Detroit, Michigan, Nov 11: Hyundai will launch a hybrid car in the United States by 2006 to compete with Toyota's and Honda's offerings, a trade publication reported today. Won Suk Cho, president of Hyundai America's Technical Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said the automaker is testing early versions of a gasoline-electric version of its Getz Hatchback in South Korea and is planning on testing consumer reaction to that vehicle in its home market next year.
Cho did not specify if Hyundai would launch the Getz in the United States, but said the automaker would have a hybrid for the us market in three years with Hyundai's own technology, automotive news reported in this week's edition.

Japanese automakers dominate the small, but symbolically important, hybrid niche in the United States: Toyota and Honda sold 38,000 hybrid models in 2002.
General Motors and the Ford Motor Company have both announced they will offer fuel-efficient powertrains in some of their existing models, but the vehicles have been slower coming to market than anticipated.
Bureau Report