Mercedes-Benz debuts new E-Class, taking cue from Korean drivers

Mercedes-Benz said Friday it is poised to roll out nine new cars in Korea this year, highlighting the strategic importance of the Korean market for the German luxury carmaker. The new lineups include five full-change models – the E-Class sedan, CLE Coupé, CLE Cabriolet, Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV and electric G-Class – and four face-lift models – the Mercedes-Benz GLS, EQA, EQB and G-Class. One of the key launches is the 11th-generation E-Class sedan, a complete revamp fro

Jan. 19, 2024

Korea records first-ever drop in fuel-powered vehicle count

South Korea saw its first-ever decline in the overall number of registered fuel-powered vehicles last year, as reported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday. The total number of registered vehicles powered by gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas fell by 85,000 to 23.647 million last year. This 0.4 percent decrease, the first since record-keeping began in the 1960s, was mainly driven by a downturn in diesel and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles, despite the regis

Jan. 19, 2024

Hyundai, Kia post record sales in Europe

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have set a new record, selling over 1.1 million vehicles in Europe in 2023, the South Korean automakers said Thursday. According to the announcement, Hyundai Motor sold 534,170 units and Kia sold 572,297 units, up 3.1 percent and 5.4 percent on-year, respectively. Together, the two carmakers’ yearly sales increased by 4.3 percent in comparison to the year before. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association announced that the European Union's

Jan. 18, 2024

Global auto market to grow modestly as China leads EV adoption

The global automotive market is projected to grow modestly this year, with a 1.6 percent increase to 84.12 million units signaling a tempered post-pandemic recovery, as global carmakers are looking to adopt strategies from Chinese carmakers to spur mass adoption of electric vehicles, according to Hyundai Motor Group's Business Research Center. Yang Jin-soo, head of the center’s auto industry unit, shared his insights at a seminar hosted by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association

Jan. 18, 2024

[Photo News] Top auto exporter

General Motors Korea’s Chevrolet Trailblazer, the carmaker’s popular compact sport utility vehicle, claimed the top spot on the list of the most exported cars of 2023, selling 214,048 units in overseas markets, according to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on Thursday. Other top exporters included the Hyundai Kona SUV (212,489 units), the Hyundai Avante compact (206,371 units) and the Chevrolet Trax (181,950 units). (GM Korea)

Jan. 18, 2024

Hyundai Motor speeds up strategic shift to software-defined mobility

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has set up a new research and development division in its push for software-defined vehicles by combining several teams across the auto giant's affiliates. The Advanced Vehicle Platform Division integrates three software development units -- its in-house SDV division and two separate teams at the carmaker’s research centers. Other teams working on the next-generation automotive platform and software that used to be under the leadership of the carm

Jan. 17, 2024

[Photo News] Hyundai, Kia sweep 9 design awards

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it has won nine Good Design awards this year. Eight cars, including Hyundai’s N Vision 74 sports car, Kia’s EV9 and the Genesis X Convertible, won transportation awards, while Kia’s next-generation infotainment system, called Ki, won an interactive media award. The N Vision 74, inspired by the Pony Coupe Concept, the nation’s first sports car unveiled in 1974, has won all four major design awards, including from iF, the Industrial D

Jan. 17, 2024

Hyundai ditches China plant to focus on India, Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has sold its Chongqing plant in China to the region’s industrial park developer Yufu Industrial Complex Construction Co. for approximately 1.62 billion yuan ($290 million), as part of a global operational restructuring aimed at shifting focus from volatile markets to expanding in growing Asian countries like India and Indonesia. The sale comes in the wake of the company's dwindling market share in China, which fell to 1.4 percent in 2023. This dec

Jan. 17, 2024

Samsung SDI buys stake in Canadian nickel miner for battery expansion

Samsung SDI, a leading South Korean lithium-ion battery manufacturer, has acquired a stake in Toronto-based Canada Nickel in a $18.5 million deal to ensure a stable supply of critical battery materials for its expanding North American operations. Announced on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday, Samsung SDI will acquire an 8.7 percent stake in the major Canadian nickel mining company. This stake translates into 15.6 million shares. Under the agreement, Samsung SDI not only secures an initial pu

Jan. 16, 2024

Hyundai Motor eyes W1tr funding for Indian plant

Hyundai Motor Group plans to invest an additional 70 billion rupees ($845 million) into an automotive plant owned by General Motors in Talegaon, India, according to Indian authorities on Tuesday. According to an online post on X, formerly Twitter, uploaded by Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister of the western state of Maharashtra, the Korean auto giant plans to sign a memorandum of understanding for the new funding during this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Fadnavi

Jan. 16, 2024

[KH explains] EV tires: Profit surges, sustainability lags

South Korea's tire industry is booming, with leaders Hankook, Kumho, and Nexen posting impressive financials, thanks largely to the surging demand for electric vehicle tires. However, they face a sustainability dilemma, as the environmental impact of these tires clashes with the green ethos of EVs. Regulatory shifts could also affect future profits. The recent spotlight on Hankook & Company, which owns Hanbook Tire, following a failed takeover bid by MBK Partners, highlighted the sector

