Greenpeace slams Hyundai Motor’s green car strategy

The Seoul branch of Greenpeace has slammed South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor, claiming that its green car strategy falls short of global movements on climate change.In a statement published on Friday, the nongovernment organization argued that Hyundai’s plans to raise both production and sales capacity of electric vehicles to 850,000 a year by 2025 accounts for only 10.3 percent of its 2018 sales. Despite the global efforts to curb carbon emissions, the carmaker is still producing diesel

Oct. 27, 2019

Hyundai unveils teaser images for face-lifted New Grandeur

Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled the new design and specifications of its premium flagship sedan Grandeur’s sixth-generation model.The drastic design changes of the New Grandeur model were highly anticipated as Hyundai recently adopted the concept of “sensuous sportiness,” focusing on making the car body longer and sleeker, aiming for futuristic automotive designs.  For the first time, Hyundai has applied an integrated-type front grill and head lamp design, decorating the

Oct. 24, 2019

Fully changed 8th generation New Audi A6 unveiled in Korea

Audi unveiled its bestselling premium business sedan A6’s fully changed version in South Korea on Wednesday.The all-wheel drive New Audi A6 comes in two trims: New Audi 45 TFSI Quattro and New Audi 45 TFSI Quattro Premium. Both models run on 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharger engines and use the seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission, producing 252 horsepower and a maximum 37.7 kilogram-meters torque. Audi said it has applied its new Audi design language, upgrading A6 with sportin

Oct. 23, 2019

Hyundai Mobis invests $50m in Velodyne for lidar development

Hyundai Mobis, a top-tier auto parts maker in South Korea, will invest $50 million in Velodyne, a leading lidar company based in California, to achieve its aim of mass producing level 3 autonomous driving lidar system in two years, the company said Wednesday.By forging the partnership, the two will collaborate on new lidar system supply by integrating Velodyne’s latest lidar sensors with Hyundai Mobis’ cognitive software, it said in a statement.Velodyne, founded by a US inventor Davi

Oct. 23, 2019

Posco chief visits Argentina to inspect lithium mining site

Posco’s chief visited Argentina to check on the ongoing construction of a demonstration plant that extracts lithium collected from a local salt lake last week, the company said Wednesday.Stressing the importance of the steelmaker’s operation in the South American country for its sustainable growth, Posco Chairman Choi Jeong-woo encouraged workers to complete the project safety and maintain the sound partnership with the community, the firm said.In an intermediate survey of lithium re

Oct. 23, 2019

Hyundai heir sees bright future in smart mobility, not just carmaking

While admitting that Hyundai Motor has made a relatively late entry into future mobility, the de facto leader of the world’s fifth-largest carmaker said Tuesday that he hopes to turn the company into a provider of related services that connect people’s physical distance.“It is clear that we are going to continue manufacturing cars. I believe that in the future, cars will take account for 50 percent share (by modes of transport), private air vehicle 30 percent and robotics 20 pe

Oct. 22, 2019

[Photo News] Mercedes-Benz's future mobility pavillion

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis speaks during the opening ceremony of EQ Future pavilion, which the German carmaker’s vision for future mobility, in Gangnam, southern Seoul, on Tuesday. Psillakis said the carmaker aims for sales of plug-in hybrids or all-electric vehicles to make up more than 50 percent share by 2030, starting with electrifying the whole portfolio by 2022.The EQ Future Pavilion, which will be open until mid-January next year, will display various mobility s

Oct. 22, 2019

BMW’s New Mini Clubman gets face-lift

BMW Group Korea unveiled Monday its premium compact car brand Mini’s face-lifted third generation New Mini Clubman, maintaining its distinctive style within the compact segment.The four-door compact wagon has gone through detailed changes, such as an expanded front grille and aerodynamically improved side mirror cap, but also keeps the Mini’s design heritage, such as the Union Jack-themed rear design, the automaker explained. For Cooper S and Cooper SD models, adaptive light-emitting

Oct. 21, 2019

Hyundai Motor invents self-driving tech using machine learning

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has developed the world’s first self-driving technology using AI-based machine learning, which detects the driver’s driving pattern and apply it to the smart cruise control system.In recent years, a host of carmakers have added advanced driver assistance systems to their models for safer and more convenient driving. One of the core technologies is adaptive cruise control, a function which makes a car slow down and speed up automatically to

Oct. 21, 2019

Mercedes-Benz Korea launches first pure EV

Mercedes-Benz Korea, local importer and distributor of the German luxury carmaker, said Monday that it has launched its first pure electric car under its green car brand EQ.The new Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 4MATIC made its global debut last year in Europe, and in March at the Seoul Motor Show.  For enhanced customer experience, the company also introduced premium charging services and has expanded charging networks.The new EQC is powered by an 80-kWh lithium-ion battery developed by Daimler sub

