Hyundai Motor to build LNG plant for power supply, emissions goals

Hyundai Motor Group will construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) cogeneration facility inside its automotive manufacturing plant in Ulsan to secure a stable power supply while reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the carmaker on Monday, it plans to digest over 70 percent of annual electricity used at the country’s largest automotive plant through the new LNG power facility. The new facility, comprising two gas turbines and one steam turbine, will have th

May 9, 2022

Number of ‘supercars’ worth W300m quadruples over 6 years

Over 5,000 “supercars,” those worth around 300 million won ($230,000), have been registered as corporate cars in South Korea, according to the National Assembly Budget Office on Sunday. The data showed that the number of super expensive imported cars bought by corporations have quadrupled over the past six years from 1,172 to 5,075 units. Since 2016, the number of corporate supercars have shown an average increase of 32.2 percent. Imported cars worth between 200 and 300 million wo

May 8, 2022

Hyundai’s first all-electric Ioniq 5 marks first year of success

Hyundai Motor’s first all-electric vehicle Ioniq 5 is set to hit some 90,000 unit sales globally since its launch a year ago. According to the carmaker on Thursday, the electric midsize crossover utility vehicle sold 88,871 units – 33,212 units at home and 55,658 units abroad – as of March this year. The Ioniq 5 made its debut in April last year, becoming the first car to be running on Hyundai’s own EV platform, called the Electric-Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP.

May 5, 2022

Gimpo Airport to resume international flights in June

Gimpo International Airport in Seoul is resuming the long-stalled operation of international flights from June, starting with popular routes between South Korea and Japan. According to the Transport Ministry on Thursday, several South Korean and Japanese air carriers such as Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have filed applications to resume international flights at the airport. Gimpo Airport in western Seoul, one of the nation’s main gateways along with

May 5, 2022

[UP IN THE AIR] Korean startup aims to boost UAM battery capacity with hybrid technology

Flying is a common mode of transport when it comes to domestic travel. Whether it’s for business or pleasure, people need to travel to the nearest provincial airport to visit other cities. That’s an extra one or two hours of traveling, in addition to the flight time. But according to Plana, a South Korean startup dedicated to building vertical takeoff and landing aircraft powered by hybrid e-powertrains, UAM can dramatically reduce travel time, as they can easily take off inside t

May 5, 2022

Genesis GV70 rated above BMW X3, Lexus RX350

The Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport was rated as the best sports utility vehicle by Car and Driver, an American auto magazine, outpacing BMW X3 M40i and the Lexus RX350 F Sport, Hyundai Motor said Friday. Car and Driver evaluated these three cars based on four categories including vehicle, powertrain, chassis, and experience. Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport took the throne with a total score of 213 out of 240, followed by BMW X3 which scored 205, and Lexus RX350 178. The new luxury compact crossover under Ge

April 29, 2022

Kumho Tire to participate in global tire exhibitions

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said Thursday that it will participate in two international tire exhibitions that will kick off in Europe. Kumho Tire will showcase its products at the Tire Cologne 2022 set to be held in Cologne, Germany between May 24 and 26, and at the Autopromotec 2022, slated to take place in Bologna, Italy, between May 25 and 28. Kumho Tire will display its high-performing, summer, winter, all season, truck and bus, electric vehicle and future concept tires, according t

April 28, 2022

Hyundai Mobis taps ex-Mitsubishi exec to head Japan unit

Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts making unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday it had tapped Yukihiro Hattori and Ryoichi Adachi as president and vice president of Hyundai Mobis Japan to strengthen sales and the intake of orders there. Hattori, who most recently served as director of purchases at Mitsubishi Motors, and Adachi, who had supervised purchases at Mazda Motor, will respectively oversee sales and orders, the Korean firm said.  “They have over 40 years of experience at J

April 27, 2022

Kia unveils its first purpose built vehicle Niro Plus

Kia unveiled the design and the functions of its first purpose built vehicle Niro Plus, which has been developed based on its flagship electric vehicle Niro EV. The carmaker said Niro Plus, the spinoff version of Niro EV which has been launched in 2018 also as hybrid and plug-in hybrid models, has been invented to satisfy customers’ various needs. The vehicle comes in two variations: A model dedicated for taxi drivers and another one designed for individual purposes or corporate use. I

April 27, 2022

All-new Range Rover nears market launch

Jaguar Land Rover Korea said it has received more than 2,000 advance orders for the all-new Range Rover luxury SUV slated to hit showrooms in the first half of this year. Available in five trims, the all-new Range Rover is priced between 196.87 million won ($157,800) for the Standard Wheelbase D350 Autobiography and 222.47 million won for the Long Wheelbase P530 Autobiography. The prices include a five-year service plan. Demand is especially high for the all-new Range Rover P530, fitted with a

