year.

Here’s the rundown for Kia forthe 2013-15 model years fromcompany and other sources.

Cadenza: Kia will launch theCadenza sedan next summeras a 2014 model. The upscale,front-wheel-drive sedan sharesa platform with the current

generation Hyundai Azera and is expected to bepowered by a 3.5-liter V-6 engine used in the Kore-an version of the Cadenza, known as the K7.

The Cadenza, nearly five inches longer than theOptima mid-sized sedan, will sit above the Optimain Kia’s lineup. Pricing is expected to be between

the high $30,000s and low $40,000s, Kia MotorsAmerica’s sales boss Tom Loveless has said.

Forte: Kia’s compact sedan will be redesignedfor the 2014 model year. A modified version of theHyundai-Kia compact platform, used by theHyundai Elantra and the European Kia Cee’dcompact, will underpin the second-generationForte.

The redesigned Forte sedan will be launched inJanuary. The two-door Forte Koup and a five-door hatchback are scheduled to go on sale nextsummer.

A source says Kia is aiming for at least 40 mpgon the highway with the Forte’s 1.8-liter four-cylinder base engine.

China’s automakers aren’t ready for the States David Sedgwick and Yang Jian

autonews@crain.com

f you’re wondering when Chinese au-tomakers will arrive in the United Stateswith cars and trucks and rock-bottomprices, don’t hold your breath.

Right now, China’s domestic automakersare playing defense. In their home market,they are losing market share to General Mo-tors and other foreign automakers.

To be sure, several Chinese automakersare exporting vehicles to compensate for lostmarket share at home. And some are export-

ing small numbers of ve-hicles to Europe.

But only one Chineseautomaker, Changan Au-tomobile Group, is export-ing any vehicles to theUnited States, and thoseare being sold under thebrand of a U.S. startup.

The startup is Coda Au-tomotive Inc. of Los An-geles.

Coda gets car bodies from a Changan sub-

sidiary and battery packs from TianjinLishen Battery Co., then ships them to aplant in Benicia, Calif., for final assembly.

The five-seat Coda EV, which is priced at$38,145, including shipping, went on sale inCalifornia this spring. The company has solda few cars, but it looks as if the vehicle needsto be improved.

In April, CEO Phil Murtaugh said Coda willdevelop an EV with Great Wall Motor Co., tobe introduced in 2014.

KOREA AND CHINA

The 2014 Forte sedan goes on sale early next year.

Kia picks up the product pace

2014 KIACADENZA

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see HYUNDAI, Page 20 see KIA, Page 19

Murtaugh:Working withGreat Wall.

Loveless: Anupscale pricefor the Cadenza

see CHINA, Page 20

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