Oct. 21, 2019

South Korea’s eco-friendly car exports expand

South Korea’s export of eco-friendly cars mainly involving compact sport utility vehicles such as Hyundai Motor’s Kona and Niro have expanded significantly, government data showed Sunday.According to data compiled by the country’s Transport Ministry and Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, exports of eco-friendly vehicles including electric vehicles and hybrid cars increased 41.8 percent to 189,033 units from January to September, compared to a year ago.  In Septemb

Oct. 20, 2019

S. Korea's vehicle exports fall 4.8% in September

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 4.8 percent in September from a year earlier due to production losses caused by strikes at GM Korea Co., the trade ministry said Thursday. Five passenger and two commercial carmakers in South Korea shipped a combined 171,425 vehicles last month, down from 180,051 a year ago in terms of units, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. "GM Korea suffered over 15,000 units in production losses (in September) as its union went on strike f

Oct. 17, 2019

Hyundai Kona named best compact diesel SUV in Europe

Hyundai Motor said Thursday its compact vehicle Kona was named the best diesel SUV model in Europe by an auto magazine in Germany. 　The German publication Auto Bild conducted a comparative evaluation of four compact diesel SUVs currently sold in Europe -- Hyundai Motor’s Kona, Mazda’s CX-3, Ford’s EcoSport and Dacia’s Duster.  The four models were assessed across seven categories of body, powertrain, driving dynamic, connectivity, environment, driving comfort and cos

Oct. 17, 2019

GS Caltex to launch first H2 station in Seoul

GS Caltex, a local oil refiner that has a vast network for energy distribution here, will open its first hydrogen refilling station in Seoul at a retail outlet that also houses other sources of energy such as electricity, liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline.Calling it Total Energy Station, the planned station will be built on 3,300 square meters in Gangdong, southeastern Seoul, to provide all sorts of energy needed for ground transportation. It will start operation in December.The hydrogen refi

Oct. 15, 2019

Korea aims to become world’s No. 1 green car provider, first to commercialize autonomous driving

South Korea aims to become the world’s No. 1 green car provider and the first country to start commercial operations of autonomous driving in the next 10 years, the government said Tuesday. It will achieve the goal by promoting the convergence of industries, implementing policy support and injecting a combined 60 trillion won ($50 billion) from the private and public sectors. Highlighting the nation’s leadership in the areas of batteries, hydrogen, semiconductors and IT technology, P

Oct. 15, 2019

Benz joins mobility trend with new Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea

Daimler Mobility AG -- a subsidiary of Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes-Benz -- has established Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea to offer mobility solutions in Korea, the firm said Tuesday.The new entity by the mobility unit of the Daimler AG, which recently changed its name from Daimler Financial Services AG to Daimler Mobility AG, will focus on providing digitalized customer service and premium mobility products, MBMK said. MBMK will kick off in Korea with the launch of a premium long-term car rent

Oct. 15, 2019

Korando, perfect choice for modern families in Korea

Storage for strollers, golf clubs and boxes of groceries, spacious backseats and high-end safety features are increasingly becoming important factors to customers in Korea seeking vehicles that fit their family-oriented lifestyles.Rather than choosing sedans with better driving performance, a growing number of customers -- particularly those in their 30s and 40s -- are looking for mid-sized sport utility vehicles in consideration of fuel economy, passenger convenience and ease of use.According t

Oct. 14, 2019

[Photo News] THE AMG FAMILY

Dimitris Psillakis (left), CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Korea, and Mark Raine, vice president of product and marketing, pose for photos at a session held for the media to test the new Mercedes-AMG GT four-door coupe and E53 4MATIC+ at the AMG Racing Track in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Introducing the family of high-performance AMG vehicles, Psillakis said, “No matter which AMG model you choose, you will get a high-performance vehicle, which excites with powerful performa

Oct. 14, 2019

Hyundai hires ex-Audi CEO for US operations of Genesis

Hyundai Motor has hired a former chief executive officer of Audi’s US division as the head of its luxury segment Genesis’ operations in North America, signaling the carmaker’s drive to expand its market presence in the world’s second-largest auto market.Mark Del Rosso, who led operations of luxury brands Audi and Bentley for two decades, will take the CEO position of Genesis’ US operations. He will lead the sales and marketing strategy of the brand under the command

Oct. 13, 2019

Hyundai partners with US-based AI startup for digital map technology

Hyundai Motor’s open-innovation business has inked a partnership with US-based fleet management software company Netradyne to create digital maps necessary for autonomous driving technologies, Hyundai Motor America said Thursday. Hyundai Cradle, the automaker’s wholly owned venture capital arm, said its partnership and investment in Netradyne would help the firm build a high-definition map for level-three advanced driver assistance systems, according to Hyundai Motor America. Under t

Oct. 10, 2019