Hyundai, Kia to showcase green cars at Geneva motor show

Motors Corp. said Friday that they will showcase a new line of green cars at an annual motor show to be held in Switzerland early next month, as they strive to make inroads into the European market.Hyundai Motor said it will show off its latest hybrid technology while debuting a line of green cars ranging from the plug-in hybrid electronic vehicle to a hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle at the Geneva International Motor Show scheduled to open March 7. Hyundai Motor Co.'s i30 (Hyundai Motor Group)Noticea

Feb. 24, 2017

Kumho Tire to up tire prices by 4%

(Kumho Tire)Kumho Tire is set to increase the price of its tires sold in the local market by up to 4 percent starting March 15, the firm said Friday. The price of Kumho’s tires for passenger cars will rise by 3 percent, light trucks by 2 percent and truck buses by 2 to 4 percent, the firm said. According to Kumho Tire, the decision was due to the increased price of main raw materials. The price of natural and synthetic rubber, respectively, rose by 156 percent and 91 percent on-year compared to

Feb. 24, 2017

Kia eyes brisk exports of Niro plug-in hybrid

Kia Motors Corp. is aiming to export up to 10,000 units of the soon-to-be-launched plug-in hybrid vehicle version of its Niro small SUV this year, industry sources said Friday.Kia, the No. 2 carmaker in South Korea, is scheduled to unveil the Niro plug-in hybrid in South Korea in April and debut the model in the United States and Europe during the second half of this year. The Niro hybrid electric vehicle (Kia Motors Corp.)According to the sources, Kia has set a temporary export target of around

Feb. 24, 2017

Mercedes-Benz recalls 280 cars in Korea for Takata airbag

Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local importer and distributor of the German vehicle, will recall some 280 cars sold here for an airbag issue that has affected millions of cars of various brands throughout the world, the transportation ministry said Friday.The latest recall is part of the Takata airbag recall that has affected more than 9 million cars globally. Dimitris Psillakis, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, holds a press conference in Seoul, South Korea on Jan. 16, 2017, to announce his company's busi

Feb. 24, 2017

GM Korea to restructure hiring system following job-selling scandal

GM Korea CEO James Kim said Thursday the company will conduct internal audits and structurally reorganize the company following the indictment of 31 individuals accused of being involved in selling job positions at the domestic branch of the American automaker. 　Earlier this month, the Incheon District Prosecutor’s Office indicted five former and current senior GM Korea employees, as well as a group of former and incumbent labor representatives after an eight-month investigation. They are suspec

Feb. 23, 2017

Hyundai Motor, sixth most dependable automaker: study

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s biggest automaker, recorded its best-ever ranking as the sixth most dependable auto firm in the 2017 Vehicle Dependability Study released by US-based consulting firm J.D. Power, the company said Thursday. The headquarters of Hyundai Motor Group in Seoul (Yonhap)In its annual 28th study released Wednesday, the consulting firm noted that Hyundai was the brand that had improved the most. The local auto giant earned 133 points this year, improving 25 points from last yea

Feb. 23, 2017

Korea to promote development, commercialization of fuel cell vehicles

South Korea will soon come up with a detailed plan for the development and use of fuel cell vehicles, the government said Thursday, launching a special task force to work toward that end.The task force will map out a detailed strategy aimed at promoting sales and the use of fuel cell cars, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release. The photo, taken on Dec. 13, 2016, shows new fuel-cell electric taxis launched in Ulsan, South Korea. (Hyundai Motor Co.)The task-specific co

Feb. 23, 2017

BMW preferred by car owners in their 20s and 30s in Korea

Car owners in their 20s and 30s preferr German luxury BMW, while the automaker’s archrival Mercedes-Benz was preferred by an older age group, industry data showed Wednesday.A total of 144,883 imported cars were newly registered by individual car owners last year, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.The KAIDA released data on the purchases of imported cars here by brand and the age of their owners for 2016.(123rf)BMW was the most-preferred foreign au

Feb. 22, 2017

BMW Korea launches new 5 Series

BMW Korea has officially launched the seventh generation of its most popular sedan, the 5 Series, which racked up more than 2,000 presale contracts in less than a month.　First launched in 1972, the 5 series has since sold more than 7.9 million units worldwide, making it one the German automaker’s most popular models and one of the world’s best-selling premium business sedans. 　In 2016, BMW Korea’s annual sales reached 48,059 units, of which 17,200 units were the 5 series.BMW Korea President Kim

Feb. 22, 2017

Seoul Motor Show to kick off next month

One of South Korea's annual automobile exhibitions is set to kick off late next month, heralding in a series of new hybrids and autonomous vehicles, its organizing committee said Wednesday. The Seoul Motor Show will take place for a ten-day event in Ilsan, north of Seoul, starting from March 31, under the theme of "Picture the future, Enjoy the present," the Seoul Motor Show Organizing Committee said in a press release.  (Yonhap)"We will bring this opportunity to visitors not only to provide inf

