Kia Motors unveils small SUV Stonic in Europe

Kia Motors’ small SUV Stonic is unveiled in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Hyundai Motor GroupKia Motors, South Korea’s No. 2 automotive company, has unveiled the small sport utility vehicle Stonic in Europe, the company said Wednesday.“In Europe 1 in 10 vehicles sold will be SUVs in the B-segment, which the Stonic is part of, by 2020,” said Michael Cole, the chief operating officer of Kia Motors Europe, at a media preview in Amsterdam.“The new SUV Stonic was created on Kia Motors’ quality, design

June 21, 2017

Tesla Korea begins deliveries of Model S 90D

Tesla Korea, a wholly-owned unit of the US-based electric car giant, on Tuesday started deliveries of its flagship Model S 90D cars, the company said.Owners of Tesla cars are now able to use autopilot, which consists of an advanced emergency braking system and a forward collision warning system, the company said.LTE network service for drivers is offered for free, replacing the 3G network it previously offered, the company said.In line with the deliveries, Tesla Korea has secured four high-speed

June 21, 2017

[Monitor] Fruit price hit highest in 4 years

 The price of major fruits sold in South Korea has hit the highest level in four years last month, data showed Tuesday. According to the data compiled by Statistics Korea, the price index of 15 major fruits including apples, pears, grapes, strawberries and tangerines, surged to 118.15 in May, the highest since May 2013, when the figure stood at 118.18.

June 20, 2017

Hyundai begins production of Kona SUV

ULSAN, South Korea (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it has begun production of its all-new subcompact Kona SUV, a move to bolster its lackluster sales in global markets.The country's biggest carmaker by sales said production began on Monday at its plants in Ulsan, 414 kilometers southeast of Seoul, less than a week after the official unveiling. It aims to sell 26,000 units domestically and export 41,000 units this year.  Hyundai has added the subcompact SUV to its lineup to take a

June 20, 2017

Hyundai Ioniq EV sales on rise in US

The demand for Hyundai Motor Co.'s all-electric Ioniq is steadily rising in the United States following its launch in March, industry sales data showed Tuesday. Hyundai Motor sold only 75 pure-electric Ioniqs in the world's most important market in May. But they jumped from five in March and 19 in April, numbers by US car sales provider hybridcars.com said.The sales figure accounted for 0.93 percent of the US all-electric car market last month when the Tesla Model X and Model S ranked first and

June 20, 2017

Hyundai to unveil GV80 concept version in Korea

Hyundai Motor Co. said Monday it will hold a three-week-long showcase event to unveil its luxury fuel cell concept sport utility vehicle, the GV80, in South Korea.In the showcase that will last through July 9 at its Genesis Studio in Hanam, just east of Seoul, visitors will be able to take a look at the GV80 SUV which is powered by electricity and a hydrogen fuel cell and experience the emissions-free vehicle, a Hyundai spokesman said.  Hyundai Motor`s luxury GV80 concept SUV (Hyundai Motor/Yonh

June 19, 2017

Hyundai Motor faces class action lawsuit in US over steering defect

Hyundai Motor America, the US affiliate of South Korea’s No.1 automaker, has been sued by two owners of Hyundai vehicles in the US over a defective steering system posing major safety risks, according to local reports Monday.Law 360, a US-based legal news service, reported a class action lawsuit has been filed against the automotive company in the US District Court for the Central District of California for concealing the faulty steering system installed in Hyundai’s subcompact car Accent and be

June 19, 2017

[Monitor] Auto sales in China

‘Korean carmakers’ plummeting sales in China possibly due to lack of competitiveness, not THAAD’ The lack of competitiveness of Korean carmakers may be the cause of their plummeting sales in China, not the diplomatic row over Seoul’s decision to deploy an US anti-missile system here, a study showed Sunday.According to the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, Korean carmakers saw their sales in the world’s largest auto market plunging 65.1 percent on-year both in April and May, mor

June 18, 2017

[Behind the Wheel] SsangYong’s G4 Rexton stronger, lighter, smarter

SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, has unveiled a stronger, tougher and lighter full-size SUV, dubbed the G4 Rexton.Members of the media had the opportunity to take the top heritage trim of the model out for a 124-kilometer test drive from the MVL Hotel in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province to Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province.Before the test drive, SsangYong Motor highlighted on the new quad-frame car body applied to boost safety and lighten the vehicle.SsangYong

