The Korea Herald

Lexus showroom opens in Ilsan

Chunwoo Motors, Toyota Korea’s Lexus dealer for the Yongsan area of Seoul, opened a Lexus showroom in Ilsan-gu, Goyang in Gyeonggi Province on Thursday.The company said that the new showroom will strengthen its sales network in northern Gyeonggi Province including Ilsan and Paju. The showroom is located on the ground floor of a three-story building that includes office space, and a service stall t

Mobility Jan. 23, 2011

Renault Samsung offers free Seolnal checkup

Renault Samsung Motors Co. will be operating vehicle checkup points at 14 rest stops on expressways from Feb. 1 to 6 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. for those traveling during the Seolnal, Lunar New Year, holiday.The checkup points offer general checkups free of charge, and replacements for various parts and components. Mechanics stationed at the checkup points will also provide tips on vehicle maintena

Mobility Jan. 23, 2011

Daewoo cars history as GM Korea switches to Chevrolet

The Korean unit of General Motors plans to remove the badge of “Daewoo” from its company name and new domestic releases as it seeks to improve image and boost sales. GM Daewoo Auto and Technology Co. announced Thursday it will change its name to GM Korea Company and replace the GM Daewoo brand with the Chevrolet brand.“The actions we are about to take will take the company to a stronger, sustainab

Industry Jan. 20, 2011

Daewoo cars history as GM Korea switches to Chevrolet

Hyundai, Kia make early payments to suppliers

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. announced Thursday that about 850 billion won ($760 million) owed to suppliers will be paid ahead of the due dates.The carmakers said that the payments will be made starting Jan. 26 to ease suppliers’ cash flow ahead of Seollal, or the New Year according to the lunar calendar. According to the carmakers, about 1,200 companies supplying parts and materials wil

Industry Jan. 20, 2011

POSCO finalizes ferrochrome deal with Indian firm

POSCO announced Thursday that it finalized a deal to establish a joint venture producing ferrochrome with an Indian company.Ferrochrome is an alloy of chromium and iron used in stainless steel production. POSCO’s partner in the venture is Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys (IMFA), India’s biggest ferrochrome manufacturer. According to POSCO, Thursday’s deal finalizes agreements regarding a joint ventu

Industry Jan. 20, 2011

Hyundai Heavy wins W1.14tr drillship contract

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. announced Wednesday that it signed a contract to build two drillships for 1.14 trillion won ($1.03 billion) for the U.S.-based contract driller for gas Noble Drilling.Drillships are specialized vessels fitted with drilling equipment used in gas and oil exploration in offshore locations. With the latest contract, Hyundai Heavy has been awarded all three contracts for dr

Industry Jan. 19, 2011

Hyundai Heavy rehires retirees to stem skills shortage

Korean firms strive to tackle shortages of trained workers due to demographic changeA rapidly aging population poses a grave challenge to Korean manufacturers, which have seen a large number of skilled workers retire. Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipyard, is suffering most from the trend. A record number of 950 reached retirement age last year. The numbers are estimated to be 800

Industry Jan. 19, 2011

Hyundai Heavy rehires retirees to stem skills shortage

Korea scrambles to cut electricity use

Consumption soars to record amid deep chill, fueling power shortage concernsThe government is introducing a series of contingency measures to cut power consumption as the cold spell drives up electricity demand to record levels.With the cold snap gripping the nation, even in the warmer southern regions, electricity demand has shot up, setting new records three times already this month.On Monday, t

Industry Jan. 19, 2011

POSCO gets approval for new plant

Stalled works on POSCO’s new plant at Pohang Steelworks are set to resume, with the Prime Minister’s Office deciding to ease regulations that had brought the works to a halt in July.The Pohang municipal government had approved plans for the plant without consulting military bases in the area about height restrictions on buildings in the area due to military flights.The steelmaker was informed of t

Industry Jan. 18, 2011

State R&D chief to speak at CeBIT

Hwang Chang-gyu, head of Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s Strategic R&D Planning office, has been chosen as one of the three speakers for a conference to be held during German IT exhibition CeBIT from March 1 to 5, the organizers of the event said Monday. Hwang Chang-gyuThe former Samsung Electronics chief, who was appointed to the government post early last year, is the first Korean to give a spee

Industry Jan. 17, 2011

Hyundai Mobis eyes spot in top 10 car parts makers

Hyundai Mobis Co. plans to invest 1.15 trillion won ($1.02 billion) this year aiming to become one of the world’s 10 largest auto parts makers, the company said on Monday.The company affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group will earmark 360 billion won for research and development for high-tech systems this year.It will diversify its R&D personnel to include more engineers specializing in information t

Industry Jan. 17, 2011

Hyundai ups ante with new Grandeur

By Choi He-suk The latest version of Hyundai Motor Co.’s perennial bestseller Grandeur was unveiled on Thursday, completing the revamping of domestic firms’ upper-midsized sedans.In line with the company’s recent policy of listing imported vehicles as the main competition, Hyundai is eying a number of the world’s best-known models in the segment, including the Mercedes Benz E Class, BMW 5 Series a

Mobility Jan. 17, 2011

BMW trumps Daimler in Europe sales as VW’s Audi keeps top spot

Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit defended its top spot in luxury-car sales in Europe last year while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s main brand captured second place from Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz as demand for premium cars revived. New registrations for BMWs rose 6.5 percent last year to 609,196, the fastest pace among the three brands, exceeding Mercedes’s 586,146, while Audi stayed on top with sales of

Mobility Jan. 16, 2011

Toyota developing motors without rare earths

Toyota Motor Corp., the world’s largest seller of hybrid autos, is developing an alternative motor for future hybrid and electric cars that doesn’t need rare-earth minerals at risk of supply disruptions.Toyota engineers in Japan and the U.S. are working on a so- called induction motor that’s lighter and more efficient than the magnet-type motor now used in its Prius, said John Hanson, a company sp

Mobility Jan. 16, 2011

New Dodge Viper to lure Porsche, Corvette lovers

Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automaker run by Fiat SpA, said the next Dodge Viper sports car is going to be “drop-dead beautiful” so it can take buyers from Porsche SE’s cars and General Motors Co.’s Corvette.The new Viper’s look was inspired by “a naked woman on the beach,” Ralph Gilles, the head of Chrysler’s design, said at an event on Jan. 12 in Detroit. The car will be released next year as a

Mobility Jan. 16, 2011

New Dodge Viper to lure Porsche, Corvette lovers

Articles by Choi He-suk