Hyundai Motor tops auto sales in Vietnam in Jan.-May period

South Korea's leading carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. emerged as the top auto seller in Vietnam in the first five months of this year, outpacing its Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp., industry data showed Thursday. Hyundai Motor sold 24,420 units in the Southeast Asian nation in the January-May period, edging out Toyota's 24,112 units, according to the data from the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers' Association (VAMA). Hyundai's smaller affiliate Kia Corp. sold 23,440 units in Vietnam over the sam

June 24, 2021

Mercedes-Benz Korea launches its most luxurious sedan, Maybach S-class

Mercedes-Benz Korea has brought its most luxurious sedan, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, to the Korean market, as the automaker marks the 100-year anniversary of the launch of its first Maybach vehicle, the company said Wednesday. The newly-launched Mercedes-Maybach S 580 4Matic has undergone a complete makeover from the model that was first launched in 2015, and will strengthen its leadership in the luxury flagship sedan segment, the automaker said. Since its introduction, more than 60,000

June 24, 2021

Hyundai unveils Avante N performance model

Hyundai Motor Co. on Tuesday unveiled the Avante N high-performance model as it strives to strengthen its high-end product lineup. The Avante N is the first sedan to be launched under the carmaker's high-performance N brand. The sporty sedan comes with side skirts, which minimize the amount of air that goes under the car from the sides and a wing-type spoiler that helps reduce sound and air resistance, Hyundai said in a statement. The latest performance model's prices and other details will

June 22, 2021

Hyundai Motor launches car subscription service in Busan

Hyundai Motor is expanding its mobility subscription service Hyundai Selection to Busan, the second largest city here after Seoul, the company said Monday. Similar to a lease contract, Hyundai Selection allows subscribers to choose a car to use from its portfolio of vehicles at their preferred time and pick-up location through an app. The Busan extension will offer two service packages -- regular and special -- for 14 Hyundai Motor vehicles, the firm said. For the regular package, a month

June 21, 2021

[AUTO & MOBILITY] Who drives electric vehicles in South Korea?

The once-futuristic idea of a car running purely on electricity is no longer a dream. More and more battery-powered electric vehicles are being spotted on the road, as EVs or hybrid cars together form a chunk of new product launches from major automakers these days. . Though their market share is still tiny, battery electric vehicles are widely expected to overtake conventional gas-fueled cars in the foreseeable future as governments and industries seek a transition to cleaner energy to cut ca

June 21, 2021

Hyundai’s new Avante sells over 100,000 units within one year

Hyundai Motor’s sedan Avante has sold over 100,000 units nearly one year after its release, the company revealed Sunday. The all-new Avante, which was unveiled in April last year, racked up 104,937 sales as of April, and 111,634 units as of last month. Having sold over 77,000 models within last year alone, it is the second bestselling sedan and third bestselling passenger car in the country so far this year, following Hyundai Motor’s Grandeur and Kia’s Carnival, which sold 43

June 20, 2021

Hyundai, Kia's Europe sales more than double in May

Hyundai Motor and affiliate Kia said Thursday their combined sales in Europe more than doubled last month from a year earlier on robust demand and lower base effect. Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 88,171 vehicles in Europe in May, sharply up from 42,492 units in the same month a year ago, the companies' sales data showed.  The monthly result got a boost from strong sales of Hyundai's Tucson and Kona sport utility vehicles and Kia's Sportage SUV and Cee'd crossover utility vehicle, a

June 17, 2021

Han Sung Motor opens Dream Gream online merch store

Han Sung Motor, an official Mercedes-Benz dealer, on Thursday opened an online store offering merchandise made by students participating in its Dream Gream art scholarship program. The store sells merchandise made by its scholarship recipients, artistically gifted middle and highs school students, in collaboration with professional artists. Items on sale include note papers, decorative masking tape, travel bags and fabric sprays, as well as items produced in collaboration with companies inclu

June 17, 2021

Hyundai resumes plant after brief halt over part shortage

Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday it has resumed operations of a local plant following a one-day suspension due to lack of semiconductors. Hyundai halted the Asan plant, which produces the Grandeur sedan, on Wednesday, causing production losses of 1,027 vehicles, the company said in a regulatory filing. The company has temporarily halted some of its domestic plants on a chip shortage. It has seven domestic plants -- five in Ulsan, one in Asan and one in Jeonju -- and 10 overseas plants -- four

June 17, 2021

Hyundai Motor chief tests self-driving Ioniq 5 EV during US visit

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun has visited an autonomous vehicle joint venture in the United States and tested a vehicle under development as the South Korean automaking giant explores new business opportunities in future mobility solutions, the automaker said Wednesday. Chung tested a self-driving Ioniq 5 electric vehicle during his visit to Motional's Boston headquarters and discussed ways to expand the partnership with its senior executives, Hyundai Motor said. The chairman made

