Hyundai forms alliance with 6 EV charging stations

Hyundai Motor Group is joining hands with six electric vehicle charging stations here to form an alliance supporting the growth of the EV charging industry, the automotive giant said Thursday. Hyundai said it signed partnerships with six Korean EV charging service providers to establish E-pit Alliance and agreed to work together in developing technologies related to E-pit, the automotive group’s ultra-fast charging station. The six EV service providers are Starkoff, Straffic, Jeju Elect

Nov. 18, 2021

Hyundai, Kia unveil electric concept SUVs at LA auto show

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Thursday they have unveiled their electric concept SUVs at the Los Angeles Auto Show as they strengthen their all-electric portfolios in line with rival carmakers' electrification push. Hyundai and Kia debuted the large-sized "Seven" and flagship "EV9" concept models built on Hyundai Motor Group's dedicated EV platform, called E-GMP, at the US motor show during a two-day media preview on Nov. 17 and 18. The carmakers are planni

Nov. 18, 2021

Hyundai’s auto designer Peter Schreyer features in new book

Peter Schreyer, the renowned car designer now leading Hyundai Motor Group’s design management, is featured in a new book “Roots and Wings,” a Korean edition of which is to hit local shelves soon. Originally published in English last month, the book explores Schreyer’s life and legacy as one of the most influential automotive designers, the Korean business group behind Hyundai Motor and Kia said Wednesday, announcing the Nov. 25 release of the Korean edition. Schreyer,

Nov. 17, 2021

[Behind the Wheel] Audi e-tron GT all set to turn up heat in e-sports car competition

As the wave of electrification reaches sports cars, the race is heating up among global brands to push the performance boundaries of the relatively new powertrain. In Korea, the competition is to intensify with Audi set to challenge the Porsche Taycan with its e-tron GT and RS e-tron GT. Before the official launch of the two cars, The Korea Herald had the chance to take them for a short test drive on a course involving substantial speed and a slalom test at Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, Gyeo

Nov. 17, 2021

'Drone taxi’ race heats up as Korean Air, Lotte announce new urban air mobility projects

The race to commercialize urban air mobility services is heating up as national flag carrier Korean Air and retail giant Lotte on Tuesday announced new projects to help introduce drone airport shuttles. Korean Air said it has signed an agreement with Hyundai Motor, Incheon International Airport Corp., KT and Hyundai E&C to help build UAM infrastructure and improve social acceptance toward the new means of public transport. The airline will share its experience of operating passenger and ca

Nov. 17, 2021

Airlines expand international routes amid ‘living with COVID-19’

Airlines are slowly expanding international flights from Korea as the country takes gradual steps to open up and live with the pandemic. Low-cost carrier Jin Air said on Tuesday it will expand the number of flights for the Incheon-Guam route from two to four every week starting Nov. 28. As a gradual return to normal life begins, the airline said it plans to fly once every day by the end of this year. For golf tourists, Jin Air also said it will launch a non-scheduled flight to the city of Kot

Nov. 16, 2021

EV sales almost double this year in Korea

Over 71,000 units of electric vehicles have been sold in South Korea so far this year, nearly doubling the previous year’s record, a market data showed. According to Korea Automotive Technology Institute, the accumulated domestic sales of EVs up to the end of September came in at 71,006 units, compared to the 36,268 units sold during the corresponding period last year. The domestic sales volume places South Korea as No. 7 globally, Katech said. The world’s No. 1 market, up to

Nov. 15, 2021

Computer failure causes massive disruption of budget carrier service

A computer system failure caused massive delays and cancellations of flights of Jin Air Co., a budget carrier, on Friday. The airline's passenger service system was down for 10 hours from 6:30 a.m., leaving thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country. "The computer system failure occurred due to a problem in the server in Germany," Jin Air said. The system was restored at 4:40 p.m., it added. "We apologize for causing huge inconvenience to our customers.

Nov. 12, 2021

GM Korea to launch 10 new EVs by 2025

General Motors Korea will be launching 10 new electric vehicles for the South Korean market by 2025, General Motors International President Steven Kiefer said Friday. The vehicles will range from entry-level to high-performance models, he said. Kiefer, who is also a senior vice president at GM, said competitiveness and profitability are key to sustaining business in Korea and stressed the importance of the Korean market for the global automotive company, during the GM Future Growth Virtual Pre

Nov. 12, 2021

Katech partners with Horiba Mira for early commercialization of autonomous vehicles

The Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech, has agreed to work together with the UK-based automotive consultancy firm Horiba Mira on the early commercialization of autonomous vehicles, the agency said Friday. Katech Director Heo Nam-yong and Horiba Mira’s Chief Commercial Officer Roisin Hopkins agreed to pursue joint research and development on future vehicle technologies, signing a partnership agreement at the Horiba Mira headquarters in Nuneaton, England, Thursday (Greenwich

