On March 21, while accompanying South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on a Kia Motors´ plant tour, Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong Koo made a very interesting announcement. He said that, starting from 2009, eco-friendly Hyundai cars will enter mass production. “The importance of developing futuristic, environmentally-friendly cars is increasing for sustainable growth,” Chung said. “Therefore, technology for advanced cars, like the hybrid, is imperative. We also plan to produce a small fleet of fuel cell electric vehicles from 2012.” Currently, Hyundai provides Accent hybrid models to government agencies as pilot projects and plans on starting mass production with the compact-sized LPG model, the Elantra LPI (Liqufied Petroleum Injection) hybrid, a car that uses both Liquefied Petroleum Gas and electricity. Hyundai also started development for mass producing Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) strating from 2012.