April 26, 2022

July flight demand expected to recover 40% of pre-pandemic

The daily average of air travelers is expected to be around 81,000 in July, which is around 40 percent of air travelers from the same period in 2019, right before the pandemic hit the world, according to the operator of South Korea‘s major air gateway Incheon Airport, on Monday. After November, Incheon International Airport Corp. anticipates a 70 percent recovery of the daily average air travelers and is gearing up for normalization of its operations in phrases, officials said in a regula

April 25, 2022

Kia Q1 net falls 0.2 pct amid chip shortage

  Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Monday its first-quarter net profit fell 0.2 percent from a year earlier due to one-off costs amid global chip shortages. Net profit for the three months ended in March fell to 1.032 trillion won (US$825 million) from 1.035 trillion won during the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. Particularly high deferred corporate taxes were factored in the bottom line in the first quarter, a company spokesman said ove

April 25, 2022

In-car subscription service could be more profitable than selling new cars

The market for in-car subscription services such as high-end functions like autonomous driving and entertainment systems could be more profitable than selling new cars for carmakers, market data showed Monday, illustrating reason why major carmakers are moving to develop their own software and in-car programs. According to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH) report, the world’s top 11 finished carmakers and EV maker Tesla have garnered an average of $109 billion of their a

April 25, 2022

Self-driving car market race heats up; S. Korean regulations lag behind: report

South Korea is lagging behind in revising regulations to prepare for the commercialization of autonomous vehicles compared to other major countries such as the US, Germany and Japan, a Seoul-based think tank said Sunday. The market size of autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles is expected to grow from $7.1 billion in 2020 to $1 trillion by 2035, a report by the Korea Economic Research Institute showed. More than half of the newly launched cars to be sold in 2030 are expected to be equipped with

April 24, 2022

[Weekender] Foreign vacations are back, but come with hefty price tags

Attention travel-starved Koreans. The cost of air travel is rising, with more upward pressure building from high jet fuel prices and soaring tourism demand. If you are fixed on an overseas vacation, don’t wait too long to book it, experts say. “Airlines are selling their flight tickets well and there is a supply shortage. We are in a situation where prices are forced to go up,” an Asiana Airlines official told The Korea Herald. “The number of flights in operation has

April 23, 2022

[KH Explains] Like Tesla, Hyundai bets on software updates, but legal issue remains hurdle

Just like smartphones or any other tech devices, vehicles also receive software for new versions from their manufacturers via OTA -- Over The Air -- updates. Software updates are a significant part of the connected car experience because they include the latest feature enhancements, such as autonomous driving, as well as crucial security patches. Tesla has been offering OTA updates to all its cars since 2012. Rivals such as Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have also been quickly penetrating

April 21, 2022

Han Sung Motor partners CJ Logistics for Superrace Championship

Han Sung Motor, Korea‘s official Mercedes-Benz dealer, announced Tuesday that it has signed a brand partnership with CJ Logistics to support the Superrace Championship, which the logistics company hosts this weekend. The CJ Logistics Superrace Championship is the only stock car race in Asia and is the biggest motor sports event in South Korea. The two-day race kicks off this Saturday at the AMG Speedway in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The partnership comes in response to consumer’s

April 19, 2022

[Photo News] Consequence of supply shortage

Units of Hyundai Motor’s compact vehicle Casper ready for shipment are sparsely parked at Gwangju Global Motors, a joint venture manufacturing plant between the carmaker and the Gwangju city government on Tuesday. Located in South Korea’s southwestern city of Gwangju, the plant is capable of manufacturing 200 vehicles a day, but suspended its operations due to a prolonged supply shortage triggered by the Shanghai lockdown.

April 19, 2022

[Newsmaker] Large retailers jump into e-commerce market for designer goods

Large retailers including Hanwha and Shinsegae are keen to jump into the e-commerce market for designer brands as existing online platforms are struggling to beat off a counterfeit luxury goods scandal. Online shopping malls for designer brands such as Mustit, Balaan and Trenbe have enjoyed a boom in Korea by offering convenience and prices lower than department stores or duty-free shops to the country’s growing number of luxury consumers who spent more during the pandemic. These online

April 19, 2022

Hyundai Motor becomes first carmaker to issue community-based NFTs

Hyundai Motor is issuing community-based non-fungible tokens as part of efforts to enhance its brand experience and customer community, becoming the first carmaker to enter the community NFT marketplace, the South Korean auto giant said Monday. Hyundai released a short film introducing the “Metamobility Universe,” the carmaker’s NFT universe concept that was first unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The film, featuring Meta Kongz, a popular NFT gorilla cha

April 18, 2022