South Korean automotive giant, Hyundai has developed a new egg-shaped car powered by electric engine, which will be able to fit into narrow spaces in congested urban centres.

The new Hyundai E4U, which stands for four Es namely; evolution, electricity, eco-friendliness and egg, will have a top speed of 18 miles per hour. The top of the car appears to be a futuristic space helmet for the passengers. The vehicle has been designed to allow people to navigate congested urban roads and it is designed for one person only.

Major auto manufacturers like Tata Motors, Hyundai, Honda, Ford and General Motors, suffered a decline in sales in March, as rising fuel prices and higher interest rates kept buyers away.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd's domestic sales slipped 13.46 per cent to 33,858 units in March, from 39,122 units in the corresponding month of the previous financial year.

Tata Motors' total passenger vehicle sales dropped a whopping 66.62 per cent, from 36,984 units in March 2012 to 12,347 units.

In a desperate bid to increase sales, Indian car companies are offering heavy discounts on their various models.

The combination of economic slowdown, escalating fuel costs and high interest rates has taken a considerable toll on demand for cars in the country. Auto companies failed to allure customers even during the festive season of Dusshera and Diwali.

Indian automobile industry has received a much-needed boost from the festive season, figures released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show.

According to SIAM, sales of automobiles jumped 15 per cent in October this year over the corresponding month of previous year. Car sales jumped 23 per cent, from 1.40 lakh units to 1.72 lakh units over the same period. It was the biggest rate of increase since January last year.

Hyundai Motor India has announced that the 10-day strike by a section of employees at its Sriperumbudur-based manufacturing facility has finally ended.

A section of employees at the auto giant's Sriperumbudur manufacturing facility had been on strike since 30th of October, pressing the company for numerous demands, including reinstatement of sacked employees.

On Friday, South Korea-based automakers Hyundai and Kia - both owned by the Hyundai Motor Group - acknowledged having overstated the gas mileage of their vehicles soled in the US during the last two years.

With both carmakers having sold nearly 900,000 vehicles - approximately one-third of their total sales - in the US over the last couple of years, the one main factor they have been harping on is the `fuel economy' of their vehicles, which they claimed, in a number of ads, to be better than that of their rivals' cars.

Hyundai Motor India has finalised a new wage agreement with its workers' union, under which workers will not only get pay hikes but also a host of benefits such as group insurance and medical coverage.

The company announced in a statement, "The wage increase ranges from Rs 11,000 to Rs 13,000 excluding components like the variable dearness allowances and other welfare benefits."

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recently initiated a preliminary investigation into the exploding sunroofs of the Hyundai Veloster.

The NHTSA investigation into Hyundai Veloster's glass sunroofs is a result of the fact that as many as 15 complaints have been received about the shattering - mostly in the form of an explosion - of the vehicle's glass panels.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has recently revealed that the Hyundai Elantra "severed ear" air bag investigation has been expanded, to include two 2011 and 2013 Elantra models; with model year 2012 Elantras already being examined for the problem in a May-launched probe.

Mexico City, Aug 30 - South Korean automaker Hyundai Motors Company's Mexican unit said it planned to invest $130 million in a new plant that will manufacture aluminum auto parts in Tijuana, a border city in the northwestern state of Baja California.

The plant is expected to create 300 direct jobs and make up to 900,000 units of three new automotive products for different models sold in the US, Hyundai said.

Hyundai Translead chief Kenny Lee laid the cornerstone for the new plant, the automaker said.

South Korean electronics giant, Hyundai Motor is recalling some of its Santa Fe SUVs and Sonata sedan units due to an issue with the air bag, according to U. S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The company is recalling 228,797 Santa Fe SUVs, which were produced from April 2006 through July 7, 2008 as the front air bags in the models may not deploy in case of a crash, the safety regulator said. The company is recalling 199,118 units of Santa Fe models 2007 to 2009 in the US and 29,679 vehicles from models 2007 and 2008 in Canada.