June 18, 2017

Hyundai, Kia Motors host R&D event with partners

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors on Wednesday held an event to recognize their partner companies, an annual program that they hope will boost research and development efforts, the companies said Wednesday. “We must accelerate the creation of high quality products and technologies to survive in the highly competitive future car development,” Yang Woong-chul, vice chairman of the R&D center for Hyundai and Kia Motors, said at the 2017 R&D Tech Day held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The event has bee

June 14, 2017

Hyundai Motor to provide 110 cars for AIIB meeting

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Wednesday that it will help the upcoming annual conference of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank by providing 110 transport vehicles.The second annual meeting of AIIB's board of governors is slated to be held on the country's southern resort island of Jeju from Friday to Sunday under the theme of "sustainable infrastructure," bringing together some 2,000 officials and businessmen from 77 countries, including finance ministers and central b

June 14, 2017

Automakers poised to wage war over small SUVs

Automakers in South Korea are expected to vie fiercely for a bigger slice of the market for subcompact sport utility vehicles following Hyundai Motor Co.'s entry into the fast-growing segment, analysts said Wednesday.In an extravagant rollout in Seoul, South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai unveiled its first subcompact SUV Kona in an effort to bolster its SUV lineup amid growing demand for recreational vehicles.  Hyundai's move comes amid surging sales of subcompact SUVs in the country, led by

June 14, 2017

Hyundai’s new Kona to fuel small SUV boom

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, on Tuesday held a world premiere of its first-ever small sports utility vehicle Kona, fueling further competition among automakers amid a worldwide boom in B-segment SUVs.“Hyundai Motor tried to create a value unique to the Kona that encompasses optimal technology and passion (based) on thorough market research, rather than rushing into the market,” said Chung Eui-sun, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, at the world premiere event held at

June 13, 2017

Hyundai, Kia to carry out recall of 238,321 units

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s top two automotive companies, will carry out recalls of 238,321 cars across 12 models, the government said Monday.The automakers submitted their recall plans to the ministry last week and shared the plans to carry out the recalls.The automakers‘ latest action came after the forced recall order from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport last month due to five cases of defects being found. (Yonhap)The concerned models are: Hyundai’s luxury G

June 12, 2017

GM Korea adds Trax SUV to boost sales

GM Korea Co. on Monday added upgraded versions of the compact Trax sport-utility vehicle to its lineup to boost lackluster sales here.The South Korean unit of General Motors Co. has begun to take preorders of the 1.4-liter gasoline turbo-engine Trax SUV with a six-speed manual gearbox and the 1.6-liter diesel-powered model, GM Korea said in a statement.  (GM Korea)The manual-based model has been added to offer the "fun of driving" to its customers who prefer recreational vehicles, the company sa

June 12, 2017

[Behind the Wheel] Tesla Model S : Is tech becoming new luxury?

When looking at the Tesla Model S displayed at its flagship store in Seoul’s posh district of Cheongdam-dong, it feels like you are being offered a glimpse of the future. A Tesla Model S is being charged through a Supercharger installed at the underground floor of Grand InterContinental Hotel in Samsung-dong, southern Seoul. A 30-minute charge allows approximately 270 kilometers of driving. (Yonhap)Its door handles pop out automatically as if the vehicle had been waiting for you to drive it. The

June 11, 2017

Hyundai, Kia take hit in China as Japanese carmakers reap benefits of THAAD row

The diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of the US anti-missile system in the country that hurt sales of South Korean cars in China has benefited Japanese automakers, data showed Sunday.Numbers provided by local carmakers and the China Passenger Car Association showed that from March to May of this year, sales of vehicles made by Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. reached 175,576 units, down 60.8 percent from 447,420 cars sold a year earlier. South

June 11, 2017

Number of import vehicles in corporate car fleet falls to record-low levels

The number of imported vehicles in South Korea's corporate car fleet has fallen to record-low levels this year after the government enforced stricter rules on non-business use, industry data showed Sunday.According to data provided by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the percentage of imported cars newly registered with companies in the January-May period stood at 34.5 percent. (Yonhap)"Of the 94,397 vehicles imported, 32,581 were bought by companies in the five-month

June 11, 2017

Kumho chairman complicates sales of Kumho Tire with new terms

Amid prolonged sales of South Korea‘s second-largest tiremaker Kumho Tire, Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo has further complicated the process by pitching new terms.Kumho Industrial, the de facto holding company of Kumho Asiana Group, has officially approved Double Star, a Chinese state-run tiremaker and preferred bidder, to use the Kumho Tire trademark for 20 years and in return has suggested changes to the contract, the company said Friday.  Asiana Group Chairman Park Sam-koo (Yonhap)New te

June 9, 2017