I had the chance to share a few negroni with fellow car scribes at last night’s Infiniti QX65 launch, and many of us realized we’d all be reunited next week on a Hyundai trip. What is Hyundai planning to show us? No one had any idea. The Korean automaker is launching so many vehicles it’s a little hard to keep track of it all.
In fact, the automaker just announced it plans 36 launches by 2030, with a lot of those cars being built in the United States with parts from the United States. That compares to, say, Jaguar Land Rover, which can’t seem to build cars in the United Kingdom. Over in Japan, Toyota seems to be slowly realizing that regular people don’t want hydrogen cars, but maybe there’s a place for commercial vehicles?
There’s been a bit of a whiplash in The Morning Dump when it comes to electric automakers given the war of it all, which has been good for BYD, but doesn’t seem to be helping Tesla much.
36 By 30 Is The New Mantra At Hyundai
I’ve said it at least once before, but it bears repeating now: Hyundai has one of the best powertrain mixes in the game. There are hybrids where you want hybrids, ICE options for most things, and EVs for everyone else. It’s not even that there’s a single powerplant or drive unit that’s exemplary. It’s all about choice.
There’s a lot more choice coming according to Hyundai, which announced 36 new models by 2030, with 80% U.S. production and 80% U.S. parts sourcing. Is this a reaction to The White House or the inevitable outcome of Hyundai’s huge sales growth here that’s mostly been planned for a while? The answer is: Yes. Either way, Hyundai is betting big on America.
“Hyundai is accelerating across North America,” said José Muñoz, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hyundai Motor Company. “By expanding our product portfolio and offering a wider range of powertrains in North America, we’re giving customers more choice while continuing to strengthen our long‑term investment in U.S. manufacturing, jobs, and the broader automotive ecosystem.”
Here’s a little more detail from the announcement:
From 2026 through 2030, Hyundai plans to introduce 36 all‑new or significantly enhanced models including passenger cars, SUVs, trucks, and commercial vehicles. These new vehicles include core models and expanded trims, including XRT and N performance derivatives.
These models will be supported by a broad mix of ICE, HEV, EV, and extended‑range electric (EREV) powertrains to meet evolving customer demands across the region.
Ohhhh EREVs. Exciting. All joking aside, I don’t think the Tiburon is likely on the menu, but there are a bunch of potentially interesting models for enthusiasts. Up at the top of the list is the Hyundai Crater, which could be a Wrangler/Bronco fighter and would make sense as an EREV. The Hyundai-GM van is a lock, although the details are not yet clear. What about something that looks like the Insteroid concept?
The one that can’t come soon enough if you’re a Hyundai fan or a dealer is the Tacoma-fighting midsize truck that’s replacing the Santa Cruz. For longstanding Chicken Tax reasons, that truck is almost certainly going to be made in the United States.
I’m excited to find out next week what there is to learn what’s coming, because it can’t all be trim levels of the Tucson and Palisade.
Jaguar Land Rover Idles A Plant Again
Remember when Jaguar Land Rover couldn’t build cars for weeks due to a damaging cyberattack? Pepperidge Farm remembers. Or, at least, whatever the British version of Pepperidge Farm remembers. Now, JRL is again having to slow down production for a couple of weeks because of a “part supply challenge.”
What’s going on here? The Financial Times has some details:
The British carmaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, told suppliers on Thursday that it would pause production for its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at the Solihull plant in the West Midlands until April 8, including an already scheduled five-day shutdown for the Easter long weekend.
In a statement to the Financial Times, JLR confirmed “a part supply challenge with a supplier” and added: “We are working closely with that supplier to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and minimise an impact on our clients or our operations.”
I guess it’s Spring Break for those workers, although at this point I’m guessing most of them would be happier to have the work.
Toyota Bends A Little On Its Hydrogen Plans
Toyota is one of those automakers that still believes that hydrogen cars will happen, even though every single hydrogen passenger car it’s built has been an extravagant exercise in blowing money. It’s starting to sound like the automaker is realizing that consumers aren’t going to embrace hydrogen cars any time soon, so maybe it makes more sense as a commercial option?
Per Nikkei Asia, the pivot is on in Japan:
The plan is to deploy sizeable hydrogen stations along highways between eastern and western Japan, not only to make them accessible to fuel cell trucks but also to ensure that hydrogen prices remain stable over the long term. The current price of hydrogen was almost the same as that of diesel fuel, Yamagata said.
