Dow Jones Newswires | Hyundai Motor Co. and subsidiary Kia Motors Corp. each plan to start selling a midsize hybrid sedan in the U.S. market.

Hyundai will release a Sonata hybrid there at the end of this year. Featuring a lithium ion battery system made by LG Chemical Ltd., the 2.4-liter vehicle gets 39 miles per gallon of gasoline, or 16-17km per liter, in high-speed traffic and 37mpg in cities. It will be unveiled at the New York International Auto Show, which opens Saturday.

“The car has been tailored to the U.S., where people spend quite a long
time traveling in high-speed traffic,” a Hyundai official says.

“The car has been tailored to the U.S., where people spend quite a long
time traveling in high-speed traffic,” a Hyundai official says.

This will be the company’s first gasoline-based hybrid. In its home
market of South Korea, Hyundai has been offering a hybrid car that runs
off batteries and liquefied petroleum gas. The news was reported in the
Nikkei’s Saturday morning edition.

Kia, meanwhile, will begin U.S. sales of a K5 hybrid in the first half
of 2011.

Despite the contraction in the U.S. auto market last year, the two firms
increased their sales there. But they trail Toyota Motor Corp. and
others in environmentally friendly vehicles.