BMW Korea fined for overstating fuel efficiency

The government fined BMW Korea, the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, 102 million won ($90,273) and ordered it to recall 3,465 vehicles for reporting better fuel efficiency than the one measured by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the ministry said Tuesday. The recall affects the Mini Cooper D 5-door hatchback made between July 2014 and October 2016.BMW Korea, the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, is fined 120 million won ($106,420) and ordered to recall 3,465

May 2, 2017

Kia launches Soul EV with extended range

Kia Motors Corp. on Tuesday launched the latest version of the Soul electric vehicle with an extended range, a move aimed at adding more fuel-efficient models to its lineup.The 2018 Soul EV can travel an average of 180 kilometers on a single charge using its 30-kilowatt-per-hour battery, higher than the previous version's 148 km range, the company said in a statement.  Kia's 2018 Soul EV (Kia Motors)The all-electric Soul boxcar can run 152 km per charge on the highway and 202 km in downtown driv

May 2, 2017

Govt. approves pilot run of Samsung's self-driving car

South Korea's land ministry said Monday it has approved a test run of Samsung Electronics Co.'s self-driving car currently under development based on deep-learning technology.The approval made by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will allow Samsung to test run the self-driving car on actual roads.Samsung Electronics plans to develop top-of-the-line sensors and computer modules backed by artificial intelligence and the deep-learning technologies to improve cars' self-driving capa

May 1, 2017

Benz Korea aims to sell over 60,000 units this year

Mercedes-Benz aims to sell a record high of over 60,000 units in South Korea this year, posting double-digit sales growth for a second consecutive year, the head of the company's local unit has said.In the first quarter of the year, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold a total of 19,119 units, raising hopes that it could far exceed last year's annual sales.In 2016, sales of Mercedes Benz Korea came to 56,343 cars, spiking 19.9 percent from a year earlier, while annual sales of all imported vehicles dropped

May 1, 2017

Sales of OEM cars plunge 58% in Q1

Sales numbers of vehicles produced overseas and sold here by local manufacturers shrank greatly in the first quarter of the year from a year earlier, data showed Thursday, apparently due to advances by local competitors.Sales of the so-called OEM cars came to 3,171 units in the January-March period, sharply down 57.7 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association.  The QM3 small SUV by Renault Samsung Motors Co., the South

May 1, 2017

Amid South Korea’s SUV boom, local automakers seek momentum

SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra, launched a premium large-size SUV dubbed the G4 Rexton last week, seeking to cement the company as an automaker that specializes in SUVs. Competition in the local SUV market will further heat up as Hyundai Motor is slated to launch its first small-size SUV, the Kona, this summer. “Local and foreign automakers are rolling out a wide range of SUVs on rising demand. The launch of SUVs, however, hold greater meaning for l

April 30, 2017

LPG vehicles decrease by 90,000 in 2016: data

The number of liquefied petroleum gas vehicles registered in South Korea dropped by 90,000 last year mainly due to price hikes for fuel and the lack of new models made by local carmakers, industry data showed Sunday.According to the auto industry and transport ministry, there were 2.18 million LPG powered vehicles in the country as of late 2016, down 90,547 from the previous year. The number of cars that run on the relatively "clean" fuel source made up 10 percent of all vehicles in the country.

April 30, 2017

Hyundai unveils more details of Kona crossover ahead of launch this summer

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Friday unveiled more details of its all-new Kona crossover set to be launched in the domestic market this summer.In its second teaser image, the carmaker has given customers a peep into the exterior designs of the new sport utility vehicle.  The second teaser image of Hyundai's Kona SUV (Hyundai Motor)The front part of the Kona SUV features an evolved family look with a wider front hexagonal grille (also known as a cascading grille)

April 28, 2017

Hyundai bets on rising demand in emerging markets amid THAAD row

Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's top automotive conglomerate, is betting that rising demand in emerging markets will offset sales declines in China amid a row over the deployment of an anti-missile system, corporate sources said Friday.Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. plan to launch new and localized models in emerging markets such as Russia, Brazil and the Middle East as they don't expect their vehicle sales in China to rebound anytime soon, insiders said.  (Yonhap)In the

April 28, 2017

SsangYong Motor swings to loss in Q1 on currency

SsangYong Motor Co., a South Korean unit of Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., shifted to a net loss in the first quarter from a year earlier due to hefty currency losses, the company said Friday.SsangYong Motor swung to a net loss of 13.9 billion won for the three months ending March 31, from a net profit of 2.3 billion won a year earlier, SsangYong said in a statement.  SsangYong Motor's G4 Rexton SUV (SsangYong Motor)"The won's strength against the dollar and increased costs cut into t

