South Koreans in their 30s made up the biggest customer group for foreign cars here last year, according to industry data on Monday.  Data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association showed that in 2019, a total of 153,677 units of foreign cars were bought by individuals.  Of the number, 50,645 vehicles, or 33 percent, were purchased by those in their 30s, followed by those in their 40s (31 percent), 50s (19.6 percent), 60s (8 percent), 20s (5.8 percent) and 7

Mobility Jan. 27, 2020

Signs of a sibling feud have been hard to ignore recently at Hanjin KAL, the Hanjin Group holding company that owns the country’s flagship carrier Korean Air, ahead of a Hanjin KAL shareholders meeting slated for March.With tension brewing over the holding firm’s leadership, the March meeting is an important one for Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae, who assumed the top post in April last year after his father died of chronic lung disease. Shareholders will vote on whether to reappoi

Mobility Jan. 23, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that its sales last year hit a record high of 105 trillion won ($90 billion), surpassing the 100 trillion won mark for the first time, and its operating profit grew more than 52 percent.The conglomerate is the third to join the so-called “100 trillion won club,” after Samsung Electronics in 2008 and SK in 2018. Hyundai Motor’s sales exceeded 90 trillion won in 2015. According to Hyundai Motor’s 2019 financial statements, its an

Mobility Jan. 22, 2020

Global communities need to seek ways to advance a hydrogen society based on three aspects -- cost reduction through technological innovation, expansion of public receptivity and establishment of a safety management system -- according to Hyundai Motor chief Chung Euisun, who attended a CEO event of a global alliance for hydrogen technologies in Paris on Monday. “There is a no shortcut to the future hydrogen society. It is most important for the hydrogen industry to establish a specifi

Mobility Jan. 21, 2020

S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani (second from left) hands out meals to the homeless on Monday, as part of the company’s annual Lunar New Year’s volunteer activity. The company said some 100 employees have participated to offer meals and food products to the homeless and some 500 households, including senior citizens and the disabled. S-Oil has been conducting Lunar New Year’s volunteer activity for 14 consecutive years, dating to 2007.

Industry Jan. 20, 2020

Cadillac said Monday that it planned to launch four new models and one face-lifted model in Korea this year -- mostly sports utility vehicles -- to position itself as a young, dynamic brand for young generation.The American automotive brand owned by General Motors said in a press release that it would introduce three new models and one face-lifted model in the first half of this year, including a large-size sports utility vehicle XT6 and its bestselling SUV model XT5’s facelift version. Th

Mobility Jan. 20, 2020

Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis unveiled its first sport utility vehicle GV80 last week, with a goal of selling 24,000 units in South Korea this year. The model will be launched in North America this summer.The Korea Herald had an opportunity to test drive GV80 in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on the day of its launch on Wednesday. Genesis’ first vehicle based on a rear-wheel-drive platform -- runs on a six-cylinder diesel engine -- which exerts a maximum torque of 60 kilogram-meter

Mobility Jan. 19, 2020

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce sold a record 5,152 cars globally in 2019, up 25 percent on-year. And the South Korean market was “instrumental” in this achievement with the growing popularity of its SUV Cullinan, a top executive said Jan. 7. “It has been an excellent year for our brand, and the South Korean market has seen tremendous growth -- very solid, robust and successful -- and is a market that is very important for our business,” Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Roll

Mobility Jan. 19, 2020

Chung Euisun, executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said decarbonizing transportation will support the Hydrogen Council’s vision of building a hydrogen-powered societyAccording to the company on Friday, Chung, who co-chairs the council, said in an interview that it is the responsibility of Hyundai Motor to extend beyond vehicles and invest in the hydrogen supply chain.“As an innovator and pioneer in hydrogen-powered mobility, Hyundai Motor Group is willingly taking the resp

Mobility Jan. 17, 2020

Chevrolet launched Friday its new sport utility vehicle Trailblazer in Korea, dubbing it as the brand’s “core next-generation model.” The midsized SUV sits between the compact SUV Trax and Equinox, targeting urban drivers. It contains Chevrolet’s next-generation powertrain and high-tech driving functions, said the American automaker, which is owned by General Motors.  “Trailblazer is a stylish SUV that will strengthen the Chevrolet SUV lineup, maximize the driv

Mobility Jan. 17, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday that it will invest 129 billion won ($111 million) in London-based EV startup Arrival, in an effort to secure electric vehicle manufacturing technology and market dominance. According to the automaker, the two firms agreed to cooperate in developing urban-type EVs, after clinching a deal at the Hyundai Motor Group headquarters on Thursday.  Established in 2015 Arrival is an EV-developing startup focused on commercial-type vehicles including vans and bu

Mobility Jan. 16, 2020

Qatar Airways said Thursday that its new business class Qsuite will be introduced in all its flights departing Incheon International Airport. Qsuite is the airway’s business class, considered as one of the most luxurious business classes, offering customized suite room environment. It was first introduced for the Doha-London route in June 2017. All Qsuite seats can be customized. By using privacy panel, passengers can create their own room. When traveling with friends or family, the T

Mobility Jan. 16, 2020

A top executive of Mahindra & Mahindra, the Indian auto giant that acquired SsangYong Motor in 2010, is in town to seek support for its ailing South Korean subsidiary, according to industry sources Thursday. M&M’s Managing Director Pawan Goenka’s visit to Seoul comes ahead of Ssangyong Motor’s board meeting slated for Jan. 30. He currently serves as chairman of SsangYong Motor’s board.A SsangYong Motor official told The Korea Herald that the company 

Mobility Jan. 16, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday that it aims to sell 10,100 units of the hydrogen-powered sport utility vehicle Nexo in Korea this year, with the goal of cementing its dominance in the eco-friendly vehicle market here.The Nexo sold 727 units in 2018, the year it was launched, but the number skyrocketed to 4,194 units last year. Its price begins from 68.9 million won ($59,402) in Korea.  Combined with Hyundai Motor’s first commercial hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Tucson ix, accumulated

Mobility Jan. 16, 2020

Hyundai Motor launched Wednesday the much-anticipated first SUV from its luxury brand Genesis, the GV80, which is expected to compete with models from the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The world’s fifth-largest automaker in terms of sales aims to sell 24,000 units of the GV80 in Korea this year, with plans to launch in North America as well.  According to the company, the two-row GV80 was built on the brand’s first rear-wheel-drive platform, based on three key pillar

Mobility Jan. 15, 2020