Motor Trend reports, "Hyundai could join the hybrid vehicle bandwagon as early as next year with an Elantra-based vehicle powered by advanced lithium-ion battery packs." Hyundai's first mass-produced hybrid will go on sale in Korea for the 2009 model year. No plan has yet been announced to bring the vehicle to the U.S. market, but given the immense popularity of hybrids here, it seems inevitable that Hyundai will bring the hybrid Elantra to America. The hybrid Elantra "is said to attain 37.9 mpg compared to similarly powered vehicles that achieve 24.7 mpg on average. Whether these figures are combined, city, highway or calculated on a fuel cycle different than the U.S. (which is likely) has yet to be clarified."
Initial models will run on a combination of liquefied natural gas and electricity, with gas-electric hybrids to follow by 2010, according to Automobile Magazine. Other alternative fuels may follow. "Hyundai has plans to expand its hybrid vehicle lineup to include larger cars and wants to reach 50,000 hybrid sales per year by 2011. A fuel-cell hybrid could be on the market by 2012."
An unidentified Hyundai official told Reuters the company "plans to launch a mid-sized gasoline-electric hybrid sedan, in 2010."
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