Hyundai, Kia log decent sales in European countries in July

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. saw their sales rise more than 8 percent in five European countries last month, driven by its diversified product portfolio, despite Britain's vote in late June to exit the European Union, industry sources said Thursday.The corporate duo sold a combined 50,069 units in the five key markets -- Germany, Britain, Italy, France and Spain -- last month, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the sources

Aug. 11, 2016

Samsung leads local car infotainment industry, lags behind global competitors

South Korea's tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. has been ranked the top among its local peers in terms of infotainment technologies but still lags behind other global competitors that include foreign automakers, a report showed Wednesday.According to the report from U.S.-based market information firm IP Watchdog, the South Korean firm owned 3.9 percent of all infotainment-related patents registered in the U.S.The figure marks the largest share owned by any single South Korean company but is the

Aug. 10, 2016

BMW Korea to recall nearly 12,000 cars in Korea for defective baby seat latch

BMW Korea, the local importer and distributor of the luxury German brand, will recall nearly 12,000 BMW cars sold here for a faulty baby seat latch that might break under repeated stress, the transportation ministry said Wednesday.The recall affects 11,968 BMW cars of 11 vehicle models, including 8,233 units of the BMW X3 xDrive20d crossover SUV, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.The car's ISOFIX baby seat latch may become detached from the car due to a welding defe

Aug. 10, 2016

Chief of Audi Volkswagen Korea to be summoned this week

State prosecutors on Tuesday said the local chief of German carmaker Volkswagen will be summoned this week so he can be questioned on irregularities committed by the automaker in South Korea.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said Johannes Thammer will be summoned Thursday on charges of fabricating reports on noise level, fuel efficiency and emissions results to obtain approval from local authorities.Prosecutors said they will also grill Thammer, who has been in charge of the vehicle

Aug. 9, 2016

Hyundai should boost EVs for China, analysts say

Korean automakers should push EV cars in China amid declining sales in the world’s largest car market, analysts said on Tuesday. The combined market share of Korean carmakers in China -- namely Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors -- declined to 7.3 percent in the first half of this year from 9 percent in 2014, while Chinese makers saw their share surge to more than 42 percent. Industry watchers said Korean automakers may further lose its share in the mid- to long-term in China if they fail to gain the

Aug. 9, 2016

Korea begins development of test bed for self-driving cars

South Korea has launched its project to develop a new test bed for self-driving cars that will also include the development of new technologies to test autonomous cars, the government said Tuesday.The new test bed, called the K-city, will be built around the Korea Transportation Safety Authority's existing proving ground in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.A ceremony marking the start of the 18.8 billion-won ($17 million) project was he

Aug. 9, 2016

Car exports shrink for ninth consecutive month in July

South Korea's automobile exports retreated for nine months in a row in July due largely to contracted global demand and partial strikes in local carmakers, the government said Tuesday.Outbound shipments of vehicles came to 219,982 units last month, down 16.9 percent from 258,536 units tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The July figure widened from a 13.9 percent on-year drop in June and a 12.4 percent fall in May. The figure was 19.7 percent in April,

Aug. 9, 2016

Hyundai, Kia ranked in top tier in China's customer service index

South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp.continued to receive high marks for their customer service in China this year, a survey showed Tuesday, while rapid advances by local competitors caused some concerns.In an annual survey conducted by U.S. marketing information service firm J.D. Power, Beijing Hyundai, a joint venture of Hyundai Motor, received the third highest mark of 786 points out of possible 1,000 for its customer services, down one n

Aug. 9, 2016

Ticket Monster sells Jaguars on online mall

Ticket Monster, South Korea's major e-commerce site, said Monday it started sales of British luxury car brand Jaguar, marking the first time for new cars to be sold on a local online shopping mall. Ticket Monster put on sales of 20 Jaguar XE Portfolios and R-Sports on Monday morning, marking them down 7 million won ($6,317) from the regular retail prices to 48.1 million won and 46 million won, respectively. The two models were sold out in three hours, the company said. Ticket Monster said it cou

Aug. 9, 2016

[Photo News] Graduation day

A senior education ministry official of the Malawian government presents a graduation certificate to a student who attended Green Light school operated by South Korean carmaker Kia Motors in Lilongwe, the capital of the southeastern African country, on Aug. 4. The graduation ceremony was held with Kia Motors officials attending during their week-long volunteer trip to the country last week. The carmaker operates Green Light projects to provide educational opportunities for children and their fam

