[Behind the Wheel] Tivoli Air returns for young outdoor enthusiasts

SsangYong Motor’s Tivoli Air returned again a year after its discontinuation to attract young outdoor enthusiasts in the wake of the pandemic. Tivoli, which was introduced as SsangYong’s first compact sport utility vehicle in 2016, was discontinued last year due to weak sales. However, as demand for small SUVs grows among young drivers for low-risk outdoor activities during the pandemic, Tivoli nimbly returned with more cargo space and greater cost efficiency. Tivoli should now

Nov. 8, 2020

Jeju Air, T’way Air resume flights to Tokyo

Budget airlines Jeju Air and T’way Air said on Friday they will be resuming flights between Incheon and Narita following the easing of travel restrictions between the two countries. From Nov. 21, Jeju Air will fly once a week on a Saturday from Incheon to Narita International Airport, nearly three months after the flight was suspended after a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. The Incheon-Osaka route, which had previously operated two times a day on weekdays, will also change to Frid

Nov. 6, 2020

Renault Samsung launches revamped QM6 with new design

Renault Samsung Motors said Friday it launched a revamped model of its bestselling sports utility vehicle QM6. The updated QM6 is the second face-lift for the SUV since June 2019, when it was first upgraded as the QM6 LPe, the country’s first LPG-powered SUV, and the premium trim Premiere. This time, major changes were made to the appearance, with a new chrome radiator grille, Quantum Wing, the automaker said.  “Since the first launch in 2016, QM6 has numerous records in

Nov. 6, 2020

GM Korea puts off investment in Bupyeong plant due to wage strike

GM Korea said Friday it would put off a plan to invest in its Bupyeong plant, which was scheduled for the production of next-generation global products, as workers’ strike continued.  GM Korea offered to invest about 215 billion won ($190 million) in its first plant in Bupyeong, which produces Chevrolet Trailblazer, during the 19th round of negotiations held last month. The automaker said it has already suffered a serious cash liquidity crisis due to production losses of more than 6

Nov. 6, 2020

GM Korea workers wage strike despite pandemic

While the automobile industry continues to face difficulties amid the pandemic, GM Korea’s labor union has decided to stage another three-day partial strike in protest against the management over wage and collective agreement negotiations, the automaker confirmed Thursday. The GM Korea branch of the hard-line umbrella labor union the Korean Metal Workers’ Union held a central committee meeting on the day to draw up guidelines for the struggle, including partial strikes. Accordin

Nov. 5, 2020

Budget carrier Jeju Air expected to receive W190b in state support

Jeju Air, South Korea's top low-cost carrier, is expected to receive some 190 billion won ($169 million) in state financial support, as the company seeks to overcome a pandemic-caused cash crunch, sources said Thursday. The main creditor, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, has conducted due diligence on Jeju Air and estimated it needs a capital injection of about 198 billion won, according to the sources. In May, South Korea launched a 40 trillion-won fund to provide financial aid to the count

Nov. 5, 2020

Korean Air Q3 losses deepen on virus impact

Korean Air Lines, South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses widened in the third quarter from a year earlier amid the pandemic. Net losses widened to 385.93 billion won ($343 million) in the three months that ended in September from 211.85 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. Korean Air has suspended most of its flights on international routes since March as travel demand dried up amid virus fears. Flights to Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris

Nov. 5, 2020

Renault Samsung sponsors ECCK’s fundraising race contest with Twizy

Renault Samsung Motors said Wednesday it had started a race contest with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea involving its electric vehicle Twizy, to encourage donations from ECCK member firms. The automaker said it is participating in the event hosted by the ECCK, as the main sponsor to provide five units of its ultracompact model, Twizy. For the four-day event, the five Twizy cars departed from Seoul and will stop at Daejeon and Daegu before arriving in Busan on Friday. The fundrai

Nov. 4, 2020

Hyundai’s US retail sales up 10% in October

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their retail sales rise in the US market last month, according to the automaker’s US units Wednesday. In the performance data released on the website of Hyundai Motor America, total sales in October recorded 57,395 units, up one percent from the same month last year. Retail sales reached 52,117 units, up 10 percent year-on-year. HMA said sales of sport utility vehicles, which accounted for 68 percent of total retail sales, increased 23 percent. Sales vo

Nov. 4, 2020

Hankook Tire supplies tires for Audi RS models

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's seventh-largest tiremaker by sales, said Wednesday it has been supplying tires for Audi RS models this year. Hankook Tire has supplied the high-performance Ventus S1 evo 3 and Winter i*cept evo2 tires for Audi's RS 7 Sportback sedan and RS6 Avante wagon since early this year, the company said in a statement. The company didn't provide an exact time frame for the supply deal or the value of the deal. The tiremaker has supplied original equipment