The European Union is planning hydrogen refueling stations at least every 200 kilometers on main highways by 2031 while China has a similar plan. With Toyota having local partners in each region, it has been developing high-performance fuel cell trucks and carrying out test runs.
In Japan, the Tokyo Metropolitan government and Toyota have launched a fuel cell taxi project, aiming to deploy 600 fuel cell-powered Crown sedans by its fiscal year ending March 2031.
For commercial vehicles and maybe aviation there’s a possible use for hydrogen, especially in large trucks. Taxis aren’t a bad start, either.
The Iran War Is Good For BYD, Not Exactly Helping Tesla
The price of oil continues to go up as the War in Iran shows no signs of actually stopping, and that’s bad for people who rely on Middle Eastern oil to power their cars and houses. Who has it been good for? Russia has been able to get a waiver to sell oil again, and Chinese electric carmakers seem to have found a way to stoke demand again. Was strengthening China and Russia the goal of this sudden intervention? Probably not, but that does seem to be one outcome.
For BYD, the boost to its car export business is a big deal given how mediocre its sales have been at home. As Bloomberg reports, cheap Chinese EVs are suddenly very popular in places that are likely to get squeezed in a prolonged energy crisis:
BYD’s guidance for the current year along with its results due Friday will provide clues for investors on the chances for an export-led recovery. Its overseas sales for the first two months surged 50% from a year ago, and customer traffic has been brisk at its dealerships across Asia in March as gas prices climb.
“We’ve seen stories out of the Philippines and Indonesia where locals are queuing up to buy an electric vehicle,” said Leonid Mironov, a portfolio manager at Gavekal Capital Ltd. “Longer term, this will help re-establish the EV narrative and consumer mindshare, especially in developed markets.”
Overseas sales accounted for about half of January-February sales volume for the Shenzhen-based automaker, which is also seeing a flood of orders from Central and South America. Likely rollouts featuring BYD’s new proprietary charging technology may help speed EV adoption in foreign markets where charging speed and infrastructure remain key bottlenecks.
Could this be a boost to Tesla, too? According to an analysis put together by the company, not so much. The consensus is 1.69 million sales, which is lower than the company’s last consensus guess, which was closer to 1.75 million vehicles. For the entire year, the non-Model 3/Model Y vehicle sales total 60,685, meaning that even Tesla knows it’s not going to sell a ton more Cybertrucks.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
Do you need 10 minutes of dreamy Icelandic electronic music about the process of birth? Of course you do! Here’s Siguar Rós with “Svefn-g-englar.”
The Big Question
What would be the best thing Hyundai could add to its lineup?
Top photo: Hyundai/YouTube
TBQ: A well stocked chain of repair parts.
Love Sigur Ros. Their vocals are incomprehensible, just like modern Jaguar.
“For commercial vehicles and maybe aviation there’s a possible use for hydrogen, especially in large trucks. Taxis aren’t a bad start, either.”
Taxis are actually a prime use-case for EVs.
Short, low speed trips – lots of stopping and idling – cheap/easy recharging using the grid while the driver/owner rests – minimal maintenance needs/downtime.
Hydrogen would not improve on that.
Hydrogen cars are EVs, though. They just also have a fuel cell instead of just a battery.
More complexity – plus the need to go fuel someplace rather than just getting in the car in the AM and going – seems sub-optimal.
My guess is that comment was more about distribution. A taxi business would have a depot where they could have refueling stations.
Any hydrogen would come from cracking hydrocarbons. The oil/gas industry makes out and keeps us under their thumb. After all of their crimes, they don’t deserve a place at the table.
My response is based on some assumptions that the reason Matt is saying there might be a use case for taxis is that they run in a relatively small geographic area usually so you could (in theory) install a single hydrogen fueling station to service a fleet of taxis. You don’t have to worry about servicing vehicles running all over the state or country so a few stations could be ok in this instance.
It would be an improvement from the standpoint that if you’re running 12 or 18 hours a day continuously (or even 24/7 with a fleet with rotating drivers) you will be able to quickly refuel. EVs still take considerable time to juice up the batteries. It’s getting better but not from the standpoint of what a business might consider when calculating the amount of up time for their fleet.
Of course, the expense of hydrogen might make this a moot point as the time out of service for charging a BEV might be less lost revenue than the added expense of hydrogen, but the article also presupposes managing prices with the expansion of the stations. It’s not like electricity is super cheap in the urban areas where taxis generally run either.
