Hyundai has released the first images of its new hydrogen fuel cell electric (FCEV) truck concept.

Called the HDC-6 Neptune, the FCEV commercial truck will make its debut at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta, Georgia.

Named after the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, the HDC-6 Neptune draws inspiration from the streamliner Art Deco high-speed trains of the 1930s and 1940s.

“We have cemented the fuel cell technology leadership position in the passenger vehicle sector with the world’s first commercially produced fuel cell EV and the second generation fuel cell EV, the Nexo,” said Edward Lee, head of commercial vehicle business division at Hyundai.

“With the introduction of HDC-6 Neptune, in addition to the road proven Xcient fuel cell truck, we expand our technology leadership into the commercial vehicle sector by unveiling our vision of how fuel cell electric trucks can resolve the environmental equations of widely used commercial vehicles and our commitment to create a decarbonised society.”

Earlier this month, Hyundai filed a trademark application for the Neptune name with Australian authorities. It references ‘hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles in the nature of hydrogen fuelled cars’ in the description, while referencing ‘automobiles’ and ‘electrically powered trucks’.

This would suggest that Hyundai is throwing further weight behind a range of passenger and commercial fuel cell vehicles, possibly using Neptune as a sub-brand to distance hydrogen from electric.

Hyundai isn’t giving too much away ahead of the CV show on 29 October, but says the HDC-6 Neptune features advanced in-cab technology and unique construction.

The company will also debut an eco-friendly refrigerated trailer solution under its Translead banner. The company built 70,000 trailers in 2018, making it the market leader in the United States.

The North American Commercial Vehicle Show takes place at the Georgia World Congress Centre in Atlanta from 29 October 2019.

Dr. Jaiwon Shin has landed at Hyundai to head up its newly established Urban Air Mobility Division.

The aeronautics engineer is a former associate administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA, as well as a co-chair of the White House National Science and Technology Council’s Aeronautics Science and Technology Subcommittee.

As executive vice president and head of Hyundai’s air mobility division, Dr. Shin will lead the company into a “new era of developing smart mobility products within the aviation industry”.

Hyundai will leverage his expertise in airframe, engine, safety and air traffic management technologies to develop solutions for safe and efficient airborne travel.

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Shin said: “Having worked on cutting-edge aviation research and development at NASA for 30 years, I am very excited and humbled by the opportunity to now shape urban air mobility strategy at Hyundai Motor Group.

“The new team at Hyundai will develop core technologies that will establish the company as a driving force in urban air mobility, a sector that is expected to grow into a market worth $1.5 trillion (£1.2 trillion) within the next 20 years.”

Last-mile parcels and air metros

Urban Air Mobility is expected to become a critically important part of a range of solutions designed to reduce traffic problems in the world’s mega cities.

Aerospace giant Airbus established an Urban Air Mobility division last year to “co-create an entire industry from scratch”.

Harini Kulatunga, head of unmanned aerial mobility solutions at Airbus, said: “By 2030, 60 percent of the world’s population will be urban. To help cities cope with this massive population growth, transport solutions need to safely and sustainably improve the way people get from A to B.

“Urban air mobility enhances the coverage and reach of the transportation system with minimal land impact [and] sustainable city development becomes possible.”

In November 2018, a report published by NASA found that a commercially viable market for last-mile parcel delivery and air metro could be in place by 2030.

However, the market for air taxis is likely to be limited to concentrated areas of high net worth individuals and businesses. An example would be an air taxi from Manhattan to the suburbs.

At the Global Urban Air Summit in Farnborough, Tim Johnson, policy director for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), argued that society has a “low tolerance [for risk] and high expectation of safety standards for air travel”.

Investment in the sector is expected to top $318 billion (£259 billion) from 2020 to 2040.

‘Will there be a Hyundai Kona hybrid?’ and ‘Does the Hyundai Kona come in a hybrid?’ are two popular questions on Google right now.

It didn’t, but it does now, with Hyundai releasing details of the all-new Kona Hybrid.

Hyundai’s first sub-compact SUV arrived in 2017, with the Kona Electric debuting a year later. Nearly 120,000 have been sold in Europe, with buyers seemingly won over by the fact that the Kona was developed as an SUV from the ground up, rather than sharing its underpinnings with a hatchback.

66mpg and 99g/km CO2

The Kona Hybrid is powered by a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine developing 105hp and 108lb ft of torque. It’s joined by a 43.5hp electric motor to deliver a combined output of 141hp and 195lb ft of torque.

Power is fed to the front wheels via a six-speed dual clutch transmission, with the Kona Hybrid hitting 62mph in 11.2 seconds on 16-inch wheels or 11.6 seconds on 18-inch rims. Top speed is 99mph, regardless of wheel size.

Hyundai is targeting CO2 emissions of 99g/km and fuel economy of 66mpg, but we’ll know precise figures closer to the Kona Hybrid’s launch in August.

As standard, the Hyundai Kona Hybrid will come with a 7-inch display, but a 10.25-inch split-touchscreen will be an option. All models will feature Apple Carplay and Android Auto, with a wireless charging pad available as an upgrade.

The eye-catching launch colour of Blue Lagoon (as seen here), will be joined by seven other exterior hues, with the Hybrid offered with a choice two wheel designs, both of which are unique to the car.

Hyundai’s SmartSense safety pack is standard and includes front collision warning and avoidance assist with pedestrian and cyclist detection. Adaptive cruise control is an option.

Cars fitted with the 10.25-inch display will feature an Eco-Driving Assist System designed to improve fuel economy. It analyses road information from the navigation system to notify the driver when deceleration is imminent.

Hyundai says that the system reduces fuel consumption and minimises brake usage. A Predictive Energy Management system manages charging and discharging of the battery to maximise the battery usage.

We’ll bring you more information on the Hyundai Kona Hybrid, along with driving impressions, in the summer.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. This is a short story of Hyundai’s vision for the cockpit of the future – the view you’re likely to see when you’re sat behind the wheel of its next-generation cars.

“We are continuously working on new technologies that make our cars perfectly intuitive and user-friendly,” says Regina Kaiser, the human interface senior engineer at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre. To this end, Hyundai has been focusing on reducing the number of buttons and creating a clean interface.

The most visible development is the creation of two touch panels on the steering wheel, which is sure to ruffle the feathers of those who believe in-car touchscreens are the work of the devil. The buttons can be adapted to the individual wishes of the driver, with the screens featuring two actuator modules beneath the surface to allow “for a stronger and more consistent haptic feedback,” claims Hyundai.

Meanwhile, the instrument cluster is a multi-layer display comprising two displays which are stacked behind each other at a distance of 6mm. This creates visual 3D effects: one part of the graphic is shown on the front display and the other part on the rear display.

According to Hyundai, this effect is used to guide the user’s attention with less distraction. The most important information, such as the speed limit, is shown at the front of the display.

The info shown on the steering wheel displays changes according to the information on the instrument cluster and also depending on the driving situation. The driver can also change the layout and create ‘shortcuts’ for entering specific applications. Customisation is important as it offers drivers maximum freedom, says Hyundai.

“We are doing research on the learnability, intuition and potential driver distraction of the virtual cockpit,” says Regina Kaiser.

Hyundai’s ‘virtual cockpit’ is still in the early prototype phase of development, but the Audi-style tech will be appearing in a new Hyundai soon. In the meantime, these images show how the technology could be integrated into a current i30.