Feb. 22, 2017

30-somethings biggest buyer of imported autos

A generation shift in the country's imported auto market continued last year with customers in their 30s being the largest buyer group with a portion of nearly 40 percent, industry data showed Wednesday.According to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, a total of 144,883 foreign autos were sold to customers here last year. (Yonhap)Of the tallied, drivers in their 30s purchased a total of 55,356 foreign cars last year, accounting for 38.2 percent of the

Feb. 22, 2017

Hyundai Motor enters electric car-sharing market

Hyundai Motor is rolling out a car-sharing service alongside Hyundai Capital, with the launch planned for this April, the firm said Tuesday.The first models to be offered will be electric cars, before further expanding, the company said.Chang Jae-hoon (right), a senior vice president of the customer value division at Hyundai Motor, and Lee Byung-hui, a vice president of the auto business division at Hyundai Capital, pose at the signing of the memorandum for electric car-sharing services. (Hyunda

Feb. 21, 2017

Hyundai Motor and affiliates withdraw membership from FKI

Top South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and all its affiliates officially announced their withdrawal of membership from the Federation of Korean Industries on Tuesday, further casting a cloud over the fate of the once largest business lobby in the country.Officials from Hyundai Motor Group said all its affiliates were leaving the FKI as of Tuesday. (Yonhap)"Each of the 11 affiliates of the group has delivered their intention to quit as of Tuesday afternoon," a group official said.Affiliates

Feb. 21, 2017

Naver jumps into race of self-driving cars

South Korea's top Internet portal operator Naver on Monday became the last to join a race here for the development of self-driving cars after gaining government permission for a road test of its autonomous vehicle.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it has issued a license for the driving test of a new self-driving car from Naver Labs, the research and development arm of Naver. The photo, taken on Feb. 13, 2017, shows a self-driving car developed by South Korean carmaker Hyun

Feb. 20, 2017

LG Hausys acquires stake in Slovakian auto parts firm

LG Hausys has acquired a 50.1 percent share of c2i (Composite Innovation International), an automobile parts company based in Slovakia, the company said Sunday.It held a meeting of its board of directors Friday and approved the acquisition of the shares in c2i, which specializes in carbon-fiber components for automobiles. The two companies will seal the contract within this month and complete the transaction by March, LG added.The move follows LG Hausys’ push to further expand its lightweighting

Feb. 19, 2017

[Behind the Wheel] All New Morning safer, more spacious

GAPYEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Defying the common perception of compact cars, Kia Motors’ third-generation smart compact car All New Morning features enhanced safety along with a bigger interior.The company hosted a media test drive encompassing 109 kilometers to and from the Grande Walkerhill Hotel in Gwangjin-gu, eastern Seoul to a cafe in Gapyeong of Gyeonggi Province. Kia Motors’ third-generation smart compact car All New Morning. (Kia Motors) The All New Morning’s interior provided enough s

Feb. 19, 2017

[Behind the Wheel] New Korando C goes family-oriented

HWACHEON, Gangwon Province -- In contrast to the original Korando, which had a masculine and adventurous image, the latest SUV rolled out by SsangYong Motor, the New Style Korando C, aims to be family oriented, offering a comfortable driving experience. SsangYong Motor, the local unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., held a media performance test drive of its latest SUV from its headquarters in central Seoul to Hwacheon of Gangwon Province. The round trip totaled 290 kilometers and a

Feb. 19, 2017

[Eye] ‘Basics, nature are key to iconic auto designs’

Park Jong-suh, 70, had never thought of becoming a car designer. In his childhood, cars had been his favorite like other boys, though in the postwar era of the early 1950s, they often had to pretend rubber shoes were vehicles as an alternative to toy cars.Twenty years later, Car Styling magazine in Japan would publish a set of his drawings and artwork, completely changing his life. “I was offered to work with Hyundai Motor in 1974 when somebody in the company saw my work from the magazine. I thi

Feb. 17, 2017

Korea's auto exports retreat in Jan.

South Korea's auto exports fell for the first time in three months in January on decreased working days and contracted demand from global markets, government data showed Thursday.The total value of autos shipped overseas reached $2.86 billion last month, down 4.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. (Yonhap)The January downturn came after the country's monthly auto exports have logged an on-year growth in November and December

Feb. 16, 2017

Sales of luxury imported cars top 20,000 in 2016

Sales of imported luxury cars continued to grow despite a sharp drop in overall sales of imports last year, industry data showed Thursday, reflecting an apparent economic polarization among local consumers.In 2016, the number of newly registered foreign-made vehicles each priced over 100 million won ($87,600) came to 20,384, accounting for over 9 percent of the total 225,279 imported cars sold here, according to the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Dimitris

Feb. 16, 2017