Kumho Tire wins Red Dot Design Award for 6th year

Kumho Tire, South Korea’s No. 2 tire maker, was crowned at Germany’s Red Dot Design Award 2017 for the sixth consecutive year, the company said Thursday. This year’s citation was for its latest high performance premium SUV tire Crugen HP71.Kumho Tire’s six-year straight recognition at the awards is a record among local tire makers, the company highlighted.  The Crugen HP71 was crowned in the product category of the Red Dot Design Award 2017. (Kumho Tire)The Crugen HP71 was nominated in the produ

April 6, 2017

Seoul to reward motorists for reducing mileage

Seoul's government said Thursday it will financially reward motorists for reducing their driving mileage, staring this month, as part of efforts to fight fine dust pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the city's motorists will be paid a maximum of 70,000 won ($62) if they reduce their driving mileage by more than 3,000 km on an annual basis.(Yonhap)The reward will be given in the form of points, which can be used to pay local taxes or buy mobile

April 6, 2017

Imported car sales plunge in March on halted VW car sales

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea fell 8.4 percent in March from a year earlier as the government's sales ban on Audi and Volkswagen cars continues following the German carmaker's emissions scandal, industry data showed Thursday. The number of newly registered foreign cars fell to 22,080 in March from 24,094 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement. In July, Seoul announced it will ban the sale of almost all Audi and Volkswag

April 6, 2017

Genesis eyeing luxury car market in Middle East

Hyundai Motor Co. is eyeing opportunities to expand into the Middle Eastern luxury car market by showcasing its luxury Genesis sedans at a local conference, the company said Wednesday.Hyundai will provide four G90 top-of-the-line full-size sedans and another four G80 executive cars as official vehicles for the Conde Nast International Luxury Conference 2017 to be held in Muscat, Oman from this week, a company spokesman said. Conde Nast International, a London-based fashion magazine, is holding t

April 5, 2017

Hyundai Grandeur Hybrid adds green credentials to lineup

Hyundai Motor Co. has launched the Grandeur Hybrid that will add green credentials to its lineup as the South Korean carmaker competes with its Japanese rivals in major markets.The Grandeur Hybrid is the carmaker's latest gasoline-hybrid model based on the all-new Grandeur large-size sedan. The previous hybrids were based on the Avante compact, the Sonata midsize sedan and an earlier version of the Grandeur sedan. There is also the Ioniq hybrid developed from the bottom up as a eco-friendly vehi

April 5, 2017

Hyundai Motor’s China sales halve amid THAAD row

Hyundai Motor, the world’s fifth-largest carmaker headquartered in Seoul, saw its sales in China tumble by half last month, amid intensifying anti-Korean sentiment there over the South Korean government’s decision to host an US anti-missile system.Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors sold a total of 72,032 vehicles in China in March, a 52.2 percent decrease from a year ago. Separately, Hyundai Motor saw its sales fall 44.3 percent, while Kia suffered a 68 percent decline in sales, acc

April 4, 2017

Kia March sales plunge 11% on weak demand

Kia Motors Corp. posted a 11 percent on-year drop in sales last month due to sluggish demand from domestic and overseas markets, the company said Monday.The country's second-biggest carmaker by sales sold a total of 238,222 vehicles in March down from 268,306 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement."In particular, weak overseas demand for (Kia) vehicles weighed on the monthly figures," a company spokesman said. Domestic sales fell 5.7 percent to 47,621 units last month from 50,510

April 3, 2017

Hyundai Motor's March sales dip 6.3% on weak exports

Hyundai Motor Co., the country's top automaker, posted a 6.3 percent on-year decline in March sales due to low demand from emerging markets, the company said Monday.Hyundai Motor sold a total of 405,929 vehicles in March, down from 433,171 units a year earlier, the country's top carmaker said in a statement.(Yonhap)"As the company expects slowing (sales) growth in advanced markets and is not sure about an (immediate) rebound in sales in emerging markets, it will strengthen its fundamentals and a

April 3, 2017

Renault Samsung March sales rise 4.3% on new models

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Monday its March sales rose 4.3 percent on-year on robust demand for its midsize QM6 sport utility vehicle.Renault Samsung Motors sold a total of 25,281 vehicles last month, up from 24,237 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  Renault Samsung Motor's flagship SM6 sedan (Yonhap file photo)The QM6 SUV was the biggest contributor to the solid monthly sales results. Exports of the flagship SUV soared to 4,382 autos last month from 1,335 a month ea

April 3, 2017

Hankook Tire releases new racing tire

Hankook Tire, South Korea’s No. 1 tire maker, has launched the Ventus R-s4, an ultrahigh performance tire designed for racers and everyday drivers, the company said Monday. Ventus R-s4 (Hankook Tire)“The Ventus R-s4 is an ultrahigh performance tire symbolic of Hankook Tire’s sophisticated technical skills. It will deliver a differentiated driving performance and pleasure to customers,” said Suh Seung-hwa, vice chairman and CEO of Hankook Tire.The firm will work to pioneer the future driving cult