June 16, 2021

Financially troubled SsangYong Motor to launch first EV in Europe

Financially troubled SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday it will launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in Europe later this year as it seeks to speed up its sales process and survive in the changing business environment. SsangYong said it named the EV variant of the Korando EV the Korando Emotion and has begun domestic production to first target the European market in October. SsangYong said it has also been developing an all-electric SUV with a goal of launching it next year to join the global

June 15, 2021

Nearly 16,000 enjoy 'flights to nowhere' amid pandemic

Nearly 16,000 people have used "flights to nowhere" offered by South Korean airlines since the sightseeing flights were introduced late last year, the customs office said Monday. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) said 15,983 passengers used a total of 152 international flights designed for the purpose of the air journey, not the destination, between December 2020 and May 2021. Passengers using the flights have bought duty-free products worth 22.8 billion won ($20 million) over the past

June 14, 2021

Eastar may pick preferred bidder next week

Budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. may pick a preferred bidder next week after reviewing plans from several investors to take over the financially troubled company, industry sources said Sunday. Easter Jet, currently under a court-led rehabilitation scheme, has received letters of intent from several companies, including a consortium led by Kanglim, a local equipment maker under underwear company Ssang Bang Wool, and other private equity funds, according to industry sources. Several companies have

June 13, 2021

Audi rolls out RS Q8, high-performance SUV

Audi Korea is launching the new RS Q8, a high-performance sports utility vehicle that combines both dynamic driving and practicality, the automaker said Friday. According to Audi Korea, it will start receiving orders for the new RS Q8 here on Tuesday. The RS Q8 is the first large SUV to be launched under the RS category, the auto brand’s high-performance lineup which stands for Racing Sport. The SUV has twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V-8 gasoline engine and an eight-speed automatic transm

June 11, 2021

Electric vehicles make debut at Seoul Smart Mobility Expo

Automakers and mobility service providers gathered at Seoul Smart Mobility Expo on Thursday to show off their latest electric vehicles and mobility technologies. In the three-day expo that kicked off at the Oil Tank Culture Park in Seoul, the country’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis brand unveiled the first electric powertrain variant of its luxury sedan Genesis G80 for the first time in the country. The model made its overseas debut at the 2021 Shanghai Internati

June 10, 2021

Preorders for Kia's EV6 in US fully booked in a day

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday presale orders for its first all-electric model, EV6, have been fully reserved in one day in the United States. Kia sold all of the 1,500 units of the EV6 First Edition in an online preorder event in the world's most important automobile market on Tuesday (US time), the company said in a statement. The EV6 First Edition is equipped with a 77.4 kilowatt-hour (KWh) battery, an augmented reality head-up display, remote parking assist

June 10, 2021

Korea eyes travel bubbles with Singapore, Guam, Saipan

South Korea said on Wednesday it will accelerate travel bubble talks with the likes of Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand to allow quarantine-free package tours for those who are fully vaccinated from as early as July. With only group tours allowed at the beginning, one or two flights will fly a week, carrying up to some 200 passengers once a travel bubble is formed, with plans to extend the scale of the travel scheme later, the Transport Ministry said. The move comes as the government is set to

June 9, 2021

Hyundai Motor chief wins 2021 Autocar Awards top accolade

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun won the 2021 Autocar Awards' top accolade, the Issigonis Trophy, for his contribution to the global automotive industry, the company said Wednesday. Named after legendary car designer Sir Alec Issigonis, the trophy is awarded by Autocar to an individual who has played a significant role in helping to shape the future of the auto industry. "Chung has overseen the Hyundai Motor Group, whose brands include Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, in transforming in

June 9, 2021

Jeju Air resumes flights to Saipan amid vaccination drive

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier by sales, said Tuesday it has resumed flights to Saipan in a preemptive measure to absorb post-coronavirus travel demand. Jeju Air started to provide one flight a week on the Incheon-Saipan route on the day following permission from the transport ministry, a company spokesman said over the phone. "We expect most of the initial passengers to be businessmen, Koreans residing overseas and their family members. But pent-up demand for travel (

June 8, 2021

Signs of hope for air travel as vaccination speeds up in Korea

Hopes for air travel recovery are starting to coalesce around the vaccine rollout in South Korea, as booking sites and airlines prepare for a surge in travel demand. E-commerce platform WeMakePrice said Monday that bookings for international flights jumped 442 percent between May 27 and June 2 – the week when the government’s leftover vaccine appointments began. “With main travel destinations lifting quarantine requirements for vaccinated travelers and South Korean airlines r

June 7, 2021