Kia Motors Corp., South Korea second largest carmaker, has launched the small-medium K2 sedan in China. Kia’s compact sedan K2. (Yonhap News)More than 500 prominent figures, including Chinese government officials and executives from Hyundai Automotive Group, attended the function in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on July 20.Kia officials said K2 is a compact car strategically designed for Chinese cust

July 24, 2011

Jean-Marie Hurtiger, the outgoing CEO of Renault Samsung Motors Co., expressed satisfaction over the achievements in his nearly six-year reign and urged the company to continue localizing automotive components. Jean-Marie HurtigerIn his final official interview as chief, Hurtiger said he is proud to have renewed all of RSM’s vehicles, including the SM3, SM5, SM7 and QM5, as well as leading its cus

July 24, 2011

Kia Motors Corp., the nation’s second-largest carmaker, is increasingly betting on cutting-edge design to expand its market share, and the effort is showing off.Kia vehicles were taking over the first ever Automotive Brand Contest organized by the German Design Council in the past week. It was the winner in four categories. It was ranked “Best of the Best” after the compact Sportage SUV, Rio and a

July 24, 2011

Porsche AG may develop a supercar positioned higher than the 911 GT2 RS to broaden its line-up and sustain growth as orders cool from record deliveries last year. The car could be combined with additional variants of the Cayman and Boxster as well as extended-wheelbase and convertible versions of the Panamera four-door coupe, Bernhard Maier, Porsche’s sales chief, said in an interview. It would ai

July 24, 2011

Riding on solid demand from Europe, Renault Samsung Motors Co., exported a record 70,914 cars in the first half of this year, the company said last week. Renault Samsung is the Korean unit of French automaker Renault SA. Renault Samsung CEO Jean-Marie HurtigerThe figure the carmaker unveiled surpassed the previous high of 50,160 units tallied in the first six months of 2010, with the latest surge

July 17, 2011

 Renault Samsung challenges Hyundai’s dominance with fully revamped premium sedanNAMHAE, South Gyeongsang Province ― Tagging Hyundai Motor’s Grandeur as the sole leader of the mid-sized sedan market is about to get presumptuous with new premium sedans from Renault Samsung and GM Korea. Throughout the years, the Grandeur has dominated the segment and outsold Renault Samsung’s SM7 and GM’s Alpheon.

July 17, 2011

Ssangyong Motor CEO Lee Yoo-il (right) poses with Mahindra and Mahindra CFO Bharat Doshi (center) and the Indian firm’s president for automotive and farm sector Pawan Goenka at a press conference in Seoul last March. (Ssangyong Motor Co.)Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the majority shareholder of Ssangyong Motor, has continued to reiterate that it would invest in the automaker on a long-term basis devel

July 11, 2011

The new Chairman WCompany offers unprecedented seven-year care service plan to customersSsangyong Motor Co., which launched the new Chairman W in the local market last week, is to provide consumers with a long-period guarantee service.The service, dubbed “W Promise 715 program,” offers customers free-of-charge car inspections for seven years, the automaker said in a statement on Monday.Customers

July 11, 2011

A General Motors Co. Chevrolet Volt electric vehicle is taken for a test drive through the Presidio in San Francisco, California (Bloomberg)Nissan Motor Co., General Motors Co. and other makers of electric and hybrid vehicles will be required by U.S. safety regulators to install warning systems that will automatically sound alerts to pedestrians. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administra

July 10, 2011

Mike Arcamone, CEO and President of GM Korea (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)The race is on. GM Korea, the nation’s No.3 carmaker, is out to challenge its big-time rival Hyundai Motor Co. by betting big on superior quality and designs.“We’re going to challenge. We’re going to challenge our competition in all the segments, but in particular in areas where we have not competed before,” Mike Arcamone, CEO

July 10, 2011

(Yonhap News) Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of German automaker Volkswagen AG, introduced the latest version of its Touareg crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) in South Korea on Monday.   The mid-size model has a wider wheelbase compared to the older model but its weight has been brought down by a maximum 201 kilograms. It also comes with an eight-gear automatic transmission, a first for

July 4, 2011

                                                                     Honda AccordHonda Korea is offering special deals for the Accord mid-sized sedan until the end of the month in celebration of selling more than 40,000 units here, the company said.The company is offering a complimentary DVD-navigation system and free check-ups for up to five years, all on top of 1 million won ($939) cash coupons.

July 3, 2011

Toyota and other Japanese car sales down more than a fifth in JuneLocal automakers led by Hyundai, Kia and SsangYong reported all-time high sales with double-digit growth in the first half, benefiting from the demand-drop for Japanese vehicles after the March earthquake.Domestic sales at Hyundai Motor Co., the industry leader, jumped 7.2 percent on-year to 344,422 units in the January-June period.

July 3, 2011

                                                                   Porsche CayenneChina surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest car market on sales of sedans. Future growth lies with sport-utility vehicles. SUV deliveries rose 30 percent this year through May, compared with a 6 percent gain for total passenger-car sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Sales of SU

July 3, 2011