Hyundai Motor Group chief promotes Busan Expo bid

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun underscored South Korea’s vision to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan to 12 ambassadors from countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region, asking for their support in the country’s bid. According to Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday, Chung met the ambassadors at the Korean Embassy in the US on Tuesday. The ambassadors represented Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Burundi, Central African Republic, Togo, Guyana, Barbados, Bahamas, Sa

March 1, 2023

Renault Korea, union pledge win-win partnership

Renault Korea said Tuesday its labor and management have agreed to join forces to push for the company’s Busan factory to become a global production base for the French carmaker. According to the company, Renault Korea CEO Stephan Deblaise and Kim Dong-suk, the labor union leader, signed a joint declaration that underscores a win-win partnership and mutual trust. “Based on renewed labor-management relations, we should fulfill our vision as one team. Without cooperation from the lab

Feb. 28, 2023

Kumho Tire inks sponsorship deal for TCR World Tour

Kumho Tire announced Monday that it signed a title sponsorship deal for the Kumho Touring Car Racing World Tour with WSC Group in Lugano, Switzerland, Thursday. The South Korean tire maker plans to supply tires for all the vehicles competing in the 2023 TCR World Tour, an international touring car championship for TCR cars promoted by WSC Group. The Kumho TCR World Tour will be held at locations in Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia and Macao. In particular, the Bel

Feb. 27, 2023

[Test Drive] RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, Toyota’s latest offering for EV hesitators

After years of supply chain disruptions and diplomatic tensions, Japanese auto giant Toyota is seeking a turnaround in Korea with its first offering to win back customers -- the new RAV4 Plug-in Hybrid, which combines the best qualities of gas and electric cars. The plug-in hybrid model is the latest addition to the carmaker’s popular RAV4 crossover utility vehicle lineup. In Korea, the self-charging RAV4 Hybrid was Toyota’s top-selling hybrid car last year, making up 43 percent of h

Feb. 26, 2023

Hyundai, Kia cars win top safety rankings in US

Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday that four of its cars -- Palisade, Sonata, Genesis G90 and Kia’s Telluride -- have won awards in a crash test held by the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, one of the industry's top safety honors. The Hyundai Palisade, Kia Telluride and Genesis G90 were named as Top Safety Pick+, the highest ranking, while Hyundai Sonata won the second-highest Top Safety Pick. The Telluride, in particular, received the highest rankings in every test category,

Feb. 26, 2023

Kia to begin EV9 production in 1st half of this year

Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker under Hyundai Motor Group, will begin production of EV9 -- a large electric sport utility vehicle -- in the first half of this year, according to officials Friday. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union said Kia’s labor union and management finally came to an agreement on the production plan earlier this week after the two sides began negotiations to discuss the automaker’s EV manufacturing strategy and future employment security in Ap

Feb. 24, 2023

[Photo News] Car of the Year

Hyundai Motor Group's all-new Grandeur has won the 2023 Car of the Year award, the Korea Automobile Journalists Association announced Wednesday. According to the KAJA, the all-new Grandeur earned an overall score of 80.75 out of 100, closely beating out BMW's 7 series, which received an 80.43. The association reviewed 18 vehicles from 13 brands for the award. (Hyundai Motor Group)

Feb. 22, 2023

Asiana Airlines to launch more international flights

Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it is preparing to expand its international routes by increasing the number of flights to 40 a week on 12 different routes starting next month. This comes along with a recent upsurge in international travel after the steady lifting of travel restrictions as the pandemic has slowed down. “Starting with this initial flight expansion, we will continue our efforts to gradually reopen international travel this year,” an official commented. Asiana plans to fi

Feb. 22, 2023

LG Energy Solution teams up with Ford on Turkey battery project

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it has forged a new partnership with Ford and KOC Holding, a Turkish real estate developer, to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Turkey, two weeks after similar talks fell apart between its crosstown rival SK On and the US auto giant. Under a nonbinding memorandum of understanding, the three companies agreed to build an EV battery plant in the Baskent region near the Turkish capital of Ankara. The plant will have an annual production capacity of 25 gi

Feb. 22, 2023

[Graphic News] South Korea’s gas, coal imports hit record high in 2022: data

South Korea’s imports of gas and coal hit an all-time high last year on surging global energy prices, data showed. The value of gas imports came to $56.7 billion last year, the highest since 1956 when the government began compiling the related data, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The previous record of $36.6 billion was set in 2014. The import value of coal also reached an all-time high of $28.1 billion, surpassing the previous record of $18.3 billion logged in 20

