Korea’s mobile phone manufacturers are expected to capture 30 percent of the global market for the first time in history this year, brokerage industry data showed Wednesday.Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are anticipated to post market shares of 26.4 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, for a collective 30.1 percent share of handset sales globally, Samsung Securities said in a report.The brokerage house predicted that the two companies’ 2012 sales would reach 440 million and 56 million

Industry Nov. 28, 2012

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors are together the world’s third-biggest carmaker in terms of market capitalization.According to industry data, the two companies’ combined market capitalization reached 70.2 trillion won ($65 billion) ― Hyundai with about 47.1 trillion won and Kia with 23 trillion won ― as of Nov. 19.Their value on the global stock market could be regarded as No. 3 out of 12 major automakers, research analysts said.Toyota Motor topped the list with 155.5 trillion won in

Industry Nov. 27, 2012

Ssangyong Motor said Sunday that it had mapped out strategies to diversify export targets within five years, while more than half of its export-oriented vehicles are shipped to Russia and Latin America.Currently, Russia accounts for 32 percent of the automaker’s export destinations, followed by South & Central American countries with 26 percent.In coordination with its majority shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the company said it planned to push ahead with tapping new markets.“By 2016, when

Mobility Nov. 25, 2012

Germany’s three premium automobile brands are targeting the middle-income bracket and young consumers in Korea, following the outstanding growth in their sales of upper segment sedans.While the small segment import car market has been dominated by cars like the Volkswagen Golf, the MINI series and the Nissan Cube, the three brands ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi ― are poised to join the cheaper car sales competition.BMW Group Korea started the war among the big three by recently introducing the se

Mobility Nov. 22, 2012

Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Kun-hee had said one genius can feed millions of others, stressing the significance of creativity of employees.“We have to hire the best. A genius person is worth more than $1 billion,” said Lee, who has been leading Samsung Group since 1987.As the third son of Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, the 70-year-old business leader had instructed his staff to “change everything except your wife and kids.”While Samsung Group in the late 1980s was overly focused on mass p

Industry Nov. 21, 2012

The economic slowdown has decelerated the growth of consumption, but higher expenditure on food and beverages has resulted in the highest Engel’s coefficient in 11 years.The Bank of Korea said Tuesday that household consumption reached 324 trillion won ($297 billion) in nominal terms in the first six months of 2012, up just 2 percent from a year earlier.In contrast, spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages climbed 6.3 percent to 44 trillion won over the corresponding period.As a result, the

Industry Nov. 20, 2012

Fiat SpA and Volkswagen AG have dominated Brazilian auto sales for years, holding the top two spots. Now, General Motors Co. and Asian rivals are gaining share in a market the European carmakers had been counting on to offset weak demand in their home region.Brazilian auto production capacity will jump 50 percent by 2014 as South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and other carmakers ramp up new factories, according to Brazilian supplier organization Sindipecas. The added potential output, which comes as

Mobility Nov. 18, 2012

Hyundai Motor Group is mapping out strategies to export hybrid cars to Europe or roll out the fuel-efficient models at its manufacturing factories in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.Its project to advance to the European market reflects group chairman Chung Mong-koo’s instruction to drastically improve the annual production capacity for hybrid vehicles and diversify export destinations.Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ hybrid models, which use two or more distinct power sources, are currently being

Mobility Nov. 18, 2012