With the yearslong electric vehicle boom showing signs of dying down, hybrid cars using a combination of electric and gasoline power are seeing a boost in sales in Korea. In the January-November period of 2023, Korea sold a record 254,258 hybrid cars, growing 54.7 percent from a year earlier, while EV sales dipped 7.9 percent to 107,453 units, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Bestselling hybrid models included Hyundai’s Grandeur and Tucson and Kia&rsqu

Mobility Jan. 4, 2024

With the US government excluding electric vehicles equipped with Chinese batteries for tax credits starting this year, Korea-made electric cars sold in the US officially became ineligible for the hefty tax break. According to the US Department of Energy on Monday, only 19 EV models are available for tax credits of up to $7,500 following the Inflation Reduction Act, a drop from last year’s 43 models. Several US automakers’ electric car and plug-in hybrid models -- Chevrolet, Chrysle

Mobility Jan. 2, 2024

LG Energy Solution said Thursday its US subsidiary has landed 10 power grid supply deals in the fast-growing US energy storage system market since its launch last year. The projects' total energy storage capacity amounts to 10 gigawatt-hours, the firm said. Based in Texas, LG Energy Solution Vertech provides energy storage system integration services ranging from business solutions to installation, maintenance and repair. The venture was set up in February 2022 after the battery manufacture

Industry Dec. 21, 2023

LG Chem said Wednesday it broke ground to build a cathode materials manufacturing plant in the US state of Tennessee that is to be the largest production facility in the all-important electric vehicle market. LG Chem Vice President Shin Hak-cheol, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Stuart McWhorter, commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Cho Hyun-dong, South Korean ambassador to the US, and other company executives and government officials participated in the groun

Mobility Dec. 20, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it has decided to sell its entire shares of its car manufacturing plant in Russia, which has been temporarily shut down because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to a Moscow-based company, ending a decadelong operation. The carmaker’s board of directors approved selling Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia in St. Petersburg, along with a General Motor plant it acquired in 2020 to the Russian automotive service firm Art-Finance. “We have reviewed var

Mobility Dec. 19, 2023

Harim Group’s consortium was named as the preferred bidder for debt-ridden container ship company HMM, leaving concerns about how it would fund the acquisition worth 6.4 trillion won ($4.9 billion), industry sources said Tuesday. Outbidding rival Dongwon Group, the company is expected to take over the 57.9 percent stake owned by controlling shareholders of HMM -- the state-run Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corp. The creditors have sought to get the shipper back on track t

Mobility Dec. 19, 2023

South Korea’s car exports climbed 84.2 percent from January to September this year compared to 2019, while imports of electric vehicles and EV batteries from China gradually increased, a report showed Monday. The export volume surged to $50.5 billion in the cited period after the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and global supply glitches, according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech. Compared to last year, exports of battery-powered cars and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles sky

Mobility Dec. 18, 2023

The joint venture between Washington-based Group14 Technologies and SK Materials, a chemical materials unit under Korea’s SK Group, will start the commercial operation of Asia’s first large-scale manufacturing plant for silicon battery materials in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, early next year. “(SK Materials Group14), the joint venture in Sangju, is the Asia’s first electric vehicle-scale silicon anode manufacturing facility that will go online very soon in the next

Mobility Dec. 17, 2023

SES AI Corp., a Boston-based company pioneering in lithium-metal batteries, is strengthening business ties with Hyundai Motor Group in developing the next-generation power source for electric vehicles and Urban Air Mobility. “Of the three production lines in Korea, we are preparing one for developing B-Sample lithium-metal batteries for EVs in Uiwang, near Seoul, with Hyundai Motor Group,” said SES AI Corp. CEO Qichao Hu during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday

Mobility Dec. 14, 2023

The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics’ review committee on Wednesday said LK-99, an alleged room-temperature superconductor created by a South Korean research team, has not shown any key features of superconductivity. “There is no ground for saying that LK-99 is a superconductor,” the committee said in a report, stressing that it showed no signs of superconductivity in a series of tests on resistance and magnetic susceptibility in either room- or low temperatur

Technology Dec. 13, 2023

A recent report showed that Germany, the largest European automotive market, is expected to see a drop in electric vehicle sales this year for the first time in seven years, piling pressure on Korean battery makers who have operated core businesses in the all-important region. From January to November, the number of EVs sold in Germany decreased 5 percent on-year to 627,000 units, according to a report from Eugene Investment & Securities. In November alone, the country witnessed a 39 percent

Mobility Dec. 12, 2023

[코리아헤럴드=간형우, 변혜진 기자] 르노코리아자동차가 내년 본격적인 리브랜딩에 나선다. 4년 간의 공백을 깨고 새로 출시할 중형 하이브리드 SUV(스포츠유틸리티 차량)를 시작으로 ‘구식’ 브랜드 이미지를 탈피하고 한국과 글로벌 시장을 공략한다는 구상이다. 르노코리아자동차 스테판 드블레즈 사장은 최근 코리아헤럴드와의 인터뷰에서 “내년 가장 중요한 두 가지 사업은 브랜드 이미지 제고와 2분기 오로라1(가칭) 차량 출시”라며 “지난 22년 간 우리는 (한국 시장에서도) 유럽 중심적인 차량을 선보였기 때문에 프랑스 자동차제조사의 정체성과 한국 소비자의 요구를 조화롭게 융합하는 데 실패했다”고 말했다. 이어 그는 “르노삼성자동차 시절 삼성의 헤리티지 덕분에 SM5, QM6, QM3 등 르노 자동차의 브랜드 이미지가 좋았다”면서도 “하지만 시간이 흐르면서 르노는 구식이라는 인식이 강해졌고 신선한

한국어판 Dec. 11, 2023

Renault Korea Motors is pinning high hopes for next year to be the beginning of a complete turnaround after years of struggle, as the French automaker has big plans for 2024 and beyond, its CEO says. “Next year, we will have two big events. One related to the brand uplift and one related to the launch of the Aurora 1,” said Renault Korea Motors CEO Stephane Deblaise in an interview with The Korea Herald at the automaker’s office in Seoul on Dec. 5. The Aurora 1, codenamed AR1,

Mobility Dec. 10, 2023

DS Dansuk, South Korea’s resource recycling company, on Friday threw its hat into the ring as the last candidate for a market debut this year, with bold plans for businesses ranging from biodiesel to battery and plastic waste recycling. “After the initial public offering, we will set up additional production facilities and invest more in research and development to create a strong foothold as a global brand leading the circular economy," said DS Dansuk co-CEO Kim Jong-wan during

Industry Dec. 8, 2023

Hanwha Aerospace said Friday it has clinched a deal with the Australian government to supply 3.2 trillion won ($2.4 billion) worth of armored tanks. Hanwha Defense Australia, the company’s subsidiary in Australia, is poised to deliver 129 units of Hanwha’s Redback infantry fighting vehicles by 2028. The tanks will be manufactured in a new plant in Australia set to complete construction next year. Hanwha said it will be supplying military equipment designed for export for the first ti

Industry Dec. 8, 2023