Kia Motors, a sister company of Hyundai Motor, is aiming to sell 4 million vehicles globally by 2030, with half of them being eco-friendly models, the company said on Thursday. The carmaker will expand the portion of electric vehicles and hybrids in overall sales from the current 17 percent to 52 percent by 2030. For markets with state-supportive policies for EVs –- Korea, North America, Europe and China -- Kia said it will pull up its EV and hybrid sales portion up to 78 percent by 2030

Mobility March 3, 2022

Hyundai Motor has set a new sales target of its electric vehicles at 1.87 million units a year, aiming to secure 7 percent of global EV market share in the next eight years. Such a goal would have EVs turning into a major cash cow for the carmaker over combustion engine cars, as the portion of battery-powered vehicles in overall sales will rise to 36 percent, the carmaker said in a statement released on Wednesday. By expanding the production of EVs, Hyundai hopes to generate bigger margins of

Mobility March 2, 2022

The number of deaths at workplaces due to safety accidents has fallen compared to a year ago after the country enforced a strengthened industrial safety act, according to government data.  The Labor Ministry data showed that from Jan. 27 to Feb. 26, a total of 42 people died from 35 fatal industrial safety accidents, compared to 52 deaths from 52 accidents that occurred over the same period last year.  In a one month period, 18 workers in the manufacturing industry lost their lives,

Industry Feb. 28, 2022

PLANA, a South Korean startup developing vertical take-off and landing aircraft powered by hybrid e-powertrain, shared its vision for advanced air mobility, or AAM, with its unique model at the 2022 Drone Show Korea that ended Saturday.  Plana CEO Braden J. Kim, who studied aerospace engineering and holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering, founded the company in July last year. He most recently worked at Hyundai Motor Group’s urban aircraft mobility development team.  In h

Industry Feb. 28, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group’s electric SUV models Ioniq 5 and EV6 have been picked as the most competitive electric SUVs in a ranking by the German automotive magazine Auto Zeitung, beating the same segment models from Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Polestar, the carmaker said. Auto Zeitung’s latest edition compared Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, Kia’s EV6, Polestar’s Polestar 2, Tesla’s Model Y and Mercedes-Benz’s EQB, based on the categories of driving comfort, powertrain, dr

Mobility Feb. 27, 2022

Starbucks Korea said Sunday that it has donated a piece of calligraphy by Manhae Han Yong-un, a 20th century Korean Buddhist reformer and poet who also fought for Korea’s independence, to the National Trust for Cultural Heritage to mark the 103th anniversary of Korea’s Independence Movement Day that falls on March 1.  The writing, which reads “Jeon Dae Beob Ryun,” has the meaning that a world of great truth does not settle but constantly evolves. As the only piece

Industry Feb. 27, 2022

Posco Chemical, the battery and chemical materials manufacturing arm of Posco Group, said Sunday it will expand investment in low-expansion anodes, a material needed for electric vehicle batteries. Low-expansion anodes are uniquely developed by Posco Chemical that enhance the safety, lifespan and charging speed but at a more affordable price, according to the company.  The production expansion plan from the current 7,000 metric tons to 35,000 tons was approved by the board of directors o

Industry Feb. 27, 2022

Hyundai Motor Group’s hydrogen-powered fuel cell bus Elecity FCEV provides public transport in Vienna in this picture released Sunday.  Austria’s public transportation corporation Wiener Linien began running the eco-friendly bus on its most crowded bus route, according to Hyundai.  The Korean carmaker’s supply of Elecity FCEV is part of the Austrian government-led hydrogen infrastructure expansion project called HyBus Project. Starting with the delivery of three E

Mobility Feb. 27, 2022

Posco Group has been left baffled over calls from political circles and local communities not to establish a new holding company in Seoul, and to stay in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, where the firm was initially founded as a state-run enterprise in 1968.  All four leading presidential candidates have publicly urged Posco -- which will officially launch a new holding firm on March 2 -- to remain in its birthplace of Pohang for the sake of balanced regional development. Posco has den

Industry Feb. 24, 2022

HDC Group’s construction arm HDC Hyundai Development Co. said Wednesday that it has appointed its vice president Jung Ik-hee as its new Chief Safety Officer. Jung, 56, joined the firm in 1995 and has overseen the management at major construction sites until 2019. In 2020, he served an executive role to manage the local projects and engineering technology with his experience on sites.  HDC Hyundai Development Co. said the new CSO was named as part of safety improvement efforts driven

Industry Feb. 23, 2022

South Korean companies are closely monitoring the situation as Western sanctions on Russia over the Russia-Ukraine geopolitical crisis may threaten the supply chains of the country’s key exports such as semiconductors, batteries and automotives.  According to industry sources Wednesday, the prices of aluminum and nickel -- key minerals for EV batteries -- hit all-time highs in 14 years and 11 years, respectively, as the United States prepares sanctions against Russia for invading Ukr

Industry Feb. 23, 2022

Bereaved families of six victims discovered dead at HDC Hyundai Development Co.’s construction site in Gwangju last month said they had reached an agreement with the firm Tuesday. Although the families did not disclose the exact amount of the compensation, they said they had to “give in a lot” in terms of the amount.  The agreement comes two weeks after the last victim was discovered at the construction site, almost a month after the facade and concrete floors of the 39-

Industry Feb. 22, 2022

For automakers in Korea, there is no sign the prolonged automotive semiconductor shortage will abate this year. Those who have purchased a new Genesis, for instance, have been notified that the car will take six to 12 months to be delivered –- if they are lucky. GM Korea’s second Buypeong plant in Incheon cut production volume by half earlier this month. And according to the market, this delay in car production due to the chip shortage may continue in the next year or even the year

Mobility Feb. 21, 2022

Authorities are widening investigations into a series of severe workplace accidents under a new industrial safety law, with businesses on high alert for its impact across industries. According to the Labor Ministry Sunday, authorities have launched probes into a total of six cases, involving 11 deaths, since the law took effect on Jan. 27. Many of the accidents occurred at construction sites. Three died in a landslide accident at Sampyo Industry’s quarry in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province on

Industry Feb. 20, 2022

Under the South Korean government’s plan to commercialize flying cars, or Urban Air Mobility, in central cities by 2025, the Transport Ministry on Thursday kicked off the K-UAM Grand Challenge program to coordinate all of South Korea’s UAM-related activities as part of its focus to enable emerging aviation markets. This Ministry-led program will bring together industry players including aircraft developers, airspace designers, and air traffic management operators with the goal of d

Industry Feb. 17, 2022