Hyundai’s powertrain R&D strategy remains region specific

Hyundai Motor Company’s (HMC) powertrain research and development strategy remains region specific, said HMC’s Joachim Hahn in a recent interview with Automotive World. Hahn is manager of Powertrain Engineering Design/Testing, Hyundai Motor Europe. “We know the world is not equal, and products that we sell very successfully in North America do not always sell as well in Europe, for example, and vice versa,” Hahn said. As an example he pointed to the development of diesel-powered passenger vehicles in Europe, which has no acceptance in the U.S. In the Korean market, the company has introduced a hydrogen fleet which Hahn states gives the company a good base for learning about the challenges of the technology from real customers. In Scandinavia, HMC is introducing vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell technology due to the region’s hydro-electric power. Hahn says, Scandinavia is the ideal region for this, as, “the customers are highly critical, they need and want to understand that it is a genuinely environmentally-friendly solution.” (June 8, 2011)