April 3, 2017

SsangYong Motor March sales almost flat despite lower demand

Overall sales by SsangYong Motor Co., the smallest carmaker in the country, remained little changed in March compared with a year earlier, backed by steady demand for its SUVs, the company said Monday. SsangYong Motor sold a total of 12,992 vehicles last month, compared with 13,010 units a year earlier, the carmaker said in a statement.  SsangYong Motor's Tivoli compact SUV (Yonhap file photo)Domestic sales rose 1.8 percent on-year to 9,229 units in March, while exports fell 4.5 percent to 3,763

April 3, 2017

GM Korea March sales fall 12.4% on weak exports

GM Korea Co. said Monday it posted a double-digit on-year drop in sales last month due to lower demand for small cars and its flagship models.  In March, the company's domestic sales plunged 12.4 percent year-on-year to 14,778 vehicles from 16,868. Exports were also down 8.2 percent to 36,072 from 39,276, GM Korea said in a statement.  GM's Impala upper midsize sedan (GM Korea)The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. also didn't report robust sales results for the first quarter ending March 3

April 3, 2017

Hyundai to enter compact SUV market with new KONA

Hyundai Motor has named its upcoming compact sports utility vehicle the KONA, expected to be released in summer, the company said on Monday without specifying the date.　Expanding Hyundai’s family of existing SUV models, including the Sante Fe, Tucson and the Veracruz, the automaker says it is looking to increase its overall competitiveness in both the global market and Korea’s growing domestic SUV market boom. 　“KONA is a model that notifies Hyundai‘s entry into the small-sized SUV market that i

April 3, 2017

Autonomous cars to fully take off in Korea in 2028

Autonomous cars are forecast to become popular in the South Korean auto market in 2028, five years after they do so in the United States, according to analysts Monday.According to the industry analysts in a book published by the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, self-driving cars will gain popularity down the road to account for 12 percent of newly sold cars in those years.(Naver Corp.)The outlook is based on a survey on nearly 6,000 experts in the industry who predicted that 24 rela

April 3, 2017

[Herald Interview] MAN Truck chief attributes 680% growth to customer focus policies

MAN Truck & Bus Korea, the local distributor of the German automaker, recently opened its new headquarters and service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in a $10 million investment looking to expand its presence in the domestic market.　In 2016, MAN sales in Korea jumped 36 percent from the previous year, the best performance in the world truck market last year, according to the company. MAN sold 1,545 units last year, the highest number of units since the company entered the Korean market.　In

April 2, 2017

Hyundai i30 rated 2nd best car in compact segment in Germany

A leading German car magazine recently tapped Hyundai Motor Co.‘s i30 hatchback as the second-best car in the compact passenger vehicle segment based on its economy and environmental impact, sources said Sunday.Auto Zeitung, a highly respected auto magazine, compared the Hyundai i30 to similar offerings from Volkswagen (VW), Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Ford, Renault and Peugeot. (Yonhap)It said the i30 only trailed VW’s very popular Golf in overall points.The Hyundai i30 received 3,040 point

April 2, 2017

Hyundai Mobis to develop highway self-driving tech by 2020

South Korea‘s top automotive parts supplier Hyundai Mobis Co. said Sunday it will develop technologies for highway driving capable autonomous cars by 2020, with an aim to commercialize them two years later.The company plans to develop the autonomous driving technologies mainly to help two affiliates -- Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. -- add next-generation smart cars to their lineups, it said in a statement. (Yonhap)“We will ramp up our efforts to develop the Highway Driving Assist (HDA)

April 2, 2017

Hyundai Motor Group's R&D spending up 8% to W4tr in 2016

Hyundai Motor Group's spending on research and development increased 8 percent in 2016 to some 4 trillion won ($3.58 billion), with the number of its patents exceeding 30,000 last year, data showed Sunday.According to annual business reports from Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., their combined R&D spending reached 3.99 trillion won last year, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier. (Yonhap)The R&D spending growth is faster than its sales growth of 3.5 percent posted last year. Hyundai spent 2

April 2, 2017

[Herald Interview] Bolt EV chief engineer talks creation of game-changing EV

Offering a reasonably priced electric vehicle with a driving range that is more than double compared to some of its competitors, GM’s latest Bolt EV is looking to open a new era of market share for electric cars, both domestically and worldwide. The compact vehicle was introduced to local consumers for the first time at the 2017 Seoul Motor Show, where GM Korea CEO James Kim referred to the Bolt EV as a “game changer.” The new Bolt EV has a driving range of 383 kilometers on a single charge, the

March 31, 2017

Mercedes-Benz, Maserati, Peugeot ordered to recall faulty parts

Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Peugeot have been ordered to recall faulty parts in some of their models, South Korea's transport ministry said Friday. This is part of a broader recall order recently delivered by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the South Korean automobile market. (Yonhap)Local customers increasingly choose imported brands over homegrown ones, such as Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., due to declining prices and difference in performance and quality.Merced

March 31, 2017