BUSAN – SK Telecom, the nation’s leading telecom carrier, said Friday it aims to debut air taxi service by 2025, calling UAM or urban air mobility a “game changer” for future mobility innovations. “Our rivals also plan to launch air taxi services in the coming years, but we are confident that we will be the first to bring UAM aircrafts to the market,” said SK Telecom’s Chief Development Officer Ha Min-yong during a press conference held at the 2022 Bus

Mobility July 17, 2022

BUSAN -- Hyundai Motor’s latest electric vehicle Ioniq 6 made its global debut at the Busan Motor Show Thursday, boasting not only its sleek design but also its single-charge travel capacity of 524 kilometers. The sedan, whose overall design was inspired by airplanes, features energy efficiency at 6 km per kilowatt-hour, which is the highest rate among EVs around the world, the carmaker said. “The Ioniq 6 will create a sensation in the local EV market, currently dominated by EVs wi

Mobility July 14, 2022

Hyundai Motor will build an electric vehicle production factory in South Korea by 2025, making it the carmaker's first investment in expanding its local manufacturing capacity in 29 years. The envisioned factory will be first-ever EV-dedicated manufacturing facility here, the company said. The plan was a part of a labor-management agreement to secure jobs for its workers, according to the union. The carmaker said it aims to break ground next year, while existing facilities that are old and ou

Mobility July 12, 2022

South Korean chemicals-to-materials firm SKC said Friday that the company has kicked off construction of Europe’s largest copper foil manufacturing factory in Poland. The firm’s copper foil manufacturing and investment unit, SK Nexilis, is spending 900 billion won ($693 million) to establish a copper foil production facility in Stalowa Wola, Poland, that has an annual manufacturing volume of 50,000 metric tons. Construction is expected to be completed by the first half of 2024. The

Industry July 8, 2022

Although sales of the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake in Europe were not impressive, selling a total of 552 cars last year, Hyundai Motor is putting high hopes on the model to catch drivers’ attention in the domestic market. “The G70 Shooting Brake was a must for Genesis, not just to target the global market, but to complete a full, versatile lineup -- just as other luxury German carmakers like Porsche do with the D-segment. Such model types are not flagships, but add variety to the fam

Mobility July 7, 2022

Fashion-to-energy conglomerate Kolon Group said Wednesday that its pick of hydrogen fuel cell energy as the group’s core business for the future will expand under its unique, one-stop service platform for hydrogen business with an aim to become the industry’s major supplier.  As part of the “Kolon H2 Platform,” the group plans to expand and renovate the current hydrogen business that involves mass production of polymer electrolyte membranes -- a core material requi

Industry July 6, 2022

Posco Chemical on Wednesday unveiled a carbon neutrality roadmap for its battery materials business, aiming to meet RE100 standards by around 2035. It aims to replace 100 percent of the electricity it uses for producing cathode and anode materials with eco-friendly sources.  But the company said that does not mean that it will join the RE100 club by 2035. The Korean firm aims to complete its energy goal by transforming its current carbon capture, which is a use-and-storage process, by ad

Industry July 6, 2022

A union labor’s first walkout in four years is imminent at Hyundai Motor Group, as unionized workers are setting the stage for a strike, while the Korean carmaker came under greenwashing accusations in Germany for manipulating exhaust emissions, escalating the strain on the beleaguered carmaker amid dwindling sales. According to the industry, a 40,958-member labor union at the Hyundai Motor branch of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Union held

Mobility July 5, 2022

Despite Hyundai Motor Group’s aggressive push for green cars, there has been no clear sign of a breakthrough in its hydrogen drive in the past four years, with seemingly indefinite delays in new model launches.  According to industry sources, the carmaker has suspended plans to produce the next-generation Nexo, a hydrogen fuel cell SUV, which had been planned to be launched in the second quarter next year.  Nexo, succeeding the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell model Hyun

Mobility July 4, 2022

The long, swoopy, not-so-pretty design of wagon and hatchback has definitely not been popular in South Korea, a country where SUVs and luxury sedans make up most of the market share. But targeting drivers who seek compact car with sedan-like driving comfort and spacious cargo space like SUVs, automakers are launching wagons and hatchbacks to lure consumers amid shifting trends. According to the country’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Group, its luxury brand Genesis will start selling a

Mobility July 3, 2022

South Korean automotive giant Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday that it would establish an overseas corporate body in the state of Delaware, as part of its focus to invest in US companies with future technologies and to manage them more efficiently.  The decision follows a $10.5 billion investment plan for the US, which was announced during US President Joe Biden’s state visit to Seoul on May 21. It marks the largest overseas spending by the Korean company so far.  Tentatively

Industry June 30, 2022

Posco Chemical, a chemical materials provider under South Korean steel giant Posco, has joined hands with UK’s sustainable, low-carbon battery company Britishvolt to co-develop battery materials and expand presence in the European market, according to the firm on Thursday.  Under the partnership, the two firms will work on developing battery materials for Britishvolt’s EV batteries and push ahead with mass-production deals to expand supply chain in the European market. They pl

Industry June 30, 2022

A Seoul bankruptcy court on Tuesday approved a local consortium led by chemical-to-steel firm KG Group to acquire a 58.85 percent stake in SsangYong Motor at a reported 900 billion won ($700 million), ending a two-way race to acquire the debt-ridden South Korean SUV maker. SsangYong has been under court receivership for 14 months after its Indian parent Mahindra & Mahindra failed to attract fresh funding amid worsening financial health during the pandemic.  Following the court&rs

Mobility June 28, 2022

Korea Aerospace Industries is venturing into the air taxi business with an aim to develop a small-sized Urban Air Mobility aircraft by 2024 so it can be used as a test model. KAI said it will later develop a full-scale UAM aircraft that can be used as a standardized model for the air taxi business in Korea amid the government’s push to commercialize air taxis by 2025.  According to industry sources, KAI is building a small-sized UAM aircraft that will be 25 percent to 40 percent sma

Mobility June 28, 2022

Hyundai Steel has built a so-called Smart Enterprise system, an advanced management program that oversees from production to sales and infrastructure management through AI technology, officials said Tuesday. The new system features AI technology and big data to advance the entire process from manufacturing to sales at steel mills, Hyundai Steel said.  “The company will complete the Smart Enterprise system by forming the most optimized decision-making process centered in customers b

Industry June 28, 2022