Nov. 12, 2021

Kia to sell only EVs in Europe from 2035

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Thursday it will sell only electric vehicles in Europe from 2035 and in other major markets from 2040 as it seeks to gradually phase out internal combustion-engine cars in global markets.    Kia announced the 2045 carbon neutrality strategy as governments around the globe are adopting more aggressive policies to fight climate change and carmakers are stepping up efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.    Under th

Nov. 11, 2021

[From the Scene] Versatility drives Renault Samsung’s Busan plant

BUSAN -- While factories usually have one flagship item manufactured on one assembly line to maximize productivity, Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan automotive plant has increased competitiveness by making its lines able to produce more than one. With the versatile assembly line, the Busan plant is in fully geared up to boost exports of Renault Samsung’s global flagship sport utility vehicle XM3, known as Arkana overseas, said Lee Hae-jin, director at Renault Samsung Motors’ man

Nov. 11, 2021

[Photo News] New Black Badge Ghost

Rolls-Royce’s latest model in its bespoke cars lineup, the Black Badge Ghost, is unveiled in Seongsu-dong, eastern Seoul, Wednesday.  The new model is a redesign of the New Ghost released last year. It is topped with a 6.75-liter twin turbo V12 engine and boasts a maximum 600 horsepower.  Retail prices start at 550 million won ($423,000).

Nov. 10, 2021

Automotive chip shortage to continue until 2023: think tank

The automotive semiconductor shortage is expected to continue until 2023, and the government and related industries should be prepared to handle rising demand, an automotive think tank said Monday. According to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech, the global shortage of automotive semiconductors that started around the end of 2020 will continue to affect the global car industry for the first half of 2022. Even after 2023, some companies may still feel its effects. This year

Nov. 8, 2021

Overseas travel demand picking up, mostly to tourist spots

As overseas tourism slowly resumes with travel bubble programs and a rise in vaccination rates, travel to Saipan logged a sharp increase last month, data showed Sunday. According to the Transport Ministry data, passengers going to Saipan from Incheon surged 178.5 percent in October to 3,900 passengers from 1,400 passengers in September. Travel to Saipan also spiked in July when South Korea launched the travel bubble with the country, exempting fully vaccinated people from mandatory quarantin

Nov. 7, 2021

Korean Air receives grade A for ESG from KCGS

Korean Air has received an “integrated A grade” for its ESG efforts from the nonprofit ESG rating agency Korea Corporate Governance Service.　 The national flag carrier achieved the marks for the second year running, a recent ESG rating report by KCGS revealed. When broken down by category, the airline received an A for corporate governance, an improvement from last year. The higher score was thanks to the separation of the CEO and the board of directors, appointment of a woman ou

Oct. 31, 2021

[Newsmaker] Airline industry prepares to increase international flights under “With COVID-19” scheme

Step-by-step, in line with the government’s plan to gradually return to normalcy with its “living with COVID-19” scheme, the airline industry has begun preparations for more overseas flights. According to full service carriers Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, some overseas flight routes will resume operations next month. Korean Air has decided to resume scheduled flights to Hawaii, Sydney, and Oakland. There will be three flights a week scheduled for Hawaii starting from Nov

Oct. 29, 2021

Public buses to offer 5G Wi-Fi by 2023

Public Wi-Fi provided in intra-city buses will be getting four times faster as it will be upgraded to 5G network service from the current LTE. Starting with 100 pilot buses, which started boasting faster connections on Wednesday, 29,000 buses nationwide will have 5G connections by 2023, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT. The speed of Wi-Fi currently available on public buses has a maximum speed of 100Mbps as it relies on LTE networks. It will increase to 400Mbps with the rollout of

Oct. 27, 2021

AeroK to hire new staff without hair and makeup rules

South Korean low-cost carrier AeroK says it is hiring flight attendants and forgoing any hair and makeup requirements. The Cheongju-based airline, which launched its first scheduled flight earlier this year, said there are also no requirements in terms of academic background, appearance and age in its recent job postings. “We will not be asking for a photo during the document screening process and will only ask for foreign language skills and extracurricular activities during the first p

Oct. 27, 2021

Hyundai Motor chief vows to cooperate on EVs with Indonesia

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun vowed to cooperate with the Indonesian government in establishing an electric vehicle ecosystem there, during his visit to the Southeast Asian country on Monday. Attending a government briefing event -- “Future EV Ecosystem for Indonesia” -- Chung presented the future vision of his automotive group and plans to cooperate with the Indonesian government to expand its business there, according to Hyundai Motor. “Hyundai Motor Group wil

Oct. 25, 2021