At this point, everything is a trade off. There are certainly advantages and disadvantages to all of these.
The best thing Hyundai could add to its lineup? Stellantis.
I chuckled. Well done.
Combining the most explody ICE engines with the shittiest hybrid system available? GENIUS!
Get this man a CEO badge and a Golden Parachute! Welcome, Tarlos Cavaras.
Some men just want to watch the world burn
That thing got a Hyemi?
Note to the BYD Story – They were just busted in Brazil for essentially importing slave labor at a factory they built there. Important to remember these things as their PR splashes money around the worldwide press. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/03/01/byd-slavery-allegations-brazil/
Building Your Dreams on the backs of slaves.
They must be good at hiding bad press, your comment is first bad thing I have ever heard about them.
Absolutely they are! There’s an awful lot of money and state power backing these kinds of companies and projects
TBQ: EREV tow pig with 50+ miles of unladded EV range and an ultra efficient offshore generator mode.
Not to be outdone, Stellantis has announced an ambitious 36 by 2130 program of 36 new, facelifted, or renamed models within the next 104 years, including at least 1 each for Dodge and Chrysler
Actually it’s the 36 by 28 for new recalls on the 4xE.
I thought they meant 36 facelifts for the Pacifica over the next 104 years.
Another mid-sized crew cab truck with no functional bed? I guess there are people who’ll buy it for the “truck guy” image and then never use it as a truck, but as a professional truck user I could really go for a legit mini truck with a single or extended cab (doesn’t even have to have seats, just a place to store tools) and 6′ or more of cargo room in the back. Useful mini trucks have been extinct since 2012 but there are still tons of people keeping them alive, and my 06 Colorado isn’t getting any newer…
Oh comon now, they’re not extinct. Nissan has you covered! 2022 – current Nissan Frontier King cab is there for you!
1. Even new Nissans are considerably larger than like a mid-2000s Ranger or Taco.
2. I, along with probably 90% of the general public, had forgotten the Frontier exists – thanks for the reminder!
Because I just had to go look it up…the Frontier got beefed up from a compact to a midsize in 2005, following the Taco in 2004. After 2011 the GMC Canyon/Chevy Colorado also got the extra bloat treatment, and the Ranger was discontinued altogether the following year before coming back much later as the monstrosity we know today. I stand by my argument that the American mini truck has been extinct since 2012.
“For commercial vehicles and maybe aviation there’s a possible use for hydrogen, especially in large trucks. Taxis aren’t a bad start, either.”
Not as long as that hydrogen is made from Australian fossil fuels. If economical white/nuclear/renewable hydrogen ever come to fruition THEN maybe but until then no.
Another take on Hyundai is that they both:
A: had the plant expansion in the works already, so any announcement can pander to government speeches.
B: had curtailed substantially exports from the USA-based plants due to tariffs, would behoove them to increase range of models being manufactured in-country so can be more self-sufficient.
Those small bev Kia are doing in the ev1 and ev2 are interesting but I doubt they will bring them to the US nor would they sell well. The tasman seems like it might be on the table. They definitely need a truck they have ignored that area for too long. They might have missed their chance already. They tried some class 6 trucks in the early 2000s and that didn’t last long either. But they built themselves a little paradise on the Georgia Alabama border. I have to wonder if the preferences of the area might shine though a little. That would probably mean a full size 1/2 ton pickup. Not sure the market is ready for that especially at some of the prices Hyundai wants for their stuff. They do well with the ev9 and telluride platforms. Did decent with the carnival. The commercial van could be a winner all the trades people want something cheaper. Maybe they will bring out make cargo mini van. Their fleet sales are almost entirely focused on rental cars. They need to break into commercial fleet sales somehow. Ionic 5 panel van could be interesting too. There was talk of a Hyundai Kia kei maybe they have taken that and made it fit American spec. Beat the Japanese to the punch in the us with their own vehicles because they realized it was too though to compete in Japan with kei. What ever it is cheap and cheerful is the answer.
Hyundai should make a small truck competitor that is Slate sized but give it the pupu platter of drivetrain options all the other models have.
Jaguar is still trying for some reason? Just stop already, no one cares.
If Jaguar wants to save itself I think it could do (and has done) a lot worse than producing a modern XK13.
Hyundai needs a proper Hot Hatch. Something akin to the late 2000s Accent in size/style.
Give it the CRZ treatment with a stick and a hybrid system. Or an AWD setup using an E-axle in the rear.
