[Behind the Wheel] New Jeep Compass apt for adventurous off-road driving

PAJU, Gyeonggi Province -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Korea has its sights set on the sport utility vehicle market here, revamping its showrooms to be Jeep-exclusive by next year and completing the lineup with the first fully changed Compass compact SUV released in 10 years.As a model positioned between the Renegade small SUV and Cherokee midsize SUV, the new Compass targets “urban adventurers” looking for a vehicle suitable for the city and rough off-road terrain.On the SUV brand’s unique four-w

July 22, 2018

S. Korea asks for exemption from US auto tariffs

South Korea's finance minister has called on his US counterpart to have the Asian country exempt from America's planned auto tariffs, the Seoul government said Sunday.  Kim Dong-yeon made the request during his meeting with US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin in Buenos Aires on Saturday (local time) on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting.  South Korea`s finance minister Kim Dong-yeon and USSecretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin (Yonhap)US President Donald Trump has proposed a 25 p

July 22, 2018

Management, labor of Hyundai Motor agree to wage deal

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co.'s management and labor on Friday agreed to a tentative wage deal for this year, marking the quickest deal in eight years.Under the agreement, the base wage will increase by 45,000 won ($40), with extra bonuses, according to the company. It also included ways to adjust work shifts to reduce working hours.The company and the union also agreed to make concerted efforts to improve productivity and create a 50 billion-won fund to support subcontractor firms."W

July 21, 2018

Hyundai Motor unveils Kona Iron Man edition at Comic-Con 2018

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading automaker, unveiled the world’s first soon-to-be mass produced Marvel character-inspired vehicle, the Kona Iron Man edition, in partnership with the New York-based entertainment company, the company said Thursday.Through its partnership with Marvel signed in 2015, Hyundai aims to promote its brand as fun and exciting particularly among younger drivers.Poster of Hyundai’s Kona Iron Man edition jointly made with Marvel (Hyundai Motor)The Iron Man edition of Hyu

July 19, 2018

Mercedes-Benz Korea releases EV charger with KT

Mercedes-Benz Korea has installed electric vehicle chargers jointly developed with South Korea’s leading mobile carrier KT at its showrooms and services centers nationwide, the company said Thursday.The electric vehicle charger made for Benz’s EQ EV brand vehicles can also be used to charge electric vehicles with a single phase 5-pin socket.This is part of the automaker’s efforts to provide services that cater to local drivers in its fifth-biggest market, and to keep its position as No. 1 import

July 19, 2018

FCA Korea launches new Compass compact SUV

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Korea released the new Compass compact sport utility vehicle, eyeing a share of Korea’s expanding imported compact SUV segment, the company said Tuesday.Designed to target urban drivers, the Compass SUV stands between the Jeep Renegade compact SUV and Cherokee midsize SUV. Local drivers will first be introduced to the all-new Compass Longitude 2.4 gasoline model and all-new Compass Longitude Limited 2.4 gasoline trims.  Jeep new Compass compact SUV (FCA Korea)Over 260,0

July 17, 2018

Hyundai, Kia‘s regional reps in Seoul for biannual meeting

Hyundai and Kia Motors, South Korea’s top two automotive companies, will hold their biannual meeting this week with representatives of regional headquarters and overseas branches to discuss the issue regarding a possible US car tariff, alongside ways to bolster sales in the second half of the year, the companies said Tuesday.This week’s meeting is the first since the auto giants established regional headquarters in the US, Europe and India last month as part of Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy to

July 17, 2018

[From the Scene] Can Hyundai Motor win big on Europe?

MADRID/SEOUL -- On highways connecting major cities in Spain as well as on the narrow, cobbled streets of old towns, Korean cars have become a common sight. From the all-new i30 to Kona, Hyundai Motor’s latest vehicles are easily spotted on the streets of Europe, probably more frequently than in China and the US, the two major markets being targeted by the company. And most of them are new models. Europe had previously taken a back seat in Hyundai’s export plans but this year’s data shows sales

July 17, 2018

[Behind the Wheel] Hyundai’s Veloster hatchback offers smart drive

Hyundai’s three-door with yellow flames and purple wrapping Veloster hatchback roaming the streets of San Francisco is the ride characters in the Marvel movie titled “Ant-Man and the Wasp” use to save Ant-Man.Setting out to cement its image as a fun and exciting brand, Hyundai has launched the Veloster hatchback this February.The vehicle, with its red, asymmetrical exterior design, is unique and eye catching on first impression. The new Veloster (Hyundai Motor)The three-door hatchback has one ov

July 16, 2018

[Photo News] Toyota Scholarship

 Kim Soung-soo (second row, third from right), chairman of Youth For Understanding Korea, a nonprofit student exchange organization, poses with seven Korean students selected for the 2018 Korea-Japan exchange program sponsored by Toyota Korea. In the back row left from Kim are Nobuyuki Takemura, head of Toyota Korea; Hiroshi Shimbo, first secretary of the Japanese Public Information and Cultural Center; and In Sung-yeon, YFU Korea assistant national director. (YFU Korea)

