Hyundai, Kia's plant utilization rate below 80% in 2020

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their combined global plant utilization rate stayed below 80 percent due to an extended coronavirus pandemic. Hyundai Motor's overall plant utilization rate stood at 84.1 percent and Kia's stood at 74.5 percent in 2020 as the pandemic affected vehicle production and sales, according to their 2020 business reports. Hyundai's and Kia's rates fell from 99.7 percent and 89.2 percent, respectively, in 2019, the annual data showed. In particu

March 17, 2021

T'way Air to add 3 A330-300s for post-pandemic demand

T'way Air, a South Korean low-cost carrier, said Tuesday it will begin introducing three A330-300 chartered planes late this year to prepare for the post coronavirus era. T'way Air plans to inject the three A330-300s into mid- and long-haul international routes to Kyrgyzstan, Australia and Croatia, the company said in a statement. The budget carrier has 27 B737-800 chartered planes and currently serves six international routes and six domestic routes. It served 47 international and three domes

March 16, 2021

Jaguar Land Rover Korea to launch 4 new models in 2021

Jaguar Land Rover Korea will launch four new models to strengthen its product portfolio and lower the prices of the cars to meet consumer demands, the company’s managing director said in a press conference on Monday. Speaking to the media here for the first time since his appointment in October 2020, Robin Colgan laid out his 4P strategy to strengthen the company’s foothold in the market, and reiterated the automotive group’s global roadmap focused on electrification. 　 Thi

March 15, 2021

Investigation launched after Jeju Air flies with a damaged winglet

Low cost carrier Jeju Air is under investigation by the Transport Ministry after it was found to have flown one of its planes with a damaged winglet last week. The airline’s 7C264 flight, which left Gimpo Airport on Wednesday morning, attempted landing on the runway at Gimhae International Airport in the afternoon. During the landing, the plane tilted to one side and the plane appears to have damaged its winglet during its second attempt at landing, sources close to the matter said on Mo

March 15, 2021

Asiana extends mileage expiration dates amid pandemic

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's second-biggest carrier, said Monday it will extend the expiration dates of its mileage that will expire at the end of this year by one year to 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Asiana Airlines already extended mileage points due to expire at the end of 2020 by one year to 2021 as travel demand dried up due to the pandemic. In January, its bigger rival Korean Air Lines Co. said it will extend mileage points that expired at end-2020 and mileage that expires at

March 15, 2021

Hanjin Transportation to buy back w20b of its shares

Hanjin Transportation Co., a South Korean logistics company, said Friday it will buy back 20 billion won ($17.7 million) worth of its shares to improve shareholder value. Hanjin's board of directors approved the plan to buy its shares for six months ending on Sept. 12, the company said. Hanjin said the company made the decision as its shares were believed to be undervalued despite its robust earnings last year. "The parcel delivery business improved profitability thanks to a sharp hike i

March 12, 2021

Korean Air raises w3.3tr in share sale for Asiana takeover

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday it has raised 3.3 trillion won ($3 billion) in a share sale for its planned acquisition of smaller rival Asiana Airlines Inc. Korean Air issued 173.6 million shares at 19,100 won per share, which is lower than the closing price of 27,400 won Wednesday, the company said in a regulatory filing. The national flag carrier plans to list the shares on the Korea Exchange on March 24, it said.   Out of the rights issue pro

March 11, 2021

Hyundai teases all-new minivan Staria

Hyundai Motor Co. on Thursday released a teaser for the all-new minivan Staria ahead of its domestic launch in the first half of this year. The seven-seat multipurpose vehicle will replace the Starex minivan, a company spokesman said. Hyundai expects the Staria will help boost sales due to increasing outdoor activities amid the extended coronavirus pandemic. Prices and other details about the new Staria will be released later, he said. (Yonhap)

March 11, 2021

Hyundai Motor’s Kona N teased, appears to have sharper look

Hyundai Motor released teaser images of Kona N, its first performance-oriented sports utility model, on Wednesday. Kona N, the second variation of the automaker’s high-performance N brand to be launched in South Korea, is based on Hyundai’s Kona, which launched in September 2020. It is the second model in the N series in South Korea, after the Veloster N. Hyundai’s i30 hatchback also has an N variant, but it has not been released in the Korean market. In the teaser, Kona

March 10, 2021

Kia to recall 380,000 Sportage, K7 models in US for fire risk

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Wednesday it will recall nearly 380,000 Sportage SUVs and K7 sedans in the United States due to the risks of an engine compartment fire. In documents sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Kia said it will recall 372,251 Sportage SUVs for the 2017 through 2021 model years and 7,680 K7s from 2017-2019 to fix a potential short circuit problem in the vehicles' hydraulic electronic brake control unit. The K7 is sol

