South Korea’s gas price hike to boost green car sales

Amid instabilities surrounding oil-exporting countries, gas prices in Korea have risen for eight weeks in a row and averaged 1,610 won ($1.50) per liter as of Monday, industry figures showed.According to gas price information provider Opinet, gas prices in Korea averaged 1,610 won per liter at the start of the week, retaining the highest rate since December 2014.At stations across Seoul, the average cost of gas surged to 1,696 won, up 0.19 percent from the previous day. The most expensive statio

June 11, 2018

Hyundai Mobis invests W1.4b in self-driving software training

Hyundai Mobis has started a software training program at a cost of 1.4 billion won ($1.2 million) at its research center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to beef up its automotive software professionals by five times by 2025, according to the firm on Sunday.The auto parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group said it has widened the role of its research and development centers in India and Vietnam to serve as a global base to analyze information collected by the firm’s self-developed automated vehicle.“In th

June 10, 2018

[Busan Motor Show] GM Korea seeks turnaround next year

BUSAN -- GM Korea, the local unit of the US auto giant, said Thursday it expects to make a turnaround next year on newly launched cars centered on sport utility vehicles.“I’m confident to say that we have landed on significant agreement with all our stakeholders that enables us to move forward. I’d like to think that we can try to get to profitability as soon as next year,” GM Korea chief Kaher Kazem said during a meeting with reporters at the Busan motor show. GM Korea CEO Kaher Kazem answers q

June 8, 2018

[Busan Motor Show] Benz premieres E 300 e, Audi vows to revive sales

BUSAN -- Major imported car makers are showcasing their green car lineups and future eco-friendly vehicle plans at the ninth Busan International Motor Show that opens this week, aiming at the steadily growing local market.Highlighting the event was the world premiere by Mercedes-Benz Korea, which unveiled the plug-in hybrid version of its top selling 10th generation E-class, named the new E 300 e.The automaker also revealed the concept EQA, the first compact-sized electric vehicle under the EQ E

June 7, 2018

[Busan Motor Show] Hyundai debuts second design concept car

BUSAN -- Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s leading automaker, unveiled for the first time its second design concept car, dubbed HDC-2 Grandmaster Concept, at the Busan International Motor Show opening this week, and introduced details for the high performance N brand.Portraying the direction of Hyundai’s future design strategy, the second design concept that takes the form of a sport utility vehicle is aimed to display “sensuous sportiness,” the automaker said.The unveiling took place on Thursday, a

June 7, 2018

[Busan Motor Show] Benz to debut EQ model; Audi, GM seek turnaround in local sales

With one of the biggest auto industry events in South Korea kicking off this week, the spotlight of the 2018 Busan International Motor Show will be on the world premiere of Mercedes-Benz’s EQ model and Hyundai Motors’ large sport utility vehicle concept.Held under the slogan “Beyond Innovation, Into the Future” the 10-day event opens Friday and runs through June 17 in the southeastern port city of Busan, with some 15 automakers displaying over 200 models, event organizer Busan Exhibition & Conve

June 6, 2018

Hyundai seeks breakthrough with Gwangju plant

Amid concerns of South Korea’s auto industry losing competitiveness due to high labor cost and low efficiency, Hyundai Motor and the Gwangju Metropolitan City Government have begun discussing a joint factory in Gwangju.Nine Hyundai working-level officials visited Gwangju earlier this week to inspect the site of the factory that is expected to complete construction by 2020. When built, it would create over 12,000 new jobs in the city, while lowering production cost for automakers by lowering wage

June 5, 2018

Hyosung launches holding company, 4 affiliates

South Korean textile giant Hyosung officially launched a holding group and four affiliates on Friday to improve transparency in management and corporate governance, officials said Sunday.In the first major change in decades, the textile company will have four operations under a control tower, Hyosung Corp. The CEO post of the holding company will be shared by Hyosung Chairman Cho Hyun-joon and President Kim Kyu-young. President Cho Hyun-sang, the chairman’s younger brother, was named boardroom m

June 3, 2018

Seoul still in talks with GM over future of Korean unit, minister says

The South Korean government is still closely working with GM on how to revive its Korean unit as the US carmaker is set to shut down one of its four plants in Asia's fourth-largest economy, Seoul's commerce minister has said.The Detroit-based company announced a restructuring plan for GM Korea in February, including the shutdown of a plant in Gunsan, southern South Korea.After wage concessions with GM Korea's labor union and intense negotiations with the Korean government, GM and the state-run K

May 30, 2018

BMW Korea vows co-prosperity, sustainable growth

BMW Korea said Monday it would continue its efforts in sustaining growth and seeking co-prosperity with the community. From social responsibility programs to direct investment, the local branch of the German carmaker will inject 1 trillion won ($927.2 million) and buy 10 trillion won worth of auto parts from local partners. Trainees of Ausbildung, the German educational program nurturing technical professionals, pose in this undated photo. BMW Korea sponsors the vocational training program.(BMW