July 16, 2018

S. Korea's electric vehicle sales top 10,000 units in H1: report

South Korea's electric vehicles sales surpassed the 10,000-mark for the first time ever in the January-June period on strong demand for such cars as the Ioniq and Bolt, corporate data showed Sunday.Data from local carmakers and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said EV sales in the first half of2018 stood at 11,866 units, roughly equal to the total sales tallied for the whole of 2017. Last year, EV sales reached 4,412 in the first six months and the annual figures hit 1

July 15, 2018

Hyundai Motor temporarily halts factory production due to strikes

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, has faced a temporary halt in production at its factories here due to strikes staged by its labor union, the company said Friday.The union held a total six-hour partial strike Thursday, and will stage a 12-hour strike Friday after failing to reach an agreement in wage talks. This is the seventh consecutive year that union members of the automaker have staged strikes.According to the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System, the temporary

July 13, 2018

Clio under Renault badge promoted in Korea

In an attempt to highlight Clio’s French heritage, Renault Samsung, the French carmaker’s South Korean subsidiary, has decided to use the Renault marque for the hatchback’s sales here.Instead of using Renault Samsung’s “storm-eye” badge, the carmaker has attached Renault’s diamond emblem to the Clio, the company said. It means that the carmaker wants to promote Renault as an independent brand, and also that Clio is a compact vehicle that evolved for a long period of time, it explained. Promotion

July 12, 2018

Toyota, Jaguar Land Rover each flag over W1tr earnings

Amid a steady shift in South Korean drivers’ preferences, imported car makers in the local auto industry continue to expand their presence, with Toyota Korea and Jaguar Land Rover Korea becoming the latest to each post over 1 trillion won ($887.8 million) in earnings, industry figures showed Thursday. This the first time that imported car makers besides the three German-based automakers, Mercedes-Benz Korea, BMW Korea, Audi Volkswagen Korea, have earned more than 1 trillion won here. The three G

July 12, 2018

SsangYong Motor to follow principles in reinstating former workers

SsangYong Motor, the local unit of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, said Wednesday it will continue to gradually reinstate former employees in line with a consensus reached with its union in 2015. On the sidelines of President Moon Jae-in’s state visit to India, Moon urged Anand Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group, to reinstate SsangYong Motor assembly workers laid off during the carmaker’s restructuring in 2009.Mahindra responded that SsangYong Motor, which is guaranteed independent manag

July 11, 2018

Moon urges Mahindra chief to reinstate fired workers at SsangYong

South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the head of an Indian conglomerate to reinstate former workers at SsangYong Motor who were sacked during the restructuring of the then ailing carmaker.President Moon Jae-in (second from left) talks Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra during a roundtable session for business leaders from South Korea and India. Next to the chairman is Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra Group and the chairman of SsangYong board. (Yonhap)“The issue of reinstating dismis

July 10, 2018

Hyundai steps up cooperation with Baidu for Chinese market

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese tech firm Baidu to boost cooperation on connectivity technology in a bid to ramp up demand from young Chinese drivers and its future mobility technology, the company said Tuesday. The signing follows shortly after Hyundai agreed to participate in Baidu’s self-driving project Apollo at the CES Asia 2018 in June. This time, the two agreed to “take their partnership to another level” by maki

July 10, 2018

[Behind the Wheel] Chevy Equinox family SUV prioritizes stability, safety

The popular Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle, GM Korea’s second model to be introduced here since the business normalization of the local unit, was unveiled at the Busan Motor Show last month, with the task of recovering the automaker’s local sales.The Equinox was met with mixed market reactions, with some customers here expressing dissatisfaction over the higher-than-expected price tag of the midsize SUV, to which GM Korea Vice President Dale Sullivan replied, “I challenge you and everyo

July 9, 2018

Hyundai invests in Australian car rental company

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, is tapping into Australia’s car sharing market by developing a mobile app to replace car keys, together with Australian peer-to-peer car rental company Car Next Door, it said Wednesday.Hyundai and Car Next Door will roll out a mobile app dubbed “Hyundai Auto Link” that works as a car key and turns the engine on and off, by 2020 at the earliest, the company said.The app will enhance convenience for users of the P2P car rental service, allowin

July 4, 2018

Hyundai, Kia‘s Q2 earnings to slide, working to bolster sales in the US, China

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s two leading automotive firms, are expected to record a drop in second-quarter earnings this year due to slowing demand in China and the US on top of uncertainties surrounding a global trade war, industry data showed Tuesday.According to data compiled by market researcher FN Guide, Hyundai Motor’s operating profit for the second quarter is projected to slide 22.3 percent on-year to 1.04 trillion won ($928 million), while its earnings will drop 0.6 perce

July 3, 2018