[Test Drive] True beauty found inside for Audi A8 L

The Audi A8 L series adds more prestige to the German automaker’s already high-end sedan, the Audi A8. The L represents its long wheelbase. As the wheelbase of a vehicle is the distance between the center of the front wheels and the center of the rear wheels, the Audi A8 L lineups offer more space in the backseat. That is where the Audi A8 L model’s true value can be found. The Audi A8 L 55 TFSI quattro Premium, a revamped model that features an upgraded design, showed where the auto

Feb. 7, 2023

[Herald Interview] DHL to triple logistics capacity at Incheon Airport: CEO

With the exponential growth of South Korea’s e-commerce market during the pandemic, Frank Appel, CEO of global logistics giant Deutsche Post DHL Group, has vowed to triple the company’s logistics capacity at Incheon Airport, the nation’s main gateway, this year. “DHL base in Incheon is our key Asia-Pacific network that connects Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China and other major countries of imports and exports. This investment highlights the strategic position of South

Feb. 6, 2023

[Photo News] UAM alliance for Busan Expo bid

From left: Hanwha Systems CEO Eo Sung-cheol, Korea Airports Corp. CEO Yoon Hyung-joong, Yoon Sang-jik, secretary-general of the Bid Secretariat for World Expo 2030 Busan, SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang and T Map Mobility CEO Lee Jong-ho pose after signing a memorandum of understanding on urban air mobility business to boost Busan’s World Expo bid. If Busan is selected, visitors will be able to hop on the future mobility vehicles to attend Expo events.

Feb. 6, 2023

Hyundai gains momentum with high-performance cars

With the automotive industry underscoring technology as a key driver of growth, high-performance brands under leading car manufacturers are becoming the testbed to enhance their car models’ driving features, ranging from speed to durability. Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's No. 1 carmaker, is also gaining momentum with its performance line, N Brand, by testing its popular models in tour car racing, a motorsport that uses modified versions of mass-produced cars. “The biggest op

Feb. 5, 2023

[Photo News] Renewed sales push in Japan

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it will start operating at a shopping mall in Kyoto this week, making for its first in Japan outside Tokyo. The Hyundai Mobility Kyoto Shijo store allows visitors to experience the carmaker’s eco-friendly vehicles, including the hot-selling Ioniq 5 and the hydrogen-powered Nexo. The South Korean carmaker has been making a renewed push for a foray into the Japanese market, which has long remained untapped despite an aggressive overseas expansion in recent y

Feb. 2, 2023

LG Energy Solution to supply commercial EV battery modules to FEPS

LG Energy Solution said Thursday it has forged a partnership with Freudenberg E-Power Systems, a US-based clean energy systems provider affiliated with Germany's Freudenberg Group, to provide battery modules for commercial electric vehicles. Under the agreement, the battery maker will supply 19 gigawatt-hour battery modules that can power more than 50,000 heavy-duty EVs such as buses and trucks or 270,000 passenger EVs. FEPS plans to assemble LG Energy Solution’s battery modules int

Feb. 2, 2023

Mercedes-Benz Korea pins high hopes on EVs to retain top spot

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Wednesday it will expand electric vehicle models to account for more than 15 percent of total car sales this year, underscoring its green push in the fourth-largest market of the German carmaker. “Last year, EV sales were less than 10 percent of the total sales. But starting from this year, we will offer more EV lineups (for customers), accelerating shift towards electrification,” said Lee Sang-kuk, vice president of sales department at Mercedes-Benz Korea

Feb. 1, 2023

[Photo News] New Niro

Kia on Wednesday unveiled the 2024 Niro, a revamped version of the carmaker's top-selling eco-friendly brand. The upgraded Niro comes in both hybrid and fully electric models, with prices starting at 27.1 million won ($22,000) and 48.5 million won, respectively.

Feb. 1, 2023

VW Korea halts car sales, to issue recall over faulty warning triangles

Volkswagen Korea will issue a recall of more than 67,000 vehicles and has suspended all new car sales due to faulty warning triangles, a car accessory to warn drivers after emergency stops, a move experts here called an unprecedented precautionary measure after the firm's painful “Dieselgate” back in 2015. The Korean unit of the German carmaker said Tuesday a total of 67,459 vehicles across seven different models will be affected by the recall. The recall schedule has not been

Jan. 31, 2023

LG Energy Solution shares close higher, beats market jitters

South Korean battery giant LG Energy Solution’s stocks stood strong on Monday, despite the end of a year-long lock-up period. The company’s shares rose by 0.79 percent to 510,000 won ($415.5) from the last trading day, according to the bourse operator Korea Exchange. The stocks tumbled by 3.16 percent to 490,000 won at one point in the morning but ticked upwards approximately one hour before the closing bell. Foreigners and institutions each bought 29.1 billion won and 15.9 billion w

