Avikus bags 1st Level 2 autonomous navigation orders

Avikus, an in-house venture under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, became the first autonomous navigation software company to sell Level 2 autonomous navigation solutions in the world. Avikus signed order contracts with two South Korean shipping companies, SK Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine, to install Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS) 2.0 on a total of 23 large vessels, including container ships and LNG carriers, starting from August 2023, the company said Tuesday. H

Aug. 9, 2022

‘Don’t touch batteries of flooded EVs’: experts

The possibility of getting an electric shock from a submerged electric vehicle is low, but drivers should never touch the battery of flooded cars, experts warned Tuesday. According to the Korea Transport Institute, EV batteries are designed to automatically cut off outgoing electricity if any water seeps into it. The battery then drains itself by sending electric currents back and forth between the two electrodes. Though it is highly unlikely one would get electrocuted by touching the vehicle

Aug. 9, 2022

[Herald Interview] Future of head-up display tech is in augmented reality

Head-up Display, or HUD, has been largely adopted by global carmakers in recent years as a way of keeping drivers’ eyes on the road. But by using bulky, conventional optics, HUDs could only project limited information on the windshield above the steering wheel, providing rudimentary information such as direction and speed. However, in the near future, the cockpit feature would be transformed to take a bigger role in driving by applying augmented reality technology, said an executive at H

Aug. 7, 2022

SoCar IPO faces lukewarm response from investors

Amid dampened appetite for initial public offerings, South Korean car-sharing company SoCar is facing lukewarm response from institutional investors, with a growing possibility that it may join this year’s long list of market debut flops. According to industry sources, during the two-day book building period on Thursday and Friday, institutional investors had written their preferred share price below 34,000 won ($26), lower than the price band of 34,000 won-45,000 won suggested by the co

Aug. 7, 2022

Mercedes-Benz Korea apologizes for allegedly selling a submerged car

Mercedes-Benz Korea issued an apology on Friday to a local customer who had accused the automaker of selling submerged cars. The company promised to exchange the vehicle in question. The luxury car brand came under fire on July 24 when the customer posted online that the person bought a submerged car from Mercedes-Benz and that the automaker refused to compensate. The unidentified customer said in the post: “Two weeks ago I bought a Mercedes-Benz GLS for 150 million won ($115,694) and

Aug. 5, 2022

[Photo News] Red Dot Winner

The GV60, a compact SUV under the Genesis brand, is on display at a special exhibition titled “Light & Wonder” held at Genesis Studio Hanam, Genesis Suji and Genesis House New York. The exhibition presented by Hyundai Motor Group was one of six Red Dot Awards received by the carmaker. The company also won the Red Dot Awards for its CES 2022 exhibition hall design and brand concept store Genesis Suji.

Aug. 4, 2022

BMW, Mercedes-Benz in tight race for top importer title in Korea

Two German carmakers are in a tight race to take the top spot in South Korea’s imported car market this year, with BMW chasing its rival Mercedes-Benz closely to dethrone it from its seven-year run in the No. 1 position. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Thursday, BMW sold a total of 5,490 units last month, outpacing Mercedes-Benz which sold 5,456 units in the same period. This was the third month this year after January and June that BMW has sol

Aug. 4, 2022

Car-sharing platform SoCar to go public this month

South Korean car-sharing company SoCar said Wednesday it planned to debut in the nation‘s benchmark Kospi to expand its footing in the mobility industry worth 350 trillion won (267.6 billion) and growing. The company will decide soon whether to float 4.55 million shares or not on Aug. 22 after testing the water with the two-day preliminary proceedings scheduled on Thursday and Friday. The preferred share price is set between 34,000 won and 45,000 won. The main underwriter is Mirae A

Aug. 3, 2022

Carmakers expand reach to e-bikes

Global carmakers are penetrating the electric bicycle market, taking advantage of its value as a test bed for the future technology of electric vehicles while rounding out their e-mobility portfolios. Experts note that both e-bikes and EVs have motors and batteries as their core parts, and also shared parts of their design structure. This gives carmakers a great leg up in the e-bike market, which is still in its nascent stage with no clear market leader.  “When the finished carmake

Aug. 3, 2022

Hyundai’s Xcient hydrogen truck to debut in Germany

Hyundai Motor said Tuesday that its Xcient Fuel Cell, the world’s first mass-produced, heavy-duty truck powered by hydrogen, will make its debut in Germany as part of the carmaker’s efforts to expand its presence in the largest commercial vehicle market.  A total of 27 units of Xcient trucks will be delivered to seven local companies in the logistics and manufacturing sectors. This will be the second time that Hyundai has exported its fuel-cell truck to Europe after it clinche