April 28, 2017

Kia Motors to invest $1.1b in Indian factory

Kia Motors, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian government on the construction of its fifth overseas factory in India’s southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, the company said Thursday.“Through the construction of a factory in India, Kia Motors will pioneer India’s auto market, which is under the spotlight as the next growth market. We will also solidify the company’s future competitiveness on a thorough localization strategy,” the company

April 27, 2017

Hyundai cuts prices for i40 models to boost sales

Hyundai Motor Co., the country's largest carmaker by sales, has cut the prices for its i40 models to boost sales amid a prolonged economic slowdown, the company said Thursday. For this year's models, Hyundai Motor said in a statement that the prices of the i40 wagon and i40 sedan have been slashed by up to 1 million won ($880) starting Thursday. Hyundai i40 wagon (Yonhap file photo)After the price cuts, the 2.0-liter gasoline-powered i40 wagon and sedan are selling at 24.2 million won to 26.6 mi

April 27, 2017

Audi Korea, Nissan Korea to recall some 7,000 vehicles

Audi Volkswagen Korea and Nissan Korea have been ordered to recall 7,137 units across seven models due to manufacturing defects, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Thursday. The recall affects 4,005 Audi automobiles across five models, including the A4 2.0 TFSI Quattro sedan, on grounds a malfunctioning auxiliary coolant pump may overheat and catch fire, the ministry said.(Yonhap)Nissan Korea will also recall 3,117 units of the Qashqai SUV and 15 units of the Murano SUV. Fri

April 27, 2017

Kia Q1 net plunge 19% on weak demand in China, US

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-largest carmaker by sales, posted a 19 percent on-year drop in its first-quarter net profit due to weak demand in China and the United States, the company said Thursday.Net profit for the three months that ended on March 31 plunged to 765.4 billion won ($678 million) from 944.5 billion won a year earlier, Kia said in a regulatory filing.(Yonhap)"Vehicle sales in China fell sharply due to worsening consumer sentiment in the wake of Seoul's decision to deploy

April 27, 2017

Hyundai Motor Q1 net plunges 21% on weak China sales

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's biggest carmaker by sales, on Wednesday posted a 21 percent drop in first-quarter net profit due to weak sales in China and emerging markets.For the three months that ended March 31, the company's net stood at 1.4 trillion won ($1.3 billion) from 1.77 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. (Yonhap)"Sharp sales declines in China and some Asian and Middle Eastern markets had an impact on the quarterly bottom line despite rises in such

April 26, 2017

Hyundai ordered to recall Sonata sedans

The transport ministry said Wednesday it had notified Hyundai Motor Co. of its decision to have the carmaker recall tens of thousands of its Sonata sedans for parking brake light problems.The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport made the decision after reviewing five cases of suspected faulty parts in the Sonata midsize sedan, the i30 hatchback and the Avante compact, a ministry official said. Hyundai's Sonata sedan (Yonhap)A former Hyundai employee tipped off the ministry about possib

April 26, 2017

Korea's passenger car exports dip 2.7% in Q1

Exports of South Korea-made passenger cars dropped 2.7 percent in the first quarter of this year due mainly to increased production in overseas factories, customs data showed Wednesday.The total value of passenger car exports reached $8.7 billion over the January-March period, down from $8.9 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service. (Yonhap)Those of imports also sank 16.3 percent on-year to $1.8 billion from $2.1 billion over the cited period.From three

April 26, 2017

Tesla plans 14 supercharger stations in Korea this year

US electric carmaker Tesla Motors Inc. said on Tuesday it will set up 14 rapid-charging stations in South Korea this year.In its webpage, the 14 supercharger sites include five in Seoul, one in Bundang, just south of the capital city, and seven in major cities such as Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Jeju Island.   This photo taken on March 17, 2017, shows the Model S displayed in Tesla's showroom in Cheongdam-dong in southern Seoul. (Yonhap)Fast chargers are able to provide 80 percent of battery capac

April 25, 2017

Kia unveils high-performance features of Stinger sports sedan

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, on Tuesday unveiled the high-performance features of its Stinger sports sedan ahead of the planned launch next month.The car will be domestically available in three trims fitted with a 2.0 twin-turbo, a 3.3 twin-turbo, and a 2.2 diesel engine all mated to eight-speed automatic gear box, the company said. The 3.3 turbo with 370 horsepower on tap and 52.0 kilogram-force meter of torque can push the car from naught to 100 kilometers

April 25, 2017

Nissan smartens up with Maxima

Nissan Korea, the local unit of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor, highlighted the “intelligent mobility” of its flagship luxury sedan Maxima to give a boost to the brand’s image, according to the company Tuesday.Maxima’s intelligent mobility can be broken into three categories: driving, power and integration. Nissan Korea’s Maxima. (Nissan Korea)The automaker introduced the concept with an aim to revolutionize the future of automobile technology, the company said.Intelligent driving refers to saf

April 25, 2017