Renault QM6 enhances luxury appeal

Renault Korea has enhanced the luxury appeal of its popular sport utility vehicle QM6. One distinctive feature is the use of Alcantara fabric for the highest Premiere trim. Alcantara is a suedelike fabric noted for its durability and carbon-neutral manufacturing process. A substitute for leather and vinyl, the fabric is increasingly being used in luxury vehicles. For the QM6, seats and armrests are covered in black Alcantara. Driving assistance features have also been bolstered. From the midrang

Sept. 12, 2022

Korean Air in talks with Asian airlines to share US route

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air is reportedly in talks with multiple Southeast Asian airlines to share its Incheon-Los Angeles route in an apparent attempt to get antitrust approval from US regulators in its acquisition of the cash-strapped crosstown rival Asiana Airlines, according to industry sources on Monday. The unprecedented talks come in response to the US requiring Korean Air to submit plans on how to ensure competition by giving a specific name of the air carrier that will o

Sept. 12, 2022

S. Korea is world's fourth-largest EV exporter

South Korea shipped a total of $7 billion worth of electric cars last year, taking the fourth spot in terms of exports by value, following Germany ($28.8 billion), the United States ($10.1 billion) and China ($10 billion), data from a report showed Thursday. Of the world’s top 10 EV exporters, six countries were from Europe. Japan ranked eighth with $4.6 billion EV exports. According to data by Korea International Trade Association, the country's EV exports jumped 112.2 percent in the last

Sept. 8, 2022

Airlines prepare for Chuseok spike in demand

The aviation industry is gearing up to cater an increase in travel demand ahead of Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday that kicks off Friday. South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air is operating two more flights from Gimpo to Jeju starting Wednesday until Sept. 13. These flights are operated using larger aircraft to accommodate 11,000 more passengers, which is a 10 percent increase in the airlines number of seats along that route for the Chuseok holiday. Asiana Airlines, the country&rsq

Sept. 7, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group opens Korea’s largest driving experience center

  Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it has opened the country’s largest driving experience center in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, in an aim to lead the country’s automotive culture. The HMG Driving Experience Center is located on 1.26 million square meters of land that was formerly used as Hankook Tire’s automotive proving ground Technoring. It is the largest proving ground in Asia. The center also includes a second-story building to accommodate 15,000 visitor

Sept. 7, 2022

Mercedes-Benz hosts school-zone traffic safety campaign

Bettina Fetzer, vice president of communications and marketing at Mercedes-Benz AG, participated in a campaign on Wednesday promoting school-zone traffic safety in front of an elementary school located in Songpa-gu, southeastern Seoul. The campaign, co-hosted by the Mercedes-Benz Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and the Kids & Future Foundation, was conducted as part of a business agreement signed in April with the Green Mother’s Society, a local advocacy group for children’

Sept. 7, 2022

Hyundai Motor to develop automation tech for world's first smart cargo terminal

Hyundai Motor Group has teamed up with Hanjin KAL, the parent firm of national flag carrier Korean Air, and Incheon International Airport Corp. on Tuesday to jointly develop automation technology for Incheon Airport's smart cargo terminal infrastructure. The technology will be applied to Incheon Airport’s airsides, the aircraft take-off and landing areas such as runways. This business agreement is part of the IIAC’s project, initiated in April, last year, to prepare infrastructure fo

Sept. 6, 2022

Audi Korea launches brand’s first all-electric compact SUVs

Audi Korea officially launched its first all-electric compact sport utility vehicles, the Audi Q4 e-tron and the Audi Q4 Sportback e-tron, in South Korea on Tuesday. “The Q4 e-tron will redefine the boundaries between car segments and act as a gateway into e-mobility. With these models, we have strengthened our EV lineup enough to satisfy the needs of Korean customers,” said Lim Hyun-ki, the executive director of Audi Korea, at the launching ceremony. The Audi Q4 e-tron is the first

Sept. 6, 2022

Korean Air opens new flight route from Incheon to Budapest

South Korea’s flag carrier Korean Air said Tuesday it will open a new international flight route from Incheon to Budapest, Hungary, starting Oct. 3. According to the airliner, flights will depart from Incheon every Monday at 11:25 a.m., and arrive at its destination at 5:05 p.m. local time. Return flights will take off from Budapest at 7:15 p.m. every Tuesday, landing in Korea the next day, 50 minutes past noon. However, the flight schedules will be pushed back by approximately 20 minutes

Sept. 6, 2022

Kumho Tire to commercialize smart tire system

South Korean tiremaker Kumho Tire said Friday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with local auto retailer Van Korea on July 29 to accelerate the commercialization of its smart tire system. As part of the business agreement, the tire company will supply its “Majesty X Solus“ tires for the retailer’s Hyundai Carnival lineup, while also providing tire monitoring and sensing technologies. The tire company has been working with local communication firms to develop a smar

Aug. 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group brands score top in satisfaction survey by JD Power

Hyundai Motor Group’s Hyundai, Kia and Genesis received top scores in a major product satisfaction survey, beating out global competitors, according to the US consumer research firm JD Power on Friday.  According to the JD Power’s US Tech Experience Index (TEI), Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand Genesis scored 643 points, outpacing Cadillac (584), Mercedes-Benz (539) and Volvo (526), topping the luxury brand list. Genesis has topped the list for two consecutive years.

