autonews.com ® AUGUST 20, 2018 Entire contents © 2018 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved. $159/YEAR; $6/COPY Byton K-Byte Concept future product pipeline F I F T H I N A 1 0 - PA R T S E R I E S How the increasingly versatile Hyundai-Kia group plans to deploy its diverse powertrains, European-inspired designs and crossover platforms across its brands I PAGES 20-22 I BOOM or BUBBLE? Where Hyundai’s N brand goes from here I PAGE 34 I Can the Veloster N build Hyundai’s performance cred in the U.S.?
Chinese EV startups are full of global ambition, but most have yet to sell a single vehicle Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com N ANJING, China — When setting up a would-be Tesla rival in China, a couple of factors are key. A fl edgling electric vehicle mak- er needs, of course, oodles of cash. It also must have unblinking government backing. And, crucially, it must be steeped in entre- preneurial ambition. A RUNNING START Hyundai’s fi rst N model wows Europeans, boding well for U.S. entry None of that is in short supply in the world’s biggest auto market.
EV startups with unfamiliar names are mushrooming here with abandon, seeking to sell cars not just in their own backyard but to make the big time in the U.S. as well. Many are likely destined to fall short of their goals, but even a small number of success stories could trigger big shifts in the global auto industry. N Christiaan Hetzner chetzner@autonews.com Schemera, the former BMW executive who heads Hyun- dai’s high-performance ve- hicle division, while testing continued for the preproduction Veloster N here on Germany’s premier proving ground. Schemera: “We’re fi shing in a different pond.” “Every startup story begins with a dream. This is an era of heroes.
Big or small, we all have a dream to become a hero.” ЬRBURG, Germany — Encouraged by the promising start of its performance line among demanding European consumers, Hyundai hopes its upcoming Veloster N sports car can improve its perception among U.S. buyers. T e Korean automaker, no longer satisfi ed with be- ing just a rational choice for penny pinchers, believes injecting its value-oriented image with a dose of high-octane emotion can win over customers who never considered a Hyundai. T e rise of the N brand represents a signif- icant step in Hyundai’s evolution as a global competitor and comes at a critical time for the company.
Be it boom or bub- ble, China’s EV out- break is perfectly embodied by one wannabe, Byton. For years, Hyundai’s formula was value, “We’re fi shing in a diff erent pond,” said T omas see VELOSTER , Page 34 Feng Changge, Byton founder and co-chairman T e aspiring brand was founded only last September. It hasn’t sold a single vehi- cle, and it is still building its fi rst factory, on a muddy fi eld here just northwest of Shang- hai. But Byton plans to start selling a high- tech EV crossover in China late next year and, in 2020, ship it stateside. Subscriptions’ next hurdle: State laws Legislators take deeper look; dealers, automakers wary necessary.
New Jersey dealers also are seeking regulatory changes. Melissa Burden mburden@crain.com subscription programs in Indiana and an on-hold proposal in Califor- nia that would have required that any automaker subscription plan go through its dealers.
T ey are among the fi rst states to look at how to treat vehicles in the growing number of subscription programs off ered by manufacturers and dealers — or even whether regulation of the programs is Dealers want to make sure they’re not left out of a new business stream and that their margins are protected for the long run, while automakers want to be able to off er mobility ser- vices and advanced technology to consumers absent new and compli- cated statutes and regulation. T e T at vehicle, to be called the M-Byte, is en- visaged as a smartphone on wheels.
With vehicle subscription plans such as Book by Cadillac and Care by Volvo gaining momentum and clien- tele, some states are scrutinizing the models and their implications for dealership franchise laws and state revenue streams. Concepts are replete with a mammoth dash monitor — more than 4 feet wide and see CHINA , Page 16 Dominique: PSA implications It has led to a temporary ban on see STATES , Page 36 NEWSPAPER RETAIL FORUM: CHICA SOLUTIONS FOR GROWTH & TRANSFORMA GO autonews.com/rfchicago TION see pg. 29