Feb. 22, 2023

Toyota aims to win back Korean customers

Toyota will release eight new electric vehicles in South Korea to ramp up its automation lineup to meet the diversifying needs of local customers this year, Toyota Motor Korea said Tuesday as it announced the launch of its RAV4 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. According to the Japanese automaker, the Korean office has set 2023 as a turning point to implement the global headquarters’ “multipathway” strategy that aims to offer a varied selection of automated vehicles in different

Feb. 21, 2023

[Photo News] Future military vehicle

South Korean automaker Kia said Monday it will showcase its hydrogen fuel cell all-terrain vehicle concept car on the global stage for the first time at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference 2023 held in the United Arab Emirates' capital city Abu Dhabi this week. According to Kia, the future-fit hydrogen fuel cell ATV concept car is prepared to adapt to coming green policies and can maneuver with tactical quietness.

Feb. 20, 2023

SK Nexilis signs W1.4tr copper foil deal with Northvolt

SK Nexilis, the South Korean copper foil producer under SKC, has inked a supply contract worth up to 1.4 trillion won ($1.08 billion) with Swedish battery maker Northvolt, the company said Sunday. The Korean company’s five-year deal with Europe’s largest secondary battery maker will take effect next year, the announcement read. The supply volume will cover about 80 percent of Northvolt's copper foil demand during the signed period, which would be enough for 1.7 million electric

Feb. 19, 2023

[Photo News] On top again

Hyundai Motor's electric vehicle Ioniq 5 has been named the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year, adding another accolade to the EV's long list of recognitions, the South Korean automaker announced Sunday. The EV received the World Car of the Year and scored top recognitions in Germany and the UK. According to Hyundai Motor, the Ioniq 5 also got the highest rating from the German automobile magazine Auto Bild in a recent assessment of EVs.

Feb. 19, 2023

EU launches in-depth investigation into Korean Air-Asiana

The European Union has begun the final stage of an investigation on Korean Air Co.'s proposed integration with smaller local rival Asiana Airlines Inc. in order to decide whether to approve the deal. The European Commission said it has opened an in-depth investigation of the deal in a press release posted on its homepage Friday (Belgium time). It conducted the first-stage review of the deal based on documents submitted by Korean Air last month. The commission said the deal could reduce comp

Feb. 18, 2023

Ford stops production of EV truck over potential battery issue

US auto giant Ford has halted production and shipments of the F-150 Lightning, its electric pickup truck, citing troubling signs with the vehicle’s battery pack. The automaker on Tuesday said in a statement that the company found a potential battery issue in an F-150 Lightning during its pre-delivery quality inspections and decided to stop manufacturing and shipping vehicles while investigating the issue. Ford added that the company is not aware of any incidences of this issue in the field

Feb. 15, 2023

LG Energy Solution commits to climate change measures

LG Energy Solution said Wednesday it will improve reporting on climate-related risks in accordance with the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures, or TCFD, the first of its kind among battery makers here. TCFD is an international organization created by the Group of 20’s Financial Stability Board in 2015. It recommends companies to disclose information on governance, strategies, risk management and management objectives connected to climate change. “We will manage and

Feb. 15, 2023

Hyundai Mobis to invest W10tr for future growth

Hyundai Mobis, a car parts maker under Hyundai Motor Group, unveiled its investment strategies and shareholder return policies for 2023 on Tuesday. According to Hyundai Mobis, the company is to invest a total of 10 trillion won ($7.9 billion) over the next three years, mainly investing 5 trillion to 6 trillion won of cash to secure competitiveness in the electrification of automobiles and acquisition of key components used to make cars. In addition, it will be investing 3 trillion to 4 trillion

Feb. 14, 2023

Ford-CATL partnership could erode Korean batteries’ price competitiveness

South Korean battery makers, who have poured considerable resources in the all-important US market, might lose ground over Ford’s new partnership deal with Chinese battery giant CATL, industry sources said Tuesday. On Monday, Ford announced it plans to invest $3.5 billion to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan using technology licensed from CATL, the world’s No. 1 EV battery maker. The automaker will operate the production facility through its wholly owned subsidiar

Feb. 14, 2023

China’s BYD tops EV sales, outpaces Tesla for 1st time

The number of registered electric vehicles surpassed 10 million in 2022, as the EV industry continued its upward trend with the Chinese market’s strong growth, a report showed Monday. According to market tracker SNE Research, global EV registrations increased by 61.3 percent on year in 2022 to reach 10.83 million. The report said BYD, a Chinese EV maker, grew by 205 percent on-year to account for 17.3 percent of the global EV market and also became the biggest EV seller in the world, as th

Feb. 13, 2023