Korean parts makers acquire plants in Hungary

Two South Korean auto parts companies have acquired plants in Hungary in a move to better supply their products to major customers, a trade promotion agency said Thursday.Shinheung SEC and Youngshin Components have recently wrapped up the process to separately acquire local manufacturing facilities near Hungary's capital city of Budapest to produce car battery and air conditioner compressor parts, respectively, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency KOTRA said in a statement.Hungary plant a

May 18, 2017

Hyundai to install partial self-driving features in all models

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s two leading automakers, plan to expand autonomous active safety features to low-end compact cars, a company official said Wednesday.“Active safety is thought of as the highest level in autonomous driving. It should not be limited to certain people. It should be applied to not only luxury cars also to low-end compact car models,” Lee Jin-woo, the head of Hyundai Motor’s Intelligent Safety Technology Center, said at a conference held to celebrate the 30t

May 17, 2017

SsangYong Motor reenters Saudi Arabia after a 4 year absence

SsangYong Motor Co., the South Korean unit of India's automaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said Wednesday it has reentered Saudi Arabia after a four-year absence, as part of its efforts to expand into the Middle East market.The sport utility vehicle-centered carmaker withdrew from the oil rich country in 2013 but the following year it began preparations to reenter it, a company spokesman said, without giving the reasons of the withdrawal.   (Yonhap)Four years ago, local dealerships reportedly sto

May 17, 2017

Hyundai, Kia sell more plug-in hybrid EVs overseas

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Wednesday they have sold more plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in overseas markets this year due to good consumer demand for the latest green cars.In the January-April period, Hyundai and its sister company Kia exported a combined 2,090 PHEVs mainly to advanced markets where ctomers' environmental awareness is relatively high compared with less developed countries, according to the companies' data.  A model poses w

May 17, 2017

Hyundai targets commercialization of electric bus next year

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, said Tuesday it will unveil a new bus fully powered by electricity this month with the aim of getting it on the streets in 2018.As the government plans to sharply increase the number of charging stations across the country in the coming years, Hyundai will field the emission-free bus in the domestic market, the caremaker said in a statement. "Previously, we launched two versions of the 'zero-emission' electric bus but it was not successful

May 16, 2017

Korea's auto exports jump 11.6% in April

South Korea's auto exports gained ground for three straight months in April on increased global demand, government data showed Tuesday.The total value of vehicles shipped overseas reached $3.89 billion last month, up 11.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The number of exported vehicles advanced 7 percent on-year to 242,416 units in April, a turnaround from a 4.7 percent drop the previous month.The trade ministry said a reco

May 16, 2017

Carmakers balk at Moon's pledges against diesel cars

Carmakers on Monday balked at President Moon Jae-in's pledges against diesel-powered vehicles, citing no alternatives to the fuel-efficient cars particularly for businesses. During the campaign, President Moon vowed to fully remove diesel-fueled vehicles from the street by 2030 to help sharply reduce air pollutants. He said his government will reduce fine dust emissions from diesel cars by more than 30 percent during his five-year term that began Wednesday.    (Yonhap)But automakers, at home and

May 15, 2017

India rises as lucrative market for Korean automakers

South Korea’s automotive companies are joining other global automakers in flocking to India, the world’s fifth-largest automobile producer, as they seek opportunities for growth.In a bid to foster sales there, Kia Motors, South Korea’s No. 2 automaker, recently shared plans to invest 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in India to build a factory that will produce localized SUVs during last month’s conference call.  (Yonhap)“India is a new cash cow for automakers. Compact SUVs are currently best-sel

May 15, 2017

Kia launches country's first SUV plug-in hybrid

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second largest carmaker by sales, on Monday launched the country's first plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle model.The Niro plug-in hybrid can travel up to 840 kilometers -- 40 kilometers on a single charge and 800 km on a combined gasoline-battery drive. The 1.6-liter engine model has 141 horsepower on tap and 27.0 kilogram-force meters of torque, the company said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The model is priced at 33 million won and 35 million won ($29,400-$31,100)

May 15, 2017

Korea EV sales soar in Q1 on prices, infrastructure

All-electric vehicle sales in South Korea posted a nearly ninefold jump in the first quarter on improving infrastructure and reasonable prices, industry associations said Monday. Carmakers sold a combined 1,729 electric vehicles in the January-March period, soaring from 193 a year earlier, according to data offered by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.  (Yonhap)South Korea's electric car market looks pale before three b

May 15, 2017

Korean companies make progress in autonomous driving tech

South Korean companies in various industries are speeding up development of self-driving systems to gain a foothold in the lucrative sector.SK Telecom, South Korea’s top mobile carrier, is the latest, announcing Sunday plans to initiate a pilot run of autonomous driving using its high-definition 3-D maps within this year.It has signed a business agreement on self-driving with US-based graphics chip maker Nvidia, and has begun development of the map system, the company said. The HD 3-D maps are a