March 10, 2021

Kia teases 1st EV platform-based EV6

Kia Corp. on Tuesday released a teaser for the EV6, its first dedicated all-electric model built on Hyundai Motor Group's EV platform, ahead of its global unveiling later this month. Kia plans to launch seven all-electric models by 2027, and the EV6 is the first model of the planned EV-only lineup, the company said in a statement. The EV6 is based on the group's own Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP) and developed under Kia's new design philosophy that embodies its shifting focus towar

March 9, 2021

Early bird flight tickets on sale in anticipation of overseas travel restart

E-commerce platform Interpark on Monday started offering air tickets which you can purchase now and fly after quarantine restrictions for international traveling are lifted. The “Early Go” tickets, which are for South Korean low cost carrier T’way Air flights, come with a one-year price freeze after self-quarantine is no longer required between Korea and the destination country, the platform said. Destinations include Cebu, Hanoi, Bangkok, Macau, Taipei and Hong Kong as well

March 8, 2021

[Photo News] New 2021 Ferrari Portofino M unveiled in Korea

The Portofino M is showcased for the first time in Korea at the Banpo Ferrari showroom in southern Seoul.  The brand new Italian car shows off an enhanced V8 engine with 620 electrical horsepower, upgrading from the previous edition with 600 electrical horsepower.  The sleek model boasts its luxury with a smooth, yet stylish design. (Photos : Yonhap) By Yoon Chae-won (choenayoon@heraldcorp.com)

March 6, 2021

S. Korea to invest W115b on aviation tech to overcome virus fallout

South Korea said Friday it plans to invest 115.3 billion won ($102 million) this year to study deeper into state-of-the-art aviation technologies as it vowed to spare no efforts to help local companies to overcome the new coronavirus pandemic. The announcement is in line with the country's 10-year development plan, which centers on supporting related businesses to make headway not only in the civil aviation segment, but also in the military and drone industries as well, according to the Ministr

March 5, 2021

Korean Air set to sell Songhyeon-dong plot to Seoul City

Korean Air reached a tentative agreement with the city of Seoul to sell a plot of land in central Seoul, according to industry sources Thursday. The airline is expected to secure about 450 billion won to 550 billion won ($399 million to $488 million) in cash from the deal. Industry officials said Seoul and the flag carrier are close to finalizing contract terms for the property sale located in Songhyeon-dong, in the central district of Jongno, as early as next week. As part of its efforts to

March 4, 2021

Hyundai Glovis forges tie with China’s Changjiu Logistics

Hyundai Glovis is forging ties with a Chinese logistics company to expand and strengthen its logistics business from China to Europe, the firm said Wednesday. As part of the partnership deal, China’s Changjiu Logistics has bought from Hyundai Glovis a 30 percent stake in Adampol, a Poland-based company that Hyundai Glovis acquired in 2014. Hyundai said the two companies will join forces to launch a new railroad transport brand, dubbed ECT, or Euro China Train. As shipping costs are sp

March 3, 2021

S. Korea unveils additional support to virus-hit airlines

South Korea on Wednesday unveiled another set of measures to support airlines hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic in the latest move to help airlines stay afloat during the crisis. The government will continue to reduce the airport usage fee for the airlines until June, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said in a statement, adding the fee will be lowered by 45.7 billion won ($40.6 million). The ministry said it will later consider whether to extend the fee reduction again by tak

March 3, 2021

Hyundai Motor's US sales dip 8.8% in Feb. on bad weather

LOS ANGELES -- South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. saw its US sales drop nearly 9 percent in February from a year earlier due to bad weather, company data showed Tuesday. Hyundai Motor sold 48,333 vehicles last month, down 8.8 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Hyundai Motor America, the firm's US subsidiary. Sales to general consumers fell 2 percent on-year, and those to companies and rental car providers plunged 47 percent. Hyundai Motor said this year's F

March 3, 2021

Hyundai Motor reports change of leadership to FTC

Hyundai Motor has filed a request to the Fair Trade Commission to change the company’s leader from honorary chairman Chung Mong-koo to his son Chung Euisun, according to industry sources Tuesday. If the FTC accepts the request, the corporation would get its first new chief in 21 years. Every May, the FTC releases a list of major conglomerates with aggregate value over 5 trillion won ($4.4 billion), and also those valued at over 10 trillion won and subject to mutual investment restricti

March 2, 2021

Hyundai Motor Group begins construction of fuel cell system plant in China

Hyundai Motor Group began construction of its first overseas fuel cell system plant in China, holding a virtual ground breaking ceremony on Tuesday. HTWO Guangzhou is the automaker’s first foreign plant producing fuel cell systems, and the construction is expected to be complete by the second half of 2022. HTWO is the group’s fuel cell system brand. The ceremony to market the official start of the construction work connected officials at Hyundai Motor Studio Goyang in Gyeonggi P

March 2, 2021