LG, Honda set up $4.4b joint battery venture in US

LG Energy Solution and Honda have completed the establishment of a joint venture to build a battery manufacturing plant in the US, officials announced Friday. The joint venture, tentatively named L-H Battery Company, marks the first collaboration between a South Korean battery maker and a Japanese automaker. Friday’s official announcement was a follow-up to the two companies’ previous agreement in August. According to the announcement, the two companies will invest a total of $4.4 bi

Jan. 13, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group develops healing mobility for child abuse victims

Hyundai Motor Group has applied digital therapeutics technology into an automobile for victims of child abuse to have an in-the-car treatment experience. According to the South Korean automaker Friday, the healing vehicle named “iCAREcar” has been developed with Hyundai Motor’s minivan Staria and its interior has been optimized to offer psychological counseling inside the car. Under the theme of "Heals on Wheels," the group's latest social campaign project was co

Jan. 13, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group chief named MotorTrend Person of the Year

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun has been named the MotorTrend Person of the Year, the South Korean carmaker announced Thursday. With the award, Chung topped the US automobile magazine's list of the 50 most influential figures in the global automotive industry. He was ranked fifth in last year’s rankings. MotorTrend acknowledged Chung for leading Hyundai Motor Group into a new age, underscoring that the vehicles developed under his leadership are notable for their &ldq

Jan. 12, 2023

[Photo News] Utility vehicle of year

Kia's EV6 has won the North American Utility Vehicle of the Year award, Hyundai Motor Group announced Thursday. This year's winner was selected by 50 automotive journalists in the US and Canada. The South Korean automaker said over 19,000 EV6s have been sold in the US since February.

Jan. 12, 2023

Ex-GM Korea CEO found guilty of illegally outsourcing labor

Kazem was sentenced to eight months in prison and a two-year probation, while GM Korea was slapped with a 30 million won ($24,260) fine, according to the Incheon District Court. Four former and current executives of GM Korea and 13 CEOs of subcontractors who illegally outsourced their workers to the company were also found guilty on the same charges. The four current and former GM Korea executives were fined 7 million won each, and the subcontractor CEOs fined between 2 million - 5 million w

Jan. 10, 2023

[Herald Interview] Mercedes-Benz’s high-power charger coming to Korea

LAS VEGAS -- Mercedes-Benz will look to introduce its newly announced high-power charging network to South Korea by the end of 2024, the global carmaker’s chief technology officer said Thursday. “Korea is a huge market … it’s the fourth largest market for us,” Markus Schafer, Mercedes-Benz Group AG board member and chief technology officer, told a group of Korean and Japanese reporters in an interview conducted a few hours after the carmaker announced a plan to lau

Jan. 9, 2023

SK On mulls scrapping plan for Turkey battery plant

South Korean electric vehicle battery maker SK On said Monday it is reconsidering its plan to build a new battery plant in Turkey together with US auto giant Ford Motor, citing prolonged economic woes. “We have held talks (with Ford and Turkish partner Koc Holdings) on the matter, but the process is lagging behind the schedule,” said an SK On official. “The final decision on whether to pull out of the deal is still pending.” SK On said it is looking to change its invest

Jan. 9, 2023

[CES 2023] KSOE to test large ship’s autonomous sailing in 2024

LAS VEGAS -- Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering on Friday signed a partnership with the American Bureau of Shipping to accelerate the development of unmanned large ships. “The cooperation with the ABS will be a great help for HD Hyundai to lead the development and commercialization of autonomous navigation,” said Kim Sung-joon, head of KSOE’s future technology research center. KSOE, the world’s largest shipbuilder and a sub-holding company of HD Hyundai, said t

Jan. 8, 2023

[CES 2023] Hyundai Mobis to work with Qualcomm to develop self-driving control unit

LAS VEGAS -- South Korean auto parts and mobility solutions provider Hyundai Mobis on Thursday said it will cooperate with global semiconductor developer Qualcomm to develop autonomous driving control unit technology. According to Hyundai Mobis, the two companies will work together on developing control technology for Level 3 autonomous driving, which refers to conditional driving automation that allows drivers to hand over control to the vehicle, but requires them to be ready to take the wheel

Jan. 6, 2023

Hyundai's US unit, Microsoft team up for urban air mobility

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday its US-based urban air mobility unit Supernal is collaborating with Microsoft to develop advanced air mobility (AMM) solutions. The South Korean automotive company said it will use Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure, to develop and operate AMM solutions for autonomous flight and virtual manufacturing. The cloud platform will allow Supernal to run simulations at scale and accelerate the commercialization of its solutions, Hyundai added.

