General Motors on Tuesday announced the launch of the Sierra Denali, GMC’s flagship pickup truck, in South Korea, officially introducing the GMC brand in the country for the first time. “Today we are to introduce the GMC brand in Korea with the launch of an astoundingly advanced and exceedingly premium truck, the GMC Sierra,” said Roberto Rempel, CEO of GM Korea, in a media showcase held on the floating island of Sebitseom in Seoul. Only the Sierra Denali -- the highest trim of

Mobility Feb. 7, 2023

Many EVs currently available in the market feature futuristic and seamless designs, which have replaced the physical buttons in the center console with touch displays. This poses trouble for first-time drivers, who likely need some time to get used to the car's controls. The Audi Q4 e-tron might be the best option for those hoping to jump right into an EV and be comfortable behind the wheel. At first glance, during a media test drive of the Audi q4 e-tron on Jan. 31, the compact SUV's

Mobility Feb. 7, 2023

The Audi A8 L series adds more prestige to the German automaker’s already high-end sedan, the Audi A8. The L represents its long wheelbase. As the wheelbase of a vehicle is the distance between the center of the front wheels and the center of the rear wheels, the Audi A8 L lineups offer more space in the backseat. That is where the Audi A8 L model’s true value can be found. The Audi A8 L 55 TFSI quattro Premium, a revamped model that features an upgraded design, showed where the auto

Mobility Feb. 7, 2023

General Motors will launch its first Ultium platform-based electric sport utility vehicle, the Cadillac Lyriq, in South Korea later this year to expand its EV lineup in the country, the automaker announced Monday. Ultium refers to Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution established in 2019 to set up and operate battery cell manufacturing facilities in the US. The two share three EV battery plants, the first of which began operating in Ohio last year. The second and third

Mobility Jan. 30, 2023

Kia, South Korea’s second-largest automaker, has raised its earnings target for this year after the company recorded its best-ever figures last year on strong sales. The company said Friday in a conference call that its annual revenue and operating profit had reached 86.6 trillion won ($70.3 billion) and 7.2 trillion won last year, respectively. The numbers increased by 23.9 percent and 42.8 percent each. The automaker sold 2.9 million cars worldwide in 2022, up 4.5 percent from the previo

Mobility Jan. 27, 2023

LG Energy Solution reported a twofold jump in operating profit last year, driven by increased demand for electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, the South Korean battery maker said Friday. Revenue rose 43.4 percent to 25.6 trillion won ($20.8 billion) in 2022, and its operating profit hit 1.2 trillion won, a 57.9 percent increase on-year. Sales and operating profit both hit new heights last year. “We were able to record the highest annual revenue as the shipments of our pr

Industry Jan. 27, 2023

Hyundai Motor posted a record-high operating profit of 9.8 trillion won ($8 billion) last year as it sold almost 4 million vehicles across the world, the South Korean automaker said Thursday. Despite the global economic downturn, Hyundai Motor’s yearly sales also recorded 142.5 trillion won, up 21.2 percent on year to set a new high. With operating profit having shot up 47 percent on-year to an all-time high for the whole of 2022, the automaker said it was thanks to the strong dollar and i

Mobility Jan. 26, 2023

Hanwha Solutions on Thursday announced that it has signed a strategic partnership with Microsoft for solar energy projects, marking the first collaboration between a global solar supplier and an information and communication technology behemoth to reduce carbon emissions and boost the clean energy economy. Under the partnership, Hanwha Solutions, a chemical and energy company under South Korea’s seventh largest conglomerate Hanwha Group, said the two sides will push for various solar energ

Industry Jan. 26, 2023

LG Energy Solution on Wednesday denied earlier reports on the alleged decision to put a pause on the joint plan with General Motors to build a fourth battery cell manufacturing plant for electric vehicles in the US. “The two companies are still in discussions about Ultium Cells’ fourth plant in the US and no specific decisions have been made at this point,” an official at LG Energy Solution told The Korea Herald. Ultium Cells, a joint venture established by LG Energy Solution a

Industry Jan. 25, 2023

Global cumulative sales of Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicles have surpassed the 1 million milestone, according to the South Korean automaker Tuesday. The automaker achieved the milestone 11 years after it began selling EVs in 2011. Hyundai Motor and its premium brand Genesis have sold 601,448 EVs while Kia has sold 420,836 EVs. The carmaker sold 236 units of its first EV, the BlueOn, in 2011. EV sales figures began to show meaningful growth when Kia released Soul EV, a compact sport

Mobility Jan. 24, 2023

Scientists have developed the world’s first technology to recycle clothing waste by converting discarded fiber into usable materials, the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology said Wednesday. A group of researchers led by Cho Joung-mo, a senior researcher at the KRICT, found a screening technology that can isolate recyclable materials from clothing waste by using the chemical characteristics of dyes. The research team also came up with a recycling technology to convert separated

Technology Jan. 18, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday launched the all-new Kona, a second-generation subcompact sport utility vehicle, with an aim to set new standards for small SUVs. “Kona is Hyundai Motor’s most iconic SUV. We took the creative design of the existing model and applied a new method of designing the electric vehicle first and putting it on the internal combustion engine model later to create a more futuristic design,” said Chang Jae-hoon, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor, in a me

Mobility Jan. 18, 2023

South Korea topped Bentley’s Asia-Pacific market in 2022 as Korean customers purchased almost 40 percent of all Bentley vehicles sold in the region last year, Bentley Motors Korea said Tuesday. Citing the data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, the high-end automaker said Korean customers bought a total of 775 Bentleys, about a 53 percent increase on year. It marked the country’s second consecutive year to have posted its best sales figure after 506 Ben

Mobility Jan. 17, 2023

LG Energy Solution and Honda have completed the establishment of a joint venture to build a battery manufacturing plant in the US, officials announced Friday. The joint venture, tentatively named L-H Battery Company, marks the first collaboration between a South Korean battery maker and a Japanese automaker. Friday’s official announcement was a follow-up to the two companies’ previous agreement in August. According to the announcement, the two companies will invest a total of $4.4 bi

Mobility Jan. 13, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group has applied digital therapeutics technology into an automobile for victims of child abuse to have an in-the-car treatment experience. According to the South Korean automaker Friday, the healing vehicle named “iCAREcar” has been developed with Hyundai Motor’s minivan Staria and its interior has been optimized to offer psychological counseling inside the car. Under the theme of "Heals on Wheels," the group's latest social campaign project was co

Mobility Jan. 13, 2023