Hyundai joins U.S. in-car electronics fray with voice-activated blue link

Hyundai Motor Co., the fastest- growing mass-market automaker in the U.S. last year, plans to offer an in-car communications system as Ford Motor Co. and other rivals work to lure buyers with advanced electronics.

Hyundai’s voice-activated Blue Link, shown today at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, provides route guidance, lets people start a vehicle by remote control and makes emergency calls in case of an accident, the company said in a statement. Drivers may also check the Web, text and e-mail “in a non-distracting manner,” Hyundai said without elaborating.

Blue Link is Hyundai’s alternative to Ford’s Sync system and General Motors Co.’s OnStar service, which have been available to U.S. customers for years. Ford has said that Sync is a critical factor in 32 percent of purchases of its models.

Consumer Reports magazine yesterday said it didn’t recommend redesigned versions of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX sport-utility vehicles equipped with touch-screen and iPod-style steering wheel controls because the in-car communications system is too complicated and could distract drivers.

Blue Link will be available as an option “this summer” initially on Sonata sedans and new Veloster crossover vehicles, Miles Johnson, a Hyundai spokesman, said by phone. The company isn’t giving a price for the system today.

Seoul-based Hyundai’s U.S. sales rose 24 percent last year, more than double the industry pace. The company’s U.S. sales operations are in Fountain Valley, California.