Hyundai produces a wide variety ofvehicles, from urban runabouts to heavy-duty trucks, and almost everything inbetween. The company is now plugging one of the few remaining holes in itslineup with the commencement of production on its first light commercialvehicle (LCV), the H350.
First unveiled last year at the HanoverMotor Show, the H350 is set to compete against the likes of the Mercedes-BenzSprinter and Ford Transit. Production of the European designed and engineered vehiclebegan this week in Bursa, Turkey at the plant of Hyundai's production partner,Karsan Automotive.
The multi-purpose LCV is being built upon aflexible platform designed to support van, bus and chassis-cab body styles. The3.5-tonne (3.85 ton) van will come in a choice of 5.5 m (18 ft) or 6.2 m (20ft) overall lengths boasting a cargo capacity of 12.9 m3 (455 ft3) and the ability to carry five Euro-standard pallets.
Meanwhile, the 4-tonne (4.4 ton) bus variantfeatures 13+1 seat layouts and a choice of passenger access doors. Finally, thechassis-cab is aimed at versatility with the vehicle designed to form afoundation for customized bodywork to support cargo boxes measuring up to 4 m(13 ft) long and 2.32 m (7.6 ft) wide.
The vehicles will be powered by a 2.5-literengine offered in a standard power variant boasting 110 kW (147 hp) and 373 Nm(274 ft-lb) of torque, and a high power variant generating 125 kW (168 hp) and422 Nm (311 ft-lb). Both versions meet Euro5 emissions regulations.
"With the start of production of the All-new H350today, Hyundai Motor will begin to play a key role in the European commercialvehicle sector," said Byung Tae Yea, Executive Vice President of HyundaiMotor Company on Thursday. "This portion of the market is forecast to growsignificantly over the next few years, so now is the right time for HyundaiMotor to enter Europe’s big van segment."
The H350 is set to go on sale in Turkeythis month and in nine other European countries from next month, before anexpansion into additional European markets next year.
Source: Hyundai