Chennai, Feb 7 - An entirely new team of office bearers of the United Union of Hyundai Employees (UUHE) will hold wage negotiations at the country's second largest car manufacturing company Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), which has been embroiled in labour tensions for several years, said a top union official.

Bhopal, Feb 5 - Car manufacturers are setting their eyes on smaller Indian cities and towns as markets boom for their products, particularly sale of luxury vehicles.

And one such city is the Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal where an Auto Expo is going on. At least 14 major manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Jaguar, Renault, and Mahindra and Mahindra, are participating in the four-day trade fair.

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. has reported a 38 percent increase in profits in the quarter till December 2011.

The net income for the company rose to 2 trillion won in the quarter compared to 1.45 trillion won in the same period previous year, the company said in a filing to the regulators. Revenue of the Seol based company increased 11 percent to 20.5 trillion won.

Car makers are actively using Bollywood movies to attract Indian customers to various models by showcasing the vehicles in various sequences.

The latest Don 2, the sequel to the Don (2006) features several cars like Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Sonata Fe, BMW 5-Series and Alfa Romeo MiTo. The action sequence attracts the attention of Indian audiences and helps companies get their cars noticed by the masses.

A high-speed car chase shown in the teaser of the movie has created much excitement among the Indian audiences. The sequence shows destruction of 67 cars. On the other hand, Players movie is also attracting customers with models including Mini Cooper, Mazda MX5 and the Chrysler 300C stretch limo.

Several car makers in India are now offering attractive discounts towards the end of the year in order to improve sales in the country.

Manufacturers are offering rebates on petrol and some diesel models to sell the stock of older models before the new year. Car sales have fallen in the country by 3.53% to 1.2 million units in the April-November period compared to the same period of 2010.

South Korean electronics giant, Hyundai’s new i40 saloon model will come with a starting price of £17,395 in the UK.

The new model is available with the Touring’s three main trim levels - Active, Style and Premium. The buyers will have a choice two engines, including the 1.6-litre Gdi Blue Drive or the 1.7-litre CRDi in 113bhp or 134bhp guises.

Hyundai’s UK MD Tony Whitehorn said, the new saloon “shares the same qualities found in the i40 Tourer - offering outstanding levels of fuel-efficiency, comfort, quality, and a high level of standard equipment all at an accessible price.”

South Korean automotive giant, Hyundai ha said that it will showcase its new ix35 FCEV though the EcoVelocity show next week in the UK.

The Hyundai ix35 FCEV (Fuel-Cell Electric Vehicle) is a variation on the electric vehicle. It gets power from a clean hydrogen fuel cell that only emits water vapour. The third-generation fuel-cell vehicle claims to run for 360 miles with a single hydrogen fill.

The company claims that the vehicle can go from 0-62mph in just 12.8 seconds and it has atop speed of 100mph. The fuel-cell mechanism is capable of working in temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius.

South Korean auto major, Hyundai has announce the launch of its greenest car yet, the new eco-friendly version of the i20 model.

The new i20 Blue releases just 98g/km of CO2, which is better than i10 Blue city car that was released this year. The model is based on the i20 in Comfort trim, with the 1.4 CRDI 89bhp engine.

The inclusion of stop and go technology, low rolling resistance tyres, a more aerodynamic panel and a deflector for the rear wheels allows the model to reduce emissions. It offers an impressive fuel economy of 76.4mpg.

Auto maker, Hyundai has released a new model, which is the company greenest car yet, in its eco-friendly Blue series.

The new eco-friendly version of the i20 releases just 98g/km of CO2, which is better than i10 Blue city car that was released this year. The model is based on the i20 in Comfort trim, with the 1.4 CRDI 89bhp engine.

The inclusion of stop and go technology, low rolling resistance tyres, a more aerodynamic panel and a deflector for the rear wheels allows the model to reduce emissions. It offers an impressive fuel economy of 76.4mpg.