The number of registered electric vehicles surpassed 10 million in 2022, as the EV industry continued its upward trend with the Chinese market’s strong growth, a report showed Monday. According to market tracker SNE Research, global EV registrations increased by 61.3 percent on year in 2022 to reach 10.83 million. The report said BYD, a Chinese EV maker, grew by 205 percent on-year to account for 17.3 percent of the global EV market and also became the biggest EV seller in the world, as th

Mobility Feb. 13, 2023

Polestar Korea is looking to introduce the Swedish all-electric automaker’s latest product, the Polestar 3 -- an EV sport utility vehicle -- to the South Korean market as early as possible this year. “If last year was the year of electric sedans, we expect this year to be the year of large electric SUVs,” said Ham Jong-sung, managing director of Polestar Korea, in an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Thursday. Referring to other automakers’ series of new EV SUV

Mobility Feb. 13, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group has once again topped the J.D. Power US Vehicle Dependability Study with all of its three auto brands -- Hyundai, Kia and Genesis -- ranked in the top 10, the South Korean automaker said Friday. According to J.D. Power’s report that assessed 31 auto brands, Genesis ranked second while Kia and Hyundai placed third and eighth, respectively. The Korean automaker said its three brands had the best overall average score of the 16 global auto groups in the study for the secon

Mobility Feb. 10, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun has pledged to embark on a full-scale journey to transition into a hydrogen society this year, reaffirming the automaker’s will to continue developing and expanding its hydrogen vehicle business. “To establish a sustainable supply chain, we will take the lead in preparing for the application of green steel and eco-friendly parts, and gradually convert utilities and raw materials used at our business sites around the world to renewable

Mobility Feb. 9, 2023

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