Aug. 8, 2016

Sales of OEM vehicles plunge in July

Vehicles produced in other countries and sold here by South Korea-based automakers dropped sharply from a year earlier last month amid advances by their local competitors, industry data showed Monday.In July, Renault Samsung Motors Co., the local unit of French automaker Renault S.A., sold 1,066 units of the QM3 crossover SUV, down 55.5 percent from the same month last year, according to the data.QM3 cars are imported to South Korea after being produced overseas through the so-called original eq

Aug. 8, 2016

Volkswagen dealers bite the dust amid emission scandal

Inside a sprawling three-story Volkswagen showroom in the affluent Gangnam area of Seoul, just two cars - the CC 2.0 TSI and Touareg - were on display. These are the only two cars that were permitted to be sold here following a government sales ban and decertification move that affected a wide array of Volkswagen cars.  Volkswagen showroom in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Investor)“We hardly have visitors these days,” one salesman at the dealership said, declining to be identified. “For now, these a

Aug. 7, 2016

Hyundai‘s Tucson is best-selling new car in Germany

South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor’s compact SUV model, the Tucson, was the best-selling car among 20 new models released in Germany in the first half of this year, data showed Friday. According to the German Association of the Automotive Industry,13,454 Tucsons have been sold in Germany since its debut in January. The average monthly sales of the Tucson were 2,242 units over the period, far surpassing Ford‘s Mustang with 556 and Italian carmaker Fiat’s Tipo with 337, the association said. Amo

Aug. 5, 2016

Hyundai chief calls for pioneering spirit

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo visited Kia Motors’ factory in Zilina, a city in northwestern Slovakia, during a visit to Europe, the company’s officials said Thursday. “Hyundai and Kia should overcome the uncertainty through global sales as we did grow by pioneering overseas markets,” Chung told employees at the factory.Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo visits Kia Motors’ factory in Slovakia. (Hyundai Motor)The factory in Slovakia, which currently produces Kia Motor’s vehi

Aug. 4, 2016

[News Analysis] Samsung seen sizing up smart car business

Samsung Electronics is a late starter in the already competitive smart car business, but recent moves suggest it is shifting its focus into the segment more quickly than expected.A Bloomberg report on Wednesday evening said that Samsung is in talks with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to purchase its auto-parts affiliate Magneti Marelli. The deal could be closed this year at more than $3 billion, it said quoting one of the people familiar with the matter.Samsung immediately reacted by saying that it w

Aug. 4, 2016

[Newsmaker] Tesla may have limited effect on Korean market

Despite anticipation that Tesla Motors might make inroads in South Korea this year, the American electric vehicle maker might fail to capture significant market share due to its high prices, industry watchers said Thursday. Tesla will reportedly open flagship stores in Korea, with one in shopping mall Starfield in Hanam, a southeastern satellite city of Seoul, and the other possibly in Gangnam, southern Seoul. “Tesla’s presence in Starfield Hanam is confirmed. It may open the store at the end of

Aug. 4, 2016

Old diesel cars to be restricted in Seoul starting next year

South Korea's environment ministry and the Seoul city government signed an agreement Thursday to implement restrictions on old diesel cars that have often been cited for generating fine dust.Under the new regulations, cars that were registered before 2005 and do not have fine dust reduction devices attached will be prohibited from operating in Seoul starting next year if they do not go through a general inspection or have failed to obtain approval.Vehicles that are ordered to take measures to lo

Aug. 4, 2016

Tesla Motor to open first dealership in Korea

Tesla Motors Inc., a U.S. electric vehicle producer, is set to open its first dealership in South Korea and possibly begin offering its globally famous electric car models to local customers before the end of the year, sources said Thursday.The U.S. automaker has agreed to open a shop in a new shopping mall in Hanam, just southeast of Seoul, which will open next month, according to officials from Shinsegae, a major retailer and owner of the new mall.Tesla and the South Korean retailer "have fina

Aug. 4, 2016

[Photo News] Hyundai Motor chairman Chung calls workers patriots

Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo (center) inspects the quality of the carmaker’s new compact sport utility vehicle Creta, during his visit to its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday. Chung encouraged the employees to persevere despite difficult market conditions, calling them “patriots.”  (Hyundai Motor)

Aug. 3, 2016

[Monitor] Imported car sales sink on Volkswagen scandal

Sales of imported cars in Korea dropped 2.6 percent on-year in the first half of this year mainly due to Volkswagen‘s emission-rigging scandal, industry data showed Wednesday. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 116,800 foreign brand cars were sold during that period.

Aug. 3, 2016