Hyundai Motor's Jakarta plant opens as part of SE Asia drive

South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Group opened its first Southeast Asian manufacturing plant in Indonesia on Wednesday, gearing up its drive to expand its presence in a region long dominated by Japanese rivals.  The plant, located in the Deltamas industrial complex 40 kilometers east of the capital city of Jakarta, has started mass production of Hyundai's flagship electric vehicle Ioniq 5, the first EV to be manufactured in the country, the carmaker said. It plans to invest 1.92 trillio

March 16, 2022

[Test Drive] Volvo C40 Recharge: Sporty, fun but pricey

Simple but sporty is how Volvo’s first all-electric SUV Coupe, the C40 Recharge, can be best described. The first impression of C40 Recharge is that it looks very similar to the brand’s first pure electric compact SUV XC40 Recharge, both from the outside and inside. But on a closer look, the C40 Recharge design has added a spoonful of sportiness. Volvo got rid of XC40’s roof and instead, it let the roof line slip toward the back to make it more aerodynamic and energy efficie

March 15, 2022

[UP IN THE AIR] Volocopter eyes Asia-Pacific as key market for air taxi service

Stepping closer to a longtime dream of mankind, Volocopter, a Germany-based startup that develops electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, will start a commercial air taxi business in the next two years -- but overcoming regulatory hurdles and gaining public acceptance remains a challenge. “At this point, it is no longer a question of if electric air taxi services will come to cities around the world, but when,” said Hon Lung Chu, Head of Singapore and BD Southeast As

March 15, 2022

LG CNS offers personal data log service

LG CNS said on Tuesday it began pilot operation of an app that collects, stores, analyzes and processes personal data on everything from daily transactions to hours spent on YouTube to making recommendations for smart spending The Haruzogak app brings together pieces of data scattered across different apps, records a customer’s daily life, and reports how much she spent on delivery food, how many times she visited convenience stores and how many hours she spent on stock investments e

March 15, 2022

[Test Drive] Electrified Mini adds comfort in city driving

For Mini Cooper fans, it’s likely the car’s iconic design is enough for them to put up with the notorious bumpy ride. The electrified compact vehicle, however, dispels such worries. Like any other EVs, the Mini Cooper SE Electric offers a smooth driving experience in a quieter atmosphere. Not just because of the 32.6 kWh battery that replaces the gasoline-powered powertrain but also because of the lower center of gravity, 30 millimeters lower than the standard Cooper -- a significa

March 14, 2022

Hyundai Motor’s subscription service expands to Seoul with Ioniq 5

Hyundai Motor Group’s flagship electric vehicle model Ioniq 5 is now available for mobility subscription service from Hyundai Selection in metropolitan areas including Seoul. The Korean automaker said Sunday that Ioniq 5 will be offered as an option in the monthly program Regular pack. The model was only offered for the daily-subscription plan Special pack subscribers in Jeju and Busan.  Hyundai Motor said such service expansion will allow more customers to experience Ioniq 5, which

March 13, 2022

SsangYong Motor’s creditors to request rebidding

SsangYong Motor’s creditors will be requesting a rebidding of the merger and acquisition of the carmaker next Tuesday, according to SsangYong Motors. The debt-laden SsangYong Motors confirmed that creditors had brought up the prospect of looking for a new owner instead of completing the M&A procedure with the bidder Edison Motors for a while. South Korean electric carmaker Edison Motors had stepped closer to acquiring major stakes in SsangYong Motor in January after the two firms cli

March 9, 2022

Nickel’s price surge threatens carmakers’ EV push

Price increases of metals essential for electric batteries could spell trouble for automakers who are already struggling to keep costs down in the face of supply chain disruptions, market insiders said Wednesday. The price of nickel is surging as Russia, a key supplier of the metal, faces extensive global sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, the price of nickel doubled to $100,000 per metric ton, causing the London Metal Exchange to suspend trading for the rest of the day on wo

March 9, 2022

Hyundai Ioniq 5 named UK car of the year

Hyundai Motor’s all-electric Ioniq 5 was named the UK car of the year, for its stylish design, power efficiency and practicality as a family car, the company said Tuesday. Ioniq 5 took the throne after being awarded the top prize in the Best Family Car category, beating out nine other UK car of the year category winners. Among the top 10 finalists were Fiat 500-e, Skoda Fabia, Kia Ceed, Genesis G70 Shooting Brake, Toyota Yaris Cross, Skoda Enyaq, BMW iX, Porsche Taycan, and Hyundai i20N.

