[Behind the Wheel] New Santa Fe: Hyundai’s family-friendly SUV gets smarter

Hyundai Motor’s new, face-lifted version of the Santa Fe is here with a much different look and smarter system, set to regain its reputation as the first SUV to sell 100,000 vehicles in South Korea. The automaker released the refreshed version of its signature family sport utility vehicle on June 30, two years after it launched the fourth-generation model in 2018. For the year, the car sold over 100,000 units, making it the first SUV in the 100,000 club. As changes are often subtle

July 9, 2020

Renault Samsung Motors to export XM3 to Chile

Renault Samsung Motors said Thursday it will export the first batch of 83 units of its sport utility vehicle XM3 manufactured at its Busan plant to Chile, pushing ahead with its overseas expansion. The automaker said the vehicles will be shipped on July 25 to be displayed at showrooms in the South American country, offering test drives for customers.  By the year-end, the company plans to export 57 more units to Chile. The five-seater XM3 was launched in March here, topping the local B-

July 9, 2020

Air Busan to resume flights to China next week

Air Busan Co., the budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Thursday it will resume flights to China next week upon quarantine approval from China. Air Busan plans to begin offering one flight per week on the Incheon-Shenzhen route on Fridays from July 17, the company said in a statement. "The company is targeting to increase the number of flights on the route to Shenzhen depending on the Chinese authorities' guidance. And it aims to restart services on the Incheon-Ningbo route

July 9, 2020

BMW launches 330e plug-in hybrid in Korea

BMW Korea said Wednesday it plans to launch the plug-in hybrid sports sedan New 330e, with a greater electric range. With the addition of the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the German automaker said it has completed its New 3 Series lineup. The BMW New 330e is equipped with 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that can create up to 292 horsepower and 42.8 kilogram-meters of torque. It accelerates to 100 kilometers per hour in 5.9 seconds. With the Xtraboost function, the car can s

July 8, 2020

Resurrection of Audi Volkswagen in South Korea

German carmaker Audi Volkswagen Group’s two flagship brands have made a full-fledged comeback in the local imported car market, making a fourfold sales jump in the first half this year, industry data showed Wednesday.  The feat comes four years after the emission-fraud scandal dubbed “dieselgate” severely hurt sales of its dominant brands here.  In 2015, Audi and VW cars were found to have used software to cheat on diesel emissions tests on some 11 million car

July 8, 2020

Hyundai Motor to hire overseas workers year-round

Hyundai Motor said Wednesday it will hire staff from abroad year-round by replacing its annual regular recruitment to boost workforce in the fields of future mobility. The move is intended to select talented workers more timely in line with the rapidly changing business environment in the auto industry. Recruitment areas this year include autonomous driving, power electronics, fuel cell, future energy, robotics, artificial intelligence, software and big data. The candidates are required have

July 8, 2020

Jeju Air warns to abort from deal if Eastar Jet fails to meet conditions

Casting more doubt over the controversy-ridden merger of two budget carriers, Jeju Air reiterated its warning on Tuesday that it will cancel its acquisition contract if Eastar Jet fails to meet prerequisites by July 15. Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest low cost carrier by sales, released a statement that the company has “done its best” to close the acquisition deal since it signed the contract to acquire a 51.17 percent stake in rival LCC Eastar Jet for 54.5 billion won ($45 m

July 7, 2020

Hyundai Motor, SK chiefs vow to bolster EV biz partnership

The heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Group met with the head of refinery-to-battery conglomerate SK Group on Tuesday to discuss cooperation in the electric vehicle (EV) business. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won discussed cooperation on next-generation EV battery technologies, power management chips, and the "battery-as-a-service (Baas)" platform, the automaker said in a statement. Baas is a breakthrough business model mainl

July 7, 2020

Global shipbuilding orders at historic low in H1

Global new orders of ships fell to a historic low in the first half of the year amid the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Tuesday. In the January-June period, global new shipbuilding orders totaled 5.75 million compensated gross tons (CGTs), or a total of 269 ships, according to data provided by global market researcher Clarkson Research Service. The tally marks the lowest since 1996, when the market tracker began to compile related data, and a 42 percent drop from the previous y

July 7, 2020

Hyundai Motor to mass-produce hydrogen-powered electric trucks

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has begun mass-producing hydrogen-powered electric trucks and has sent a batch of shipments -- first in the world -- to Switzerland from Gwangyang Port, South Jeolla Province. Global automakers have produced prototypes or concept models of hydrogen-powered trucks, but Hyundai Motor is the first to mass-produce them.  South Korea’s leading automaker said it will expand the application of hydrogen fuel cell technology to commercial vehicles and ceme