They could also revive the Genesis Coupe, with a hybrid drivetrain. I used to get 7.5L/100km on highway runs in my 2.0T, with a hybrid setup to bump in town numbers, you could actually make an economical RWD sports car.
Basically, they need more fun hybrids to go with their people mover hybrids.
I really liked the Genesis Coupe. Until we realized it had a mail slot in the back-end; if we wanted to go on a trip that we’d need to load our luggage through the passenger door onto the rear seat.
The trunk was large with a tiny opening. But I still managed to cram 4 adult men and all our luggage for a weekend in Toronto in that thing.
That was absolutely the right car at the right time for me. Was my daily from 22 to 30 years old.
“The trunk was large with a tiny opening. But I still managed to cram 4 adult men and all our luggage for a weekend in Toronto in that thing.”
It probably would have been better to let them sit in the cabin. No matter how big the trunk is, I’m sure it was crowded with everyone in it.
Hey, they wanted a free ride. There’s trade-offs.
Yeah, I’ve been there. No such thing as a free ride.
The Genesis Coupe was exactly the kind of car that should have been a liftback. But noo, gotta have those ‘Ring laptimes!
And let’s not forget the seeming mantra of 21st century automotive design: Anything With Less Than 4 Doors is a 2nd Car, Not a Daily Driver. It’s the only explanation for why the 4-series Gran Coupe has a liftback but the 2-door coupe doesn’t.
Sure the variety from Hyundai is nice, but I would really rather they stopped competing with Ford for most recalls or most blown engines and just focused in to make 2-3 solid powertrains instead of 36 crappy half assed ones.
Their current strategy is to just flood the zone with slop and hire ex-European car designers in an effort to distract people from their non-existent quality.
Their resale is in the toilet for a reason.
Yeah they look good I’ll give them that, but man they had like a 5 year period where they actually were decently reliable, and then went right back to 90s era quality in a fancier wrapper
Please, Please PLEASE don’t give us the Kia Tasman.
It’s going to be a Colorado class next. They say it’s for Central and South America but, sure.
I used to be a hardcore Kia/Hyundai fan. Owned a ‘96 Sephora, ‘04 Rio, ‘04 Sedona, 2 Accents, an ‘12 Sonata hybrid and a ‘17 Tucson… the Tucson ruined the continuity… trash DCT and oil-burning 1.6T.
Then all of the stories and blog comments by the thousands of how many owners the Korean automaker trashed and shit on. Too many.
Hyundai can bring a Jesus Mobile to America but I will not even consider another half-baked modern Hyundai or Kia.
Ever again.
Way too many major powertrain platform whoops on their part. Until I see a sign they’ve improved their quality, and customer service, Kia/Hyundia are off the table.
I would really like some civilian version of https://special.kia.com/en/km450 the KIA military truck.
I will look at a Hyundai with an actual low range transfer case hopefully something similar to the 4Runner and Tacoma.
Isn’t that just a license built M715?
Yes and a new civilian version would be screamingly awesome.
https://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/argue_with_that_blazing_saddles.gif
Could they do what Mahindra did with the Roxor and just import it as an off-highway vehicle?
16? There’s at least 20 to 30 of us last time I checked.
A few stepped out in front of a Mustang at Cars and Coffee.
Sorry to tell you.
You sure spelled N Vision in a funny way. Seriously, that’s the car they need to hook me.
Hyundai needs to sell the Staria over here
Oh yes, I love the Hyundai Staria. It’s the best looking thing ever.
Need hours and hours of dreamy Icelandic electronic music about the process of driving around Iceland? They gotchu here.
Do you want a real answer or is repeating “N Vision 74” a bunch of times cool?
Cool, but that Insteroid is just flat-out radhappy. I’d have to flip a won to decide.
Best thing?
Come to market with a shared Hyundai/Kia e-rev powertrain with at least 80 miles of battery only range, a super-efficient yet simple (non-turbo) ICE/generator combination, and offer it across the entire portfolio from small single motor efficient affordable to mid-range with nice trims with 1 or 2 motor (AWD) options, up to the big-uns mid-size trucks and 3 rows.
Hyundai/Kia should continue to leverage their warranty advantage and work on improving the dealer network.
Oh and get rid of powered crap like door handles and charge doors. Bring back buttons.
“Was strengthening China and Russia the goal?” Daddy Putin approves.
Bigly moves from the winningest people. Are folks in the lower 48 tired of winning yet?
That’s what he was hired for.