Jan. 30, 2023

Samsung SDI hits W20tr in sales for first time

Samsung SDI said Monday it posted record-high earnings in both sales revenue and operating profit last year, largely driven by the surge in sales of value-added battery products. Revenue skyrocketed 48.5 percent to 20.1 trillion won ($16 billion) last year, while its operating profit jumped 9 percent to 1.8 trillion won. It is the first time sales have reached the 20 trillion won mark. Operating profit soared to new heights as well, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark for the second consecutive

Jan. 30, 2023

GM to debut all-electric Cadillac Lyriq in Korea this year

General Motors will launch its first Ultium platform-based electric sport utility vehicle, the Cadillac Lyriq, in South Korea later this year to expand its EV lineup in the country, the automaker announced Monday. Ultium refers to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution established in 2019 to set up and operate battery cell manufacturing facilities in the US. The two share three EV battery plants, the first of which began operating in Ohio last year. The second and third

Jan. 30, 2023

[KH Explains] In land of Hyundai-Kia, smaller carmakers struggle for survival

SsangYong Motors, Renault Korea Motors and GM Korea are facing another challenging year ahead, with market leader Hyundai Motor Group’s big sales push showing little signs of abating. Hyundai and its smaller affiliate Kia, driven by demand for their full electric models, sold 688,884 and 541,068 vehicles, respectively, at home last year. Their market share stood strong at almost 90 percent in a market with a total of 1.39 million unit sales, excluding some 300,000 import car sales. For t

Jan. 29, 2023

Kia records highest yearly figures on sales growth

Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, has raised its earnings target for this year after the company recorded its best-ever figures last year on strong sales. The company said Friday in a conference call that its annual revenue and operating profit had reached 86.6 trillion won ($70.3 billion) and 7.2 trillion won last year, respectively. The numbers increased by 23.9 percent and 42.8 percent each. The automaker sold 2.9 million cars worldwide in 2022, up 4.5 percent from the previo

Jan. 27, 2023

Hyundai Motor posts best-ever earnings on improved profitability

Hyundai Motor posted a record-high operating profit of 9.8 trillion won ($8 billion) last year as it sold almost 4 million vehicles across the world, the South Korean automaker said Thursday. Despite the global economic downturn, Hyundai Motor’s yearly sales also recorded 142.5 trillion won, up 21.2 percent on year to set a new high. With operating profit having shot up 47 percent on-year to an all-time high for the whole of 2022, the automaker said it was thanks to the strong dollar and i

Jan. 26, 2023

Hyundai-Kia EVs post double-digit market share in Europe

Hyundai Motor Group recorded double-digit market share last year in 10 European countries, stepping up as the fourth-largest carmaker to have sold battery-powered electric vehicles, data showed Wednesday. Hyundai and its affiliate Kia sold a total of 96,988 EVs with a 10 percent market share in 10 countries including Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain, according to the US-based automotive market tracker Clean Technica. These markets account for 64 percent of the total EV sales

Jan. 25, 2023

Import car sales hit record high in 2022

Imported car sales hit a record-high of nearly 300,000 here last year, driven by pent-up demand for luxury cars during the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Friday. Imported car brands’ sales in 2022 increased by 2.6 percent on-year to 283,435 units, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. When including the sales volume of 14,571 vehicles for Tesla, which was not counted by the association, the figure comes to 298,006 units, a twofold

Jan. 24, 2023

Hyundai surpasses 1 million EV sales

Global cumulative sales of Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicles have surpassed the 1 million milestone, according to the South Korean automaker Tuesday. The automaker achieved the milestone 11 years after it began selling EVs in 2011. Hyundai Motor and its premium brand Genesis have sold 601,448 EVs while Kia has sold 420,836 EVs. The carmaker sold 236 units of its first EV, the BlueOn, in 2011. EV sales figures began to show meaningful growth when Kia released Soul EV, a compact sport

Jan. 24, 2023

Imported car sales hit record high in 2022

Imported car sales hit a record-high of nearly 300,000 here last year, driven by pent-up demand for luxury cars during the coronavirus pandemic, industry sources said Friday. Imported car brands’ sales in 2022 increased by 2.6 percent on-year to 283,435 units, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Adding the sales volume of 14,571 vehicles for Tesla, which was not counted by the association, the figure came to 298,006 units, increasing twofold

Jan. 20, 2023

Korean Air to resume more European routes in spring

Korean Air said Friday it will resume services to four major destinations in Europe starting from March. After a 3-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the airline will restart the Prague and Zurich routes from March, followed by the resumption of the Istanbul and Madrid routes from April. Starting from late March, Prague and Zurich routes will be operated 3 times a week, taking turns with a day’s interval. Flights to Istanbul and Madrid are arranged to open on late April -- following the same

Jan. 20, 2023