May 14, 2017

Hyundai, Kia Motor accept forced recall

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s leading two automotive companies, announced they will comply with a forced recall ordered by the government, the companies said Friday.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has ordered the recall of some 240,000 vehicles across 12 models, including Hyundai Motor’s luxury Gensis and Equus sedans and best-selling Avante compact sedans due to faulty auto parts and manufacturing defects.  (Yonhap)“Our company has explained the five cases, whic

May 12, 2017

Audi Volkswagen's Tiguan recall goes smoothly: sources

Audi Volkswagen's recall of its Tiguan compact SUV in South Korea has been going without a hitch with the recall rate reaching more than 30 percent for the first three months, industry sources said Friday.In January, the Seoul government allowed Audi Volkswagen Korea, the local importer and distributor of the German brands, to recall some 27,000 Volkswagen Tiguan cars sold here for fabricating test results of emissions, noise and fuel efficiency. (Yonhap)As of May 6, Audi Volkswagen Korea recall

May 12, 2017

Hyundai to support global sales network with new cars: vice chairman

The vice chairman and heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's leading carmaker, on Thursday told the company's global salespeople that the company will churn out new vehicles and make necessary investments in technologies that will make it more competitive.On the second day of the 2017 Global Distributors Convention being held from Wednesday through Saturday in Seoul and Jeju Island, Chung Eui-sun stressed, "We will continue to support our sales networks and people by delivering new te

May 11, 2017

Kia begins taking orders for Stinger sports car in domestic market

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, on Thursday began taking pre-orders for its much-awaited sports car, with domestic sales due to start late next month.The maker of the K5 midsize sedan and the Sorento sport-utility vehicle has unveiled the prices and features of its first vehicle that will carry an independent Stinger badge without the KIA logo.  (Yonhap)The Stinger comes in three engines -- a 2.0 turbo, a 3.3 twin-turbo, and a 2.2 diesel engine -- all mated to a

May 11, 2017

Moon Jae-in expected to ease rules on LPG cars

The new Moon Jae-in administration is likely to deregulate liquefied petroleum gas for motors, as he has vowed to remove diesel vehicles from roads by 2030, industry insiders said Thursday. Besides Moon, other presidential candidates had also been supportive of deregulating LPG cars on the grounds they produce one-thirtieth of the ultrafine dust produced by diesel vehicles.  (Yonhap)“South Korean citizens are suffering from various health-related problems due to high levels of fine dust. Vehicle

May 11, 2017

Traditional bestsellers retaining sales lead in local car market

Traditional bestsellers are leading car sales so far this year, data showed Thursday, although the performance suggests their superiority may be weakening.Kia Motors Corp.'s Morning and Hyundai Motor Co.'s Avante and Sonata, all top sellers in their classes, all stayed ahead of rivals in terms of sales for the January-April period.  (Yonhap)The Morning, a small city car, sold 23,478 units up till last month, outpacing the Spark from GM Korea which sold 16,330 units.The Spark's sales fell 38.6 pe

May 11, 2017

SUVs leading Renault Samsung's exports

Sport utility vehicles accounted for 94 percent of Renault Samsung Motors Corp's exports so far this year, with potential for more growth down the line, the company said Thursday.Of 53,904 units shipped by the South Korean unit of French carmaker Renault S.A. in the January-April period, 94.1 percent, or 50,791 units, were SUVs, the company said. The Nissan Rogue accounted for 72.3 percent of the exports and the QM6 for 21.9 percent. QM6 from Renault Samsung(Yonhap)Exports of mid-sized sedans SM

May 11, 2017

Kia adds more safety features to upgraded K9 model

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, said Wednesday it added more safety features to the upgraded K9 flagship sedan to reflect the latest demands by consumers. Kia Motors has adopted a blind-spot warning system as standard for its K9 models and an "around-the-view" monitoring system as an option, the company said in a statement. Kia K9 flagship sedan (Kia Motors)Three versions of the upgraded K9 are available in the domestic market. They come with 3.3, 3.8 and 5.0-li

May 10, 2017

Imported auto sales spike 12% in April on Japan, Europe models

Sales of imported vehicles in South Korea rose 12 percent last month from a year earlier on robust sales of Japanese and European models, industry data showed Wednesday. The number of newly registered foreign cars climbed to 20,051 in April from 17,845 a year earlier, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said in a statement.  (Yonhap)Sales of Japanese vehicles jumped 15 percent last month compared to a year earlier, with European car sales up 10 percent over the cited peri

May 10, 2017