To give fuel economy a boost, Hyundai spends big on r&d

摘要

LOS ANGELES - Hyundai Motor Co. has expanded its global r&d budget, with an emphasis on improving the fuel economy of Hyundai and Kia vehicles. The Korean automaker is developing new small-displacement engines as well as hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. For 2008, Hyundai Motor has budgeted 1.74 trillion won (USD1.87 billion), or about 5.2 percent of total company spending, on r&d. That is up from 1.48 trillion won (USD1.59 billion) in 2007, or 4.9 percent of total outlays.