May 29, 2018

Hyundai Mobis named top supplier to GM

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts maker under Hyundai Motor Group, was picked as one of top suppliers to US carmaker GM for the first time since their partnership has begun in 2010, the company said Tuesday. Hyundai Mobis` test driving track in Seosan (Hyundai Mobis)The Korean company has been delivering core auto components including integrated center stacks to GM. The accumulated value of products supplied to the US carmaker has totaled $1.1 billion, it said.Named the supplier of the year by the De

May 29, 2018

[Behind the Wheel] New GLC plug-in hybrid is more about performance than being green

SEOGWIPO, Jeju -- The New GLC 350 e 4MATIC, the first Mercedes-Benz SUV under the EQ brand, has landed in Korea aiming to get a foothold in the market’s fast-growing green sector. Despite its green ambition, the plug-in hybrid SUV disappoints in regard to its driving range of a maximum of 15 kilometers on pure electric power. However, what the vehicle really wants to prove is its performance, rather than its greenness, through the latest hybrid technology that completes its dynamic yet reliable

May 28, 2018

[Weekender] The war of parking

Ever felt a sense of total devastation? How about trying to push a giant SUV forward so that it can make room for your car to drive out of a parking spot in a triple-park situation -- while running late to work.Such a conundrum is routine for many Seoulites who live in a congested city with limited parking spots at their residences. To make things worse, such conflicts often lead to violent confrontations among neighbors. In South Korea, where cars are viewed as a symbol of socioeconomic status,

May 25, 2018

Infiniti Q60 aims for ‘double whammy’ in design, performance

For those looking for a sports coupe, there are two major factors to consider before making a decision. Should one consider the vehicle’s unique design or its dynamic performance? Infiniti’s newly launched sports coupe is the answer to both, the luxury carmaker said.“The all-new-400-horsepower coupe not only stimulates drivers’ speeding instinct but also embodies Infiniti’s design philosophy of powerful elegance, making graceful racing possible,” said the company’s importer and distributor in Se

May 24, 2018

GS Chairman urges affiliates to seek new opportunities amid changing geopolitical landscape

Huh Chang-soo, chairman of GS Group, urged GS affiliates to find new business opportunities amid an evolving geopolitical landscape, at an annual forum designed to seek innovation in the retail-to-energy conglomerate, the group said Wednesday. Huh Chang-soo, chairman of GS Group“After an inter-Korean summit, the summit between leaders of North Korea and the United States is on the way, leading a change in the geopolitical landscape over the Korean Peninsula,” he said at the annual Value Creation

May 23, 2018

‘Chevy’s back’: GM Korea marks fresh start with new Spark

Putting the issues of the past behind, GM Korea said it was opening “a new chapter” by launching a refreshed and also slightly cheaper mini car Spark in Seoul on Wednesday. Kaher Kazem, CEO of GM Korea said that the company will launch 15 new or renovated models in the next five years as part of a comprehensive Chevrolet strategy. Starting with Spark, the company plans to unveil its compact SUV Equinox at the upcoming Busan Motor Show and will bring more models produced overseas to Korea to sati

May 23, 2018

[Newsmaker] Under pressure, Hyundai Motor heir pulls the plug, pursues plan B

Two months after proposing a grand reform plan on its corporate governance, Hyundai Motor Group, the nation’s second-largest chaebol, came with yet another unexpected choice Monday, ditching the plan it previously hailed as a pathway to modernize the 50-year-old conglomerate.And its crown prince, the chairman’s only son, vowed that he would come back with “an improved” version. What the company need now is “the speedy and drastic reform and change,” the automaker’s Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun st

May 22, 2018

Hyundai Motor Group retracts spinoff merger plan

Hyundai Motor Group retracted its spinoff merger plan for Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis on Monday, citing the views of the market and shareholders that had widely been against the move. Auto parts unit Mobis and logistics arm Glovis’ board of directors each called off the general meeting initially set for May 29, when the group’s reform plan announced in late March was to be put to a vote.Mobis and Glovis instead decided to revise and improve on the measures. “We will humbly review and suffic

May 21, 2018

(Urgent) Hyundai Mobis cancels next week‘s general meeting

Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts making arm of Hyundai Group at the center of the group’s restructuring plan, has canceled its upcoming general meeting, the company said Monday.Hyundai Mobis’ board of directors called off the meeting initially set for May 29, when the group’s spinoff merger plan would have been put to a vote. Starting with Elliott Management, which has been pressuring Hyundai to take the form of a holding company, there has been opposition from major proxy firms in and out of the c

May 21, 2018

Renault Clio forays into local compact car market

Renault Samsung Motors, the local unit of French carmaker Renault S.A., has launched the Clio hatchback with an aim to start a new boom in the local compact car market, the company said Sunday.Clio is Renault’s best-selling car with about 14 million units sold worldwide since its release in 1990. Due to a lack of demand for hatchbacks here, where sedans and sport utility vehicles are highly preferred, Clio was introduced to Korean drivers last week. Renault Samsung Motors’ hatchback Clio (Renaul

May 20, 2018