Amid the rapid growth of the import car industry, the sales gap between the top four German brands and other players widened over the past year, according to the October data of a lobby group for foreign automakers.The four major German carmakers ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Audi ― captured 66.4 percent of the local import automobile market last month among 24 members of the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association.The top four brands’ combined market share climbed 5.3 perce

Industry Nov. 5, 2012

BMW’s U.S. sales rose 21 percent in October, narrowing the lead of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in luxury-auto deliveries this year. Sales for BMW climbed to 26,451 vehicles last month, boosted by a 26 percent gain for its 3-Series. Mercedes yesterday reported a 5.9 percent increase from a year earlier to 23,978, helped by updated versions of the C-Class small sedan. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus rose 9.7 percent to 19,850.The October results trimmed Mercedes’s lead to 2,748 vehicles, from 5,221 at t

Mobility Nov. 4, 2012

After trailing General Motors Co. in China for eight years, Volkswagen AG edged ahead in the third quarter, putting it one step closer to its goal of becoming the world’s biggest automaker. VW’s deliveries in the country jumped 21 percent last quarter, almost triple GM’s growth, to 704,991 vehicles, according to figures the company reported.That beat the 664,765 that GM reported earlier this month. At stake is supremacy in the world’s biggest auto market, which analysts say will likely exceed th

Mobility Nov. 4, 2012

Korea’s import car industry’s sales growth is rapidly rising mainly thanks to the nation’s free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union, according to a local car industry lobby group.In its report last week, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said that import brands saw their vehicle sales increase by 15.5 percent for the first three quarters of 2012 on a year-on-year basis.Their brisk performance was “on the back of the Korea-EU FTA and the Korea-U.S. FTA,” t

Mobility Nov. 4, 2012

Some instant coffee mix producers are tapping or aiming at the global stage amid heated competition in the local market.Korea’s typical instant coffee product features three-in-one coffee mix sachets containing powdered coffee, powdered cream and sugar for a single serving.Namyang Dairy has initiated the moves abroad, called “coffee reexports,” by recently making inroads into countries such as China, the United States and Australia.Though the company’s current sales target in the overseas market

Industry Nov. 1, 2012

The number of so-called “house poor,” or burdened by mortgage and loan debt, has emerged as a social woe amid the protracted slump in the property market.When real estate prices surged between 2005 and 2006, many middle-income earners purchased houses that were out of their budget and have been financially pinched after housing prices plummeted following the 2008 global crisis.The number of “high-risk” house poor, or those with no ability to pay off their mortgage debt in full even if they sell

Industry Oct. 31, 2012

The ratio of Korea’s automobile imports to its exports is likely to exceed 10 percent this year, for the first time in 20 years since 1992, a trade data showed.According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, the nation imported vehicles worth $3.46 billion (3.8 trillion won), which is equivalent to 10.8 percent of its vehicle exports worth $32.07 billion, for the first nine months of the year.The ratio last recorded a double-digit figure in 1992 when Korea’s vehicle exports stayed

Industry Oct. 30, 2012

SK Group will revamp its decision-making process in a bid to induce voluntary participation and the growth of subsidiaries, company officials said.The plan was unveiled by group chairman Chey Tae-won, who said during the 2012 CEO seminar that the currently “vertical” decision-making process would be shifted to a “horizontal” one.“We attained a surplus of all affiliates in 2005 and leaped again in 2007 by changing the group into a holding firm,” Chey told some 30 CEOs from each business unit.He s

Industry Oct. 30, 2012

Dongbu Financial Network is a total brand which operates six subsidiaries ― Dongbu Insurance, Dongbu Life Insurance, Dongbu Securities, Dongbu Asset Management, Dongbu Capital and Dongbu Savings Bank.We are committed to constructing an overall image by making advertisements since 2003. We are in the stage of expanding the image we have gained from past efforts and combining it with Dongbu Group’s concept.Dongbu has been delivering the message of “individualized financial planning” for the past d

Industry Oct. 30, 2012

LS Cable& System has a management philosophy of creating harmony with customers and is following a new vision to become “Your No.1 Creative Partner.”We are on the