Jan. 16, 2024

[From the Scene] Desert testing drives Hyundai, Kia's US success

CALIFORNIA CITY, California -- If you want to know how Kia's Telluride SUV managed to rank among the top midsize sporty utility vehicles in the US market last year, or how Hyundai and Kia clinched second place in the US EV market behind Tesla following a record sales year, it’s worth taking a closer look at their California Proving Ground, the Korean carmakers’ extensive vehicle testing facility in the Mojave Desert. “Our focus has evolved from primarily testing internal c

Jan. 15, 2024

[Photo News] Hyundai future adventure on Roblox

Hyundai Motor Group steps into the virtual space with its latest launch, Hyundai Future Adventure, on Roblox. Unveiled Monday, the game aims to captivate younger audiences by presenting Hyundai's mobility technologies in Roblox, the popular virtual gaming platform frequented by Generation Alpha and Generation Z. In the image is a Hyundai Roblox avatar in the center flanked by Boston Dynamics' robots Spot and Atlas on the right, with DAL-e, the service robot, on the left, as Hyundai

Jan. 15, 2024

SK Ecoplant bolsters ties with Nevada on batteries, e-waste recycling

SK Ecoplant, the construction arm of South Korea’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group, said Monday it will boost business ties with the US state of Nevada on electric vehicles and electronic waste recycling. SK Ecoplant CEO Park Kyung-il met with Governor of Nevada Joe Lombardo on Sunday at the company’s recycling subsidiary TES in Las Vegas. The two leaders looked around the e-waste recycling plant and discussed TES’ e-waste business, battery recycling technology and global

Jan. 15, 2024

Samsung SDI outpaces Korean rivals in US tax credits

Samsung SDI has outpaced its Korean rivals by supplying batteries to the largest number of electric vehicles under the heightened US EV tax credit regulations that went into effect Jan. 1, according to industry sources on Sunday. Of the 19 EVs eligible for the new incentive rules this year under the Inflation Reduction Act, 15 car models will use Korea-made batteries, while China’s CATL and AESC Group, which made the cut last year, have been removed from the list. Samsung SDI topped the li

Jan. 14, 2024

[Photo News] Renault brand chief in Korea

Renault Brand CEO Fabrice Cambolive looks around the production lines of the French carmaker’s Busan plant last week. Cambolive was visiting Korea to inspect local operations, especially the development work of the “Aurora 1” project, the carmaker’s new hybrid sport utility vehicle. “Renault is preparing for a new phase in the Korean market this year. … (The Aurora 1) will certainly be a vehicle that meets the high expectations of Korean and international con

Jan. 14, 2024

LG Electronics opens 1st overseas EV charger plant in US

LG Electronics Inc. said Saturday that it has opened its first plant in the US for electric vehicle charging stations, as part of its strategy to advance into the fast-growing EV charging solutions business. The factory based in Fort Worth, Texas, has an annual capacity of over 10,000 units, according to LG Electronics. LG said earlier its 11 kilowatt wall-mounted and stand-type slow chargers, and 175 kW fast-charging models will be available in the US market in the first half of 2024. The compa

Jan. 13, 2024

Hyundai, Kia near 1m eco-friendly car sales in US

Hyundai Motor Group, following a record-breaking year with US sales surpassing 1.6 million Hyundai and Kia vehicles, is setting their sights high in the US this year to reach a cumulative sale of 1 million eco-friendly vehicles since 2011 and 300,000 luxury Genesis cars, leveraging their strong sales momentum and expanding their eco-friendly and high-end vehicle lineups. Last year, Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 1.6 million vehicles in the US, an increase of 12 percent from 2021 and the highest

Jan. 12, 2024

[CES 2024] SK On chief hints IPO plan on track

LAS VEGAS/SEOUL -- Chey Jae-won, executive vice chairman of SK Group and SK On CEO, on Wednesday vowed to accelerate plans for the battery maker's market debut at the CES 2024 tech show being held in Las Vegas this week. “It’s hard to predict (the exact timeline for the initial public offering) because we have to consider market conditions and prepare (for the IPO process),” said Chey to the press. “But we’ll push forward (the schedule) as soon as possible when

Jan. 11, 2024

[CES 2024] Kia to produce EVs for Uber

Kia will collaborate with Uber to develop purpose-built vehicles tailored to fit the needs of the car-sharing service provider to expand the automaker’s PBV business, the South Korean carmaker said as the two sides announced their partnership at the CES 2024 in Las Vegas on Wednesday. According to the announcement, the Uber-customized PBV will be developed on the basis of PV5, Kia’s first PBV slated for mass production in 2025. The PV5, which will be the first model to be assembled o

Jan. 11, 2024