Aug. 2, 2022

Revision seeks to allow battery subscription for EVs

The South Korean government said Monday that it would revise the law to allow battery subscription services for electric vehicles, a move that is expected to pull down EV prices almost one-third from their current price tag and lower entry barriers for potential buyers.  The Ministry of Land, Transport and Infrastructure said that a 36-member regulatory reform committee held a meeting on Thursday to approve the planned revision. The current law on vehicle registration does not allow two

Aug. 1, 2022

Hyundai Motor unveils smart city vision in Singapore

Hyundai Motor Group on Monday unveiled its vision for smart city at the World Cities Summit in Singapore, with an aim to offer a blueprint for smart mobility solutions that revitalize urban communities.  During a panel discussion at the biannual summit, the automaker’s President and Chief Innovation Officer Chi Young-cho offered a detailed look into the company’s vision for human-focused city design through its HMG Smart City concept. The company first unveiled such vision for

Aug. 1, 2022

Over 1% of cars in S. Korea are EVs: report

The accumulated number of electric vehicles in South Korea appears to have surpassed the 300,000-mark in July, taking 1.2 percent of the total number of registered vehicles in country, according to a report published by the Transport Ministry on Sunday. The report said South Korea had 298,633 EV registrations as of June. Industry insiders expect this number to have exceeded 300,000 last month. Nearly 70,000 EVs were sold in just the first half of this year, a 73.5 percent rise in sales compar

July 31, 2022

[Test Drive] Facelifted Seltos upgrades compact SUV standards

Design-wise, the new Seltos is not much different from the old version but in terms of performance, Kia’s facelifted compact SUV has changed so remarkably that it almost seems like a complete reworking. From the front, it is hard to tell the difference between the new Seltos and the previous version launched in 2019, while the rear has an updated bumper and new tail lightening. The car’s signature Starmap lighting has been applied across the width of the car and combined with an LE

July 31, 2022

LS Cable eyes global undersea cable market

LS Cable & System is expanding investment and tapping into new markets for undersea cables amid a rapidly growing demand for offshore wind power generation, which requires high-quality subsea cables, as countries began executing policies for carbon neutrality. Early this year, LS Cable inked a deal worth 350 billion won ($266 million) to supply undersea cables for wind power in North America. Demand for subsea cables is expected to grow further as US President Joe Biden announced earlier

July 27, 2022

Audi Korea expands electric, compact car lineups

Audi sold a total of 25,615 vehicles in South Korea last year, marking the third-largest sales volume among import carmakers here. The German automaker said it has focused on expanding its lineup to include compact vehicles such as the Audi Q3 and A3, as well as electric cars e-tron S and Q4 e-tron. In 2021, Audi sold 1,553 electric cars, the largest number of electric cars sold among premium import car brands. In December, it launched the Audi e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT, which are at the van

July 25, 2022

Renault Korea Motors makes car repair service available anytime, anywhere

Renault Korea Motors is hoping to better cater to customer needs with a service that allows car owners to drop off their vehicles at the automaker’s repair shops anytime, anywhere across the country. The carmaker introduced its “Drop the Keys” service in April, which allows drivers to bring in their cars for check-ups and repair anytime of the week. Local auto repair stores usually close around 6-7 p.m. on weekdays and earlier on Saturdays, while most of them do not operate

July 25, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group to get hefty incentives for Georgia EV plant

Hyundai Motor Group will receive benefits worth 2.4 trillion won ($1.8 billion) in tax exemptions and incentives from the US state of Georgia in exchange for building its first dedicated electric vehicles manufacturing plant there. The subsidy package of property and income tax exemptions, as well as other incentives in land, infrastructure and equipment purchases, is the largest-ever offered by the US state. According to the signed deal disclosed on Saturday, the Korean automaker will get a ta

July 24, 2022

China’s BYD eyes foray into Korean EV market

BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, is getting ready for EV sales in the South Korean market, going head to head against the country’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Group with lower price tags and better performing cars. Industry sources said Sunday that BYD recently inked a deal to rent an office near Seoul Station in central Seoul and started recruiting personnel, including those for vehicle registration, after-sales services and marketing activities.  Since the

July 24, 2022

Hyundai Motor logs best-ever quarterly profit

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor on Thursday reported its best-ever quarterly result for the April-June period, with operating profits surging 58 percent to nearly 3 trillion won ($2.2 billion) on the back of increased luxury vehicle sales and the weak Korean won. The carmaker’s operating profit jumped to 2.97 trillion won with the rate of operating profit reaching 8.3 percent. The last time the company recorded operating profit above 2 trillion won was in the second quarter of 2014

July 21, 2022