July 6, 2020

New Audi A4 picked as car of month: KAJA

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association said Monday that it has selected German carmaker Audi’s luxury sedan the New Audi A4 as its car of the month. Every month, the association selects its best model among new vehicles and face-lifted versions that were launched within the past month, based on five criteria including exterior, interior design, practicality, safety and comfort features, product marketability and purchasing intent.  For July, the Lexus UX F Sport, which was la

July 6, 2020

Transport Minister meets HDC, Aekyung Group, Eastar Jet execs to urge M&A deal

Transport Minister Kim Hyun-mi met with executives of HDC Group, Aekyung Group and Eastar Jet on Friday to urge their air carrier merger deals, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.  Kim reportedly had discussions with HDC Group Chairman Chung Mong-kyu, Aekyung Group Vice Chairman Chae Hyung-seok and former Eastar Jet Group Chairman Lee Sang-jik and was briefed on the status of the respective merger deals. HDC Group, which owns midsized builder HDC Hyundai Deve

July 3, 2020

Russia approves HDC’s Asiana takeover, final stage for merger deal cleared: HDC

South Korean midsized builder HDC Hyundai Development Co. said Friday that it has received approval from Russian aviation authorities for HDC’s planned takeover of flag carrier Asiana Airlines, but added that renegotiation of the acquisition terms is still underway. Regarding the merger deal involving the air carrier, HDC had to receive approval from six of the nations that Asiana flies to as a prerequisite.  HDC had planned to complete the deal by the end of April after regulators

July 3, 2020

Exodus of Korean conglomerates’ overseas branches in Hong Kong possible: report

Amid the aggravating political sentiment between US and China over the imposition of Hong Kong‘s security law, South Korean conglomerates with overseas branches in Hong Kong can possibly seek to relocate their offices to different cities, a report said Friday.  On Thursday, US lawmakers unanimously approved new Hong Kong-related sanctions that would penalize banks which do business with Chinese officials, after the Chinese government imposed a security law that has been widely conde

July 3, 2020

Imported car sales jump 41% in June despite pandemic

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea jumped 41 percent in June from a year earlier on tax cuts and new models, an industry association said Friday. The number of newly registered foreign vehicles rose to 27,350 units last month from 19,386 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. "A reduction in individual consumption taxes and new model launches particularly by Audi Volkswagen Korea helped buoy the monthly sales,&quo

July 3, 2020

[Behind the Wheel] Porsche offers fun and comfort with Cayenne Coupe

It’s been 18 years since Porsche released the Cayenne, its first sport utility vehicle, but skeptics still questioning the vehicle’s “Porsche DNA.” Undeterred, the carmaker has continued to bolster its SUV lineup, and sales show Porsche’s decision was right. Its SUV sales now double those of smaller sports cars in some markets, including the US. In Korea, the Cayenne is attributed as having set the pace for the popularity of premium SUVs. This year, the carma

July 2, 2020

Hyundai, Kia's US sales drop 19% in June amid pandemic

Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said Thursday their sales in the United States fell 19 percent in June from a year earlier as the new coronavirus continued to affect vehicle sales. Hyundai, Hyundai's independent Genesis brand and Kia sold a combined 99,434 vehicles in the US market last month, down from 122,890 units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. The carmakers had planned to focus on boosting sales in the world's most important automobile market thi

July 2, 2020

Jeju Air's Eastar takeover on brink of collapse amid pandemic

Jeju Air's Eastar takeover on brink of collapse amid pandemic Jeju Air Co.'s planned takeover of smaller budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. appears to be on the brink of falling through as Jeju Air asked Eastar Jet to settle all of its debts by mid-July to proceed with the deal. In March, Jeju Air signed a deal to acquire a controlling 51.17 percent stake in Eastar Jet from Eastar Holdings for 54.5 billion won as part of its expansion strategy despite the new coronavirus' growing impact on the air

July 2, 2020

Hyundai Motor rolls out truck-based camping car

Hyundai Motor announced Thursday the launch of a small-sized truck Porter 2-based camping car Porest, which can fit up to four adults. Porest -- a combination of “Porter” and “rest” -- was developed under the concept of moving house and will be launched next week here.  Amid increasing consumer demand for camping cars, the automaker said it has focused on making Porest’s interior space practical.  According to government data, the number of registered

July 2, 2020

Hyundai Glovis clinches exclusive deal transporting Volkswagen cars

Hyundai Glovis, a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday that it has clinched an exclusive five-year contract with Volkswagen Konzernlogistik, which deals in the logistics of European carmaker Volkswagen Group, for transporting their cars from Europe to China.  Volkswagen Konzernlogistik is based in Wolfsburg, Germany, and controls logistics, production and sales of vehicles from Volkswagen Group’s 12 finished car brands such as Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche and Bentley.&n

July 2, 2020