Kia Motors on Tuesday unveiled its strategy to transform into a mobility solutions provider and ramp up its lineup with 11 new models to achieve global electric vehicle market share of 6.6 percent by 2025. Under its mid- and long-term business plan called “Plan S,” the sister company of Hyundai Motor said it will focus on EVs by injecting 29 trillion won ($25.1 billion), as well as increase profitability by offering customized mobility solutions.The vision was unveiled during it

Mobility Jan. 14, 2020

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Tuesday it will release nine new models and six face-lifted vehicles this year to maintain its top position in the imported car market here.The automaker also touted its product lineup that “fits Korean tastes” as the reason for topping industry sales for four years in a row, during the automaker’s New Year’s press conference.According to the company, it has sold a record-high of 78,133 vehicles last year, up by 10.4 percent from the previous year

Mobility Jan. 14, 2020

The US subsidiary of South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor said Sunday it aims to sell 1 million units annually by 2025, on the back of rapid sales of the new Genesis model and sport utility vehicles. While the once-lucrative US market has seen total car sales fall by 1.1 percent last year to 17.08 million units due to global protectionism and sluggish global economy, sales of recreational vehicles inched up 2.8 percent, increasing its ratio in total sales to 71.9 percent in 2019 from 69.1 perce

Mobility Jan. 12, 2020

South Korea-based oil refinery S-Oil said Sunday that it conducted a New Year’s hiking event which was attended by its CEO and employees to share New Year’s resolutions and reinforce their commitment.S-Oil CEO Hussain A. Al-Qahtani was joined by some 200 employees comprised of team leader-level managers, new employees and officers and hiked on Cheonggyesan on Saturday, the company said.  During the hiking trip, Al-Qahtani told employees, “Uncertainties that we face today r

Industry Jan. 12, 2020

Unionized workers at Renault Samsung staged an impromptu partial strike late Wednesday despite a planned renegotiation with the management the next day, according to the automaker. The South Korean carmaker said the unionized workers staged a four hour-long partial strike by suspending the operation of the production line. A Renault Samsung representative told The Korea Herald that given the current situation, the planned renegotiation on Thursday has been canceled. According to t

Mobility Jan. 9, 2020

Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun has been highlighting the conglomerate’s transformation into a mobility solution provider by partnering with global firms in the industry. South Korea’s top auto group said Wednesday that it sealed a partnership with Uber at Consumer Electronics Show 2020 in Las Vegas, to develop an urban air mobility business and create “the world’s top personal air vehicle.” “Based on the collaboration with Ube

Mobility Jan. 8, 2020

Hyundai Motor envisions a future of mobility where people can hop on a personal air vehicle and transfer to a specialized vehicle that doubles as a restaurant or even a clinic, its chief said Monday.Speaking at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun unveiled a smart mobility vision for hubs that link aerial vehicles with specialized ground transportation. “We have thought deeply about what is significant when it come

Mobility Jan. 7, 2020

Data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed Monday that foreign direct investment to South Korea fell 13.3 percent on-year in 2019 to reach $23.3 billion of investment in total.According to the data, last year’s FDI pledged to Korea was the second-largest amount after the $26.9 billion reported in 2018. The ministry said 2018 saw the record-high FDI thanks to earlier-reported investments by firms prior to the government’s planned abolition of corporate tax benefi

Industry Jan. 6, 2020

Hyundai Motor said Monday it has launched Kona Electric 2020, an upgraded version of the country’s most-sold electric vehicle last year.A total of 13,587 units of Kona Electric were sold in the domestic market last year, maintaining its top position in the EV market for two years in a row.  The automaker said all trims of Kona Electric 2020 have adopted 10.25-inch navigation, offering drivers with wider, clearer screen as well as various multimedia contents. The navigation program is

Mobility Jan. 6, 2020

In a country where food trends come and go, stores selling black sugar milk tea and Mala xiang guo -- Sichuan-style spicy stir-fried vegetables and meat -- are widespread these days. Korea’s “sweet fever” peaked when Taiwanese boba milk tea franchise Tiger Sugar opened here in March last year, selling milk tea with dark brown sugar syrup called “heukdang” in Korean. In less than a year, Tiger Sugar has opened 16 additional stores in Korea.Coffee shops like Coffee Be

Industry Jan. 5, 2020

The country’s airlines are expanding their numbers of flights ahead of Seollal and throughout the holiday, industry sources said Friday. Seollal, the Lunar new year, is one of the biggest holidays in Korea. This year’s Seollal falls on Jan. 25, with the holiday running from 24th until 27th.  Korean Air said it would add a total of 26 more domestic flights connecting Gimpo to Jeju, Cheongju to Jeju and Gimpo to Busan, from 23rd to 27th.Asiana Airlines said it will add 12 mor

Mobility Jan. 3, 2020

Carmakers are rushing to launch new models in the first half of the year -- mainly market-dominating sport utility vehicles -- seeking opportunities to recover sales, according to industry sources.Hyundai Motor’s first-ever Genesis SUV GV80 opens up this year’s new vehicle lineup. The automaker released images of the luxury SUV GV80 on New Year’s Day, raising market expectations for the model set to debut in mid-January.  The three-row SUV from Hyundai Motor’s l

Mobility Jan. 2, 2020

Amid forecasts of lower economic growth and harsher business conditions in 2020, South Korea’s business community is pushing to ease government regulations to stimulate aggressive investments and entrepreneurship, according to industry sources Wednesday.Heads of the country’s business lobby groups noted abandoning old regulations to seek new changes in 2020.The Federation of Korean Industries chief Huh Chang-soo said in his New Year’s address that future-oriented regulations ar

Industry Jan. 1, 2020

Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis unveiled its first sport utility vehicle on Wednesday, raising market expectations for the much-anticipated model set to debut in mid-January. The GV80, a three-row SUV, is the fourth model of the brand, which consists of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans.  The “V” in its name represents the “versatile” aspect of the luxury SUV, while the number 80 indicates its large size, Hyundai Motor said. Under the design concept of

Mobility Jan. 1, 2020

After a bumpy year with flat consumer sentiment and global trade uncertainties, the automotive market is likely to face a similar business environment in 2020, with sport utility vehicles, electric vehicles and luxury cars remaining popular, according to market analysts.Hyundai Motor Group’s think tank for global business research and development center noted that the global auto market is estimated to record sales of 86.95 million units in 2019, down 5 percent from the previous year. This

Mobility Dec. 31, 2019