Advanced Hyundai Technology

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Hyundai Motor Company, demonstrating its technological superiority in the field of sustainable transport, introduced the Blue-City hybrid bus powered by liquefied gas. For the first time, a major automaker has independently developed a powertrain and a body for such a vehicle.

The Blue-City, entirely made in Korea, is Hyundai’s latest “green” model. The new bus is characterized by reduced emissions of harmful substances and fuel consumption due to the electric motor and the engine running on liquefied gas. The hybrid Blue-City is equipped with a 177 kW (240 hp) G-CNG engine and a six-speed automated transmission. The model’s efficient 60 kW (82 hp) electric motor with 3.8 kWh lithium polymer battery ensures safe driving and efficient recharging.

The performance of the Blue-City chassis is superior to that of existing LPG buses. Despite the reduction in the number of fuel tanks from seven to five (770 liters total), Blue-City is able to travel 340 km on a single gas station, which is in line with the performance of existing LPG bus models. In addition, its power, increased by 30%, is not inferior to traditional LPG buses, and the maximum speed is 100 km/h, which is ideal for urban public transport. Blue-City’s fuel consumption is approximately 30-40% lower than conventional LPG buses, enabling city fleets to cut costs significantly.

The CO2 emissions of this hybrid bus are 24% lower than conventional LPG buses (equivalent to 33 tons per vehicle per year) and 35% lower than diesel buses.

Since the launch of the Blue Drive range of eco-friendly vehicles in 2008, Hyundai Motor has introduced a number of innovative eco-friendly models. These are hybrid, electric and fuel cell vehicles such as the Avante LPi, the world’s first LPG hybrid, and the Sonata gasoline hybrid. Last year, Hyundai also donated 30 BlueOn-branded electric vehicles and an electric city bus called Elec-City to the Republic of Korea government for testing.

Hyundai will put 30 Blue-City test units into service in selected areas of Seoul starting in July this year. Serial production of new buses will begin in 2012. Hyundai will continue to develop its Blue Drive strategy and produce low-emission vehicles to strengthen its leadership position.

Testing of the crossover will begin next year, and mass production is scheduled for 2015.

The third generation of Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles are equipped with a 100-kilowatt battery and two hydrogen tanks (pressure 700 bar). This crossover is able to travel 650 km before the next recharge, which is comparable to conventional gasoline cars. In addition, the car starts even at temperatures as low as -25°C.

The range of the Tucson ix FCEV is increased by 76% compared to the second generation Tucson FCEV, which could travel 370 km on a single charge. The fuel consumption of the new model in gasoline equivalent is 3.2 liters per 100 km, which is 15% less than the previous version.

More than 95% of the main components of the Tucson ix FCEV are produced using Korean technologies in close cooperation with 120 local automotive component suppliers. The overall volume of the fuel cell stack has been reduced by 20% compared to the previous version by modularizing the massive battery components including the fuel cell stack, auxiliary equipment, inverter and high voltage junction box.

The total mileage of the company’s hydrogen-powered vehicles is currently more than 2 million km.

Research and development centers

Since the creation of the first Hyundai Pony passenger car, completely developed in Korea in the mid-70s, Hyundai Motor Company has attached great importance to the development of its own research and development base.

The design center in Namyang is a clear confirmation of this. About 430 million dollars have been invested in the creation of the center.

The first common rail direct injection diesel engine was developed by engineers at the Hyundai-Kia Joint Design Center in Namyang and mass-produced in 2001.

Hyundai Santa Fe SUVs and Hyundai Trajet minivans are equipped with this engine.

Since the beginning of 2001, a 4-cylinder engine with a volume of 2 liters has been installed on export cars. The engine is economical and has low emissions. It develops power up to 115 hp. at 4000 rpm, and reaches a torque of 265 Nm at 2000 rpm.

At a speed of 90 km / h, the rear-wheel drive Hyundai Santa Fe, equipped with a manual transmission and Common Rail diesel, consumes 1 liter of fuel for every 21.6 km.

A similarly equipped Hyundai Trajet travels an average of 21.1 km on 1 liter of fuel.

In addition to the new diesel engine, Hyundai Motor Company has designed 4, 6 and 8-cylinder petrol and gas car engines.

Hyundai Motor Company is also working on the use of alternative energy sources, including fuel cells.

Multi-Air Mode technology uses a combination of several air conditioning and heating vents to create the most comfortable microclimate for passengers in the car. When the Multi-Air Mode is activated, the air flow is softened by dispersion through the multi-air openings of the driver’s and passenger’s seats, which were created in addition to the standard air vents.

Interestingly, Multi-Air Mode does not change the total amount of air that circulates in the cabin. However, the dispersion technology reduces direct contact with the flow, which makes staying in the car much more comfortable.

Fine Dust Indicator technology takes measurements inside the cabin and alerts the driver about the current air condition.

The air quality monitoring system reflects the concentration and level of ultrafine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution inside the vehicle interior using whole numbers for convenience, as well as traditional color indicators (blue, green, orange and red).

If, while the Fine Dust Indicator function is on, the system identifies the limit values of a conditionally satisfactory level of air pollution (more than 36 µg/m3), then the air purification mode is activated. In accordance with the specified criteria, the system independently determines the volume of air required inside the cabin, and if necessary, automatically switches to air recirculation mode and turns on the air conditioner to reduce the level of humidity inside the car. If, despite the Fine Dust Indicator mode being on, the air quality indicators do not improve, this indicates the need to replace filters or the need to clean the air conditioning system.