Jan. 4, 2023

New year to brace for challenges, embrace changes: Hyundai Motor chief

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun on Tuesday held a rare town hall meeting with approximately 600 employees, during which he stressed that the automotive company would brace for challenges and embrace changes to tackle an economic slowdown. “We should not be afraid of upcoming crises and (helplessly) face the aftermath, but leapfrog toward sustainable growth with active innovation,” Chung said during the New Year's event held at the company’s Namyang Re

Jan. 3, 2023

Hyundai, Kia hit 800,000 sales milestone in India

Hyundai Motor Group sold more than 800,000 cars in India last year, a 17.5 percent growth compared to a year ago, the auto giant said Monday. With the upbeat figures, India has emerged as the South Korean carmaker’s third-largest market after the US and its home turf. A total of 807,067 vehicles were sold by the automotive duo, with Hyundai and Kia selling 552,511 and 254,556 units, respectively. Kia, especially, posted stunning growth in recent years, with its sales jumping more than 40 p

Jan. 3, 2023

[KH Explains] How imminent are Hyundai’s ‘Made-in-Saudi Arabia’ cars?

Hyundai Motor Group is considering setting up its first Middle East plant in Saudi Arabia, paving the way for it to secure footing in the region’s burgeoning automotive market. The Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources on Saturday announced in a tweet that the kingdom had inked a memorandum of understanding with the South Korean carmaker to advance joint cooperation for the auto industry in the region to achieve its national goal of developing local manufacturing capabilities. M

Jan. 2, 2023

Han Sung Motor committed to nurturing young artists

Han Sung Motor, South Korea's official importer of Mercedes-Benz cars, said Thursday it had completed its annual Dream Gream program that awards talented young artists with scholarships and mentoring opportunities. Under the slogan, “New Earth, New World,” this year’s program aimed to bridge eco-friendly management with the digital world, with environmental, social and corporate governance and the metaverse being main themes. The company said it chose the themes to show it

Dec. 29, 2022

[Photo News] Santa on wheels

Hyundai Motor has sponsored 107 million won ($84,300) to host Christmas parties and deliver holiday gifts for some 1,200 children at 32 child welfare institutions across S. Korea, the carmaker said Tuesday. Dubbed "Santa Expedition," Hyundai Motor has conducted the year-end social contribution program annually since 2016 in collaboration with ChildFund Korea to give gifts to a total of 4,700 children in the country. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Dec. 27, 2022

Battery makers shell out to lure US tech talent

South Korean battery makers are luring tech talent in the US with big welfare benefits and other hefty incentives to fuel their growth momentum in the burgeoning electric vehicle market, industry sources said Monday. Starting from Jan. 1, LG Energy Solution, the largest battery maker here, will extend its medical welfare policy by offering free health insurance to some 2,000 employees working at its Michigan plant along with their family members. Currently, the company covers insurance for denta

Dec. 26, 2022

[Test Drive] All-new Grand Cherokee blends off-road features with luxurious city driving

The Grand Cherokee -- Jeep’s flagship sport utility vehicle -- has been at the top of the game in the global SUV market. As the most-awarded SUV model, it has won over 700 accolades since its first generation made its debut in 1992, according to the carmaker. The all-new Grand Cherokee 4xe, a plug-in hybrid SUV that recently became available for sale in South Korea, features the carmaker’s latest EV technology and off-road strengths. The Grand Cherokee 4xe allows drivers to select

Dec. 25, 2022

International flight passengers exceed domestic travelers for first time since pandemic

The number of international flight passengers exceeded domestic travelers for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, data showed Sunday, with the figure still remaining at half the pre-pandemic levels. According to data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of international flight passengers was 3.08 million in November, while the figure for domestic flight passengers was 2.85 million. It was the first time the country saw the number of

Dec. 25, 2022

Battery giants to see W50tr revenue amid booming EV market

South Korean battery giants -- LG Energy Solutions, Samsung SDI and SK On -- are expected to see a combined sales of some 50 trillion won ($39 billion), marking a record-breaking year amid burgeoning demand for electric vehicles overseas. LG Energy Solutions’ revenue this year is estimated to surge on-year by 41.4 percent to 25.2 trillion won, according to data from market tracker FnGuide. Net profit would skyrocket 95.3 percent to 1.5 trillion won, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark for

Dec. 23, 2022

SsangYong Motor to change name to KG Mobility

SsangYong Motor will change its name to KG Mobility to maximize the carmaker’s strengths in the future, KG Group Chairman Kwak Jea-sun said Wednesday. “The name -- SsangYong Motor -- has a fandom with good memories, but it also has a painful image,” Kwak said at an event held by the Korea Automobile Journalists Association at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. “From now, all SsangYong cars will come out to the world under the name of KG. Even with the name change, SsangYong Motor&

Dec. 22, 2022