Nov. 4, 2020

Chung meets union, urges cooperation in crisis

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun met with the labor union for the first time since taking office. With both labor and management under new leadership, the automaker, which has long struggled with its militant union, now sees hope of stabilizing the relationship for the first time in 11 years. 　 Chung had a lunch meeting on Friday with Lee Sang-soo, head of the labor union, after President Moon Jae-in’s visits to Hyundai’s Ulsan production plants the same day, according to

Nov. 3, 2020

Jin Air becomes first South Korean budget airline to deliver cargo to US

Budget airline Jin Air said Monday that it has begun flying cargo to the United States as part of efforts to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. Though major South Korean airlines have resorted to cargo services to offset the impact of the virus in recent months, the sister airline of Korean Air is the first low-cost carrier in the country to deliver cargo to the US. On Sunday, Jin Air flew its B777-200ER passenger jet from Incheon to Los Angeles, carrying 23 tons of displays and other electronic

Nov. 2, 2020

Luc Donckerwolke appointed as chief creative officer at Hyundai Motor

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it has appointed Luc Donckerwolke to chief creative officer in charge of design-related communications for the Genesis brand, electric vehicle Ioniq and its fuel cell vehicles. Donckerwolke originally joined the South Korean automotive group in 2016, gradually overseeing design for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands as the chief design officer before resigning in March to focus on his health. He is returning to the group following temporary time away in which he t

Nov. 2, 2020

Han Sung Motor opens digital showroom to promote Mercedes-Benz cars

In the era of the “fourth industrial revolution,” digitalization is inevitable for businesses. In this vein, Han Sung Motor, an official Mercedes-Benz dealer, is presenting a digital pop-up store to promote the German-brand and its vision for digitalizing the automobile industry. On Friday, the auto dealer held a three-day showroom, dubbed Han Sung Digital Park in Coex, Seoul. There, the auto dealer displayed Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, the first electric vehicle for the automaker, and

Nov. 2, 2020

Jin Air begins cargo delivery to US amid pandemic

Jin Air Co., the budget carrier unit of Korean Air Lines Co., said Monday it has begun transporting cargo to the United States to survive the coronavirus pandemic. Jin Air has become the country's first low-cost carrier to deliver cargo to the US. Jin Air delivered 23 tons of displays and other high-end electronics on its B777-200ER passenger jet from Incheon to Los Angeles on Sunday, the company said in a statement. "The company is planning to deliver more value-added cargo to the US a

Nov. 2, 2020

[From the scene] Getting on a ‘flight to nowhere’

On a Saturday morning in October, an Asiana Airlines flight carrying 250 passengers took off at Incheon Airport in the midst of a pandemic. The destination? Nowhere, although it flew over Gangneung, Pohang, Gimhae and Jeju Island during the nearly two-hour flight. As odd as it may sound to those who dread the idea of going to the airport, the destination-less flights, or “flights to nowhere” have become a hit of some sort with avid flyers in 2020 -- a year when commercial flying ha

Nov. 1, 2020

Hyundai Mobis strengthens competitiveness of future car software

Since 2018, Hyundai Mobis has been operating the “Mobis Software Academy” that allows employees and researchers to complete specialized software training at a technical institute in Yongin City, a move to reinforce the firm’s software development capabilities. The biggest feature of the academy is to focus on convergence software processes specialized for autonomous driving, such as sensors and technologies for the vehicles’ “cognition,” “judgment,&ldq

Nov. 1, 2020

President Moon pledges W20tr investment in future mobility, tours Hyundai’s Ulsan plant

President Moon Jae-in visited Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan plant on Friday for a tour of its future automobile production sites and reaffirmed the government’s strong willingness to foster eco-friendly future cars, officials said. 　 Moon was accompanied by Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki and the ministers of industry, environment and transportation. At the production sites, Moon reaffirmed the government’s plans to invest more than 20

Oct. 30, 2020

Genesis unveils design for new SUV GV70

Hyundai Motor‘s premium brand Genesis revealed the design for its new luxury midsize SUV GV70 on Thursday, which is scheduled to hit the market later this year. With the model’s name inspired by the initials of the brand Genesis and its “versatility,” the carmaker said the mid-size SUV was built with an elegant finish and a dynamic design -- the brand’s design philosophy known as “athletic elegance” -- which will differentiate itself from its rivals.

Oct. 29, 2020

Volkswagen Korea aims to ‘democratize’ imported car market

Volkswagen Korea aims to “democratize” the imported vehicle market here with a robust lineup of eight models, the company said Thursday. Reiterating the goal the company announced in 2018, the automaker said it aimed to expand its vehicle portfolio in South Korea and offer them at reasonable prices to compete with Korean brand automobiles. With its popular sports utility vehicle Tiguan in lead, the automaker said its sales tripled in the first three quarters this year, compared

Oct. 29, 2020