March 8, 2022

Hyundai Motor's factory in Russia remains closed amid Ukraine crisis: company officials

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has cancelled a plan to resume the operation of a factory in Russia due to continued supply disruptions amid the Ukraine crisis, company officials said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor originally planned to reopen the temporarily suspended operation of the factory in St. Petersburg on Wednesday but called it off due to persisting supply shortages of automotive semiconductors, according to the officials. The plant has been shut down since March 1. Automotiv

March 8, 2022

Hyundai begins sales of the latest 2022 Avante

Hyundai Motor announced Tuesday that it will officially begin sales of the latest 2022 model of Avante, its compact sedan. The 2022 Avante comes with enhanced sound-absorbing doors and with more basic and extra options. The model will have 8-inch display audio in all trims, which before was only applied on its ‘smart’ trim. Hyundai added extra options such as ‘Smart Sense 3’ which includes rear collision prevention assistance and safety exit warning, as well as the cho

March 8, 2022

Tesla’s cylindrical battery could be ‘game-changer’: report

Tesla’s new tab-less cylindrical battery cell has the potential to become a game-changer in the electric vehicle industry, according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute (KATECH). The KATECH released an industry trend report on Monday that said the EV market must prepare for what is to come after Tesla starts mass producing its 4680 batteries. Tesla’s 4680 battery is 46 millimeters in diameter and 80 millimeters in length, and offers six times the power of the carmaker&rsqu

March 7, 2022

Hyundai Motor makes its entry to used car market official

Hyundai Motor, South Korea‘s largest carmaker, made its entry to the local secondhand car market official on Monday, after facing opposition from small- and medium-sized dealers in the market for years. The company will only sell high-quality certified used cars that have been driven less than 100,000 kilometers and owned for less than five years for customer satisfaction, it said. All cars to be sold must go through performance tests and maintenance service provided by the automaker and

March 7, 2022

Genesis GV60 gets remote software updates

Hyundai Motor’s standalone luxury brand Genesis announced Sunday that it is offering an “over-the-air” software update for its GV60 model that was launched last October. The software update will enhance the car’s advanced driver assistance system by improving forward and backward collision warnings, parking distance warnings, and remote smart parking assist features. With GV60, drivers will be able to download the updated software “over-the-air” while drivin

March 6, 2022

Han Sung Motor to sponsor three breakdancers

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said Friday that it has clinched a contract to sponsor three breakdancers. The sponsorship is part of a new project called WANNA.B by Han Sung Motor. It was established this year to support B-boy and B-girls to achieve what they want to become in the future. Through such a project, Han Sung Motor said it will launch more activities to expand the realm of breakdance and facilitate communication with millennials and Generation Z. 

March 4, 2022

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 scores higher than Mercedes-Benz EQB on AutoBild review

Hyundai Motor Group said Friday that its flagship electric model Ioniq 5 has received a higher score than Mercedes-Benz EQB from German automotive magazine AutoBild’s review. The carmaker said AutoBild compared the two models based on seven categories -– body, comfort, powertrain, driving dynamics, connected car, environment and cost -– along with 53 subcategories. Out of 800 points, Ioniq 5 received 582 points, 20 points more than the EQB.  Ioniq 5 received higher poin

March 4, 2022

High oil prices deepens woes for air carriers

South Korea’s aviation industry is set to take another hit after years of pandemic losses, as oil prices are soaring amid the escalating Ukraine conflict, driving up their fuel prices and operating costs overall. According to the air industry on Thursday, Brent crude oil jumped $5.93 to $111.19 per barrel on Wednesday night, its highest level since July 2014. The reason behind the price increase is due to a high possibility that western countries including the US might impose sanctions

March 3, 2022

Of 4 million sales goal, Kia wants green cars to fill in the half

Kia Motors, a sister company of Hyundai Motor, is aiming to sell 4 million vehicles globally by 2030, with half of them being eco-friendly models, the company said on Thursday. The carmaker will expand the portion of electric vehicles and hybrids in overall sales from the current 17 percent to 52 percent by 2030. For markets with state-supportive policies for EVs –- Korea, North America, Europe and China -- Kia said it will pull up its EV and hybrid sales portion up to 78 percent by 2030

March 3, 2022

Hyundai Motor sets new global EV sales goal of 1.87m by 2030

Hyundai Motor has set a new sales target of its electric vehicles at 1.87 million units a year, aiming to secure 7 percent of global EV market share in the next eight years. Such a goal would have EVs turning into a major cash cow for the carmaker over combustion engine cars, as the portion of battery-powered vehicles in overall sales will rise to 36 percent, the carmaker said in a statement released on Wednesday. By expanding the production of EVs, Hyundai hopes to generate bigger margins of

March 2, 2022

Kia EV6 becomes first Korean car to be named European Car of the Year

Kia announced Tuesday that its first dedicated electric vehicle EV6 has become the first South Korean car to be named the Car of the Year in the European Car of the Year awards. EV6 took the throne, beating out over 60 models launched in 2021 listed as candidates for the 2022 Car of the Year. Among the top seven finalists were Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Skoda Enyaq iV, Cupra Born, Renault Megane E-Tech and Peugeot 308. The Car of the Year was chosen by 61 auto journalists from 23

March 1, 2022