14 • AUGUST 22, 2011

Ryan Beene

futureP R O D U C T S >MODEL YEARS 2012 2013 2014

KIA Soul freshen Cadenza debut Soul redesignRio redesign Forte redesign Sorento redesign

Optima freshen Sedona redesignSportage freshen

HYUNDAI Accent redesign Veloster turbo debut Genesis Coupe re-engineerGenesis freshen Genesis Coupe freshen Veracruz redesignVeloster debut Elantra sedan freshen Equus freshen or reskinAzera redesign Elantra Touring restyleElantra coupe debut Santa Fe redesign

Tucson freshenSport sedan?Plug-in hybrid?

yundai and Kia have become twoof the hottest brands in the UnitedStates by launching a flurry of new

and redesigned products in recent years.Finding out what’s next for the Korean

brands has been the task of West CoastReporter Ryan Beene, who joined Auto-motive News in the summer of 2010.Beene covers Hyundai and Kia from LosAngeles.

KOREA’S PRODUCT PLAN

Ryan Beenerbeene@crain.com

OS ANGELES — Hyundai will con-tinue to enter new product seg-

ments, including upscale niches,while keeping lower-priced modelsfresh over the next three years.

The Veloster sporty coupe will jointhe lineup this fall, and a turbochargedversion comes next summer.

A redesigned Azera sedan debuts inthe final weeks of this year, and a two-door Elantra will go on sale next spring.Short- and long-wheelbase versions ofthe Santa Fe crossover will be offeredwhen the vehicle is redesigned next year.

Further down the road, Hyundai willlaunch a more luxurious SUV, a dedi-cated plug-in hybrid sedan and a sportsedan to compete with the BMW 3 se-ries.

Accent: The Accent, which has beenon sale since July, was redesigned for the2012 model year. A new 1.6-liter gasolinedirect injection four-cylinder from

Hyun-dai’s Gamma engine family re-places the old four-banger.

Genesis: The high-performance Gen-esis R-Spec sedan was added for the2012 model year as the top trim level ofHyundai’s mid-sized luxury car. TheR-Spec gets 429 hp and 376 pounds-feetof torque from a new 5.0-liter gasolinedirect injection V-8 engine teamed witha new eight-speed automatic transmis-sion.

An updated 3.8-liter V-6 engine pow-ering the base Genesis adds gasoline di-rect injection technology for 2012,helping to boost output by 15 percentto 333 hp and torque by 10 percent to291 pounds-feet.

In 2013 the Genesis will get new sheetmetal and a new interior, as well as a re-engineered platform with major im-provements, including all-wheel-drive.

Veloster: Hyundai’s sporty coupe willarrive in showrooms in September. TheVeloster features a hatchback roofline

Veloster is Hyundai’ssporty new entry;SUV, hybrid planned

2012HYUNDAIVELOSTER

Hyundai, Kia target more segments, move upmarketRyan Beene

rbeene@crain.com

yundai and Kia are on pace to set U.S. sales recordsthis year, and have been picking up market sharefrom Japanese and Detroit rivals.

They’re doing it with product. Both companies have beenmaking splashes with new mainstream models. And they havebeen expanding into new segments and moving upmarket.

The next three years promise more of the same.Hyundai got its 2012 model year rolling with a redesigned

Accent subcompact and a freshened, more powerful Gene-

sis sedan. Also coming in the model year are the newVeloster sporty coupe, a more upscale Azera sedan and anElantra coupe.

Down the road Hyundai is expected to bring out a newsport sedan and a dedicated plug-in hybrid sedan.

Kia will launch a redesigned Rio subcompact this year be-fore bringing out its Cadenza upscale sedan next spring. Kia’sbest-selling vehicles — the Sorento mid-sized crossover andthe Soul compact hatchback — will be redesigned in 2013.

Here are the model-by-model plans for Hyundai MotorAmerica and Kia Motors America.

H Hthe expert

>The redesigned Azera will make its North American debut at the Los Angeles auto show in November.

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New engines will powerKia’s redesigned models

Ryan Beenerbeene@crain.com

OS ANGELES — Cars will be the focus ofKia’s attention in the next year as the fast-

growing Korean automaker bringsfresh styling and new engine technology to itslineup.

The redesigned Rio subcompact that de-buted at the New York auto show in Aprilgoes on sale in the fourth quarter. The Ca-denza, a large upscale sedan that will be Kia’sflagship, will be launched next spring.

A redesigned Forte compact sedan arrivesnext summer, while redesigns of the Sedonaminivan and Sorento crossover are sched-uled for the 2014 model year.

Soul: A freshening for the 2012 model yearincludes a new front fascia, updated head-lights and hood and a new vertical taillightconfiguration. Inside, there’s a redesignedcenter stack.

A new 1.6-liter four-cylinder direct injec-tion engine boosts fuel efficiency and powerfrom the Soul’s previous 1.6-liter base en-gine. Six-speed manual and automatic trans-missions also are new.

The Soul is scheduled to be redesigned in2013.

Rio: A redesign of Kia’s smallest offering,which comes in four-door sedan and five-door hatchback configurations, will go onsale in the fourth quarter. It will be poweredby the new 1.6-liter four-cylinder gasoline di-rect injection with start-stop technology. Thenew Rio is estimated to get 40 mpg on thehighway.

Cadenza: A source says the large fwd sedanwill arrive stateside in March or April as a2013 model after being delayed to avoidcrowding the launch of the 2011 Optima. The

see HYUNDAI, next pageThe Elantra coupe is scheduledto go on sale in the secondquarter of 2012.

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see KIA, Page 16

The redesignedKia Rio goeson sale in thefourth quarter.The Rio isoffered insedan andhatchbackversions.

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