Aug. 26, 2022

‘Inflation law may disrupt Korean exports of 100,000 plus EVs’

South Korean carmakers on Thursday said at least 100,000 electric vehicles built here would face disruption in export sales annually under the new US law, which excludes battery-powered vehicles made outside of the US from tax credits. They also urged the South Korean government to revise the current subsidy law and map out temporary measures for local carmakers, such as tax credits.  According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, of which Hyundai Motor and Kia are members,

Aug. 25, 2022

[Exclusive] Jeju Island to launch drone taxi routes for tourists by 2025

South Korea’s resort island of Jeju will launch air routes for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and drone taxis dedicated to tourists in the island by 2025, as the first municipality in the country to do so. Aimed at offering quick and accessible air mobility in the near future, the routes will connect the island’s popular tourist spots through the coast with quick and accessible air mobility in the near future, an executive who devised the idea told The Korea Herald on Thursday.  Jej

Aug. 25, 2022

[Newsmaker] Chung Euisun heads to US as inflation law puts Hyundai Motor EV strategy in peril

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun made an emergency trip to the US on Tuesday to seek ways to deal with the latest US tax credit bill that has scrapped subsidies for foreign-made electric vehicles. Amid looming concerns that the bill may jeopardize the carmaker’s EV strategy, Chung left for Washington, D.C., with Hyundai Motor President Gong Young-woon who is in charge of public relations, media outlets reported Wednesday, quoting unnamed sources. They plan to meet high-ra

Aug. 24, 2022

Volkswagen Korea to bring ID.4 next month

Volkswagen Korea will launch its first pure electric sports utility vehicle next month as the first overseas branch of the German carmaker outside of Europe, its CEO said Tuesday. “ID.4, Volkswagen’s first pure electric SUV, will be launched in Korea and we will be the first country in the world for export market outside of Europe,” said Sacha Askidjian, the executive director of Volkswagen Korea at a launching ceremony for the new Tiguan Allspace, a seven-seater family SUV eq

Aug. 23, 2022

[Test Drive] Maserati’s first hybrid powerful yet traditional

The Maserati Ghibli GT Hybrid is a car that can satisfy those who love the sound of a combustion engine, but want to make a more fuel-efficient choice. The Ghibli GT Hybrid is the first ever electrified Maserati model, with which the luxury brand makes an attempt to keep up with the trends of the automobile industry. Maserati uses a 2.0-liter, four-cylindrical gas turbo engine boosted by a 48-volt battery and offers a maximum torque of 45.9 kilogram-meters. In a 245-kilometer test drive sessi

Aug. 23, 2022

No. of Ioniq 6 preorders hits new record on 1st day

Hyundai Motor received 37,446 EV preorders for its Ioniq 6 on the first day of presales, the highest day one preorder sales figure in the company‘s history. The carmaker said the number is far higher than Ioniq 5’s first-day preorders number of 23,760 units set last year. “Ioniq 6’s innovative interior and exterior design, along with the industry’s top-level traveling distance and driving performance incorporated with latest technology appear to have attracted po

Aug. 23, 2022

[Herald Interview] ‘Low driver pay is the root cause of taxi crisis’

In recent months, a severe taxi shortage saw people hailing a taxi on the streets of Seoul to no avail while ride-hailing apps like Kakao T failing to dispatch a driver, especially during nighttime peak hours. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., only one 1 of 4 attempts to call for a taxi succeeds, according to Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong last month. The taxi crisis is blamed on a number of factors, including a sudden post-pandemic spike in demand and a reduced driver pool after many switched o

Aug. 20, 2022

One-third of newly registered taxis electric: data

More than one-third of newly registered taxis this year were electric vehicles, illustrating their continuously expanding market in the country. According to Transport Ministry data analyzed by CarIsYou data center, 7,394 electric vehicles were newly registered for taxi operation from January to July. This equates to 36.4 percent of the 20,296 units newly registered as taxis in the same period.  The number of electric taxis has significantly increased in the last decade. In 2013, there

Aug. 19, 2022

Buyers beware of flooded cars on used market: experts

A Lamborghini Aventador, the Italian supercar whose price tag is more than 500 million won ($400,000) here, was recently put up for sale on Danggeun Market -- a popular online flea market platform -- for just 1 million won. The owner claimed that the car was submerged during the heavy rainfall last week in Seoul, and that he cannot start the car any longer -- but the interior remains clean, and other features like air conditioning and lighting still work. “The car will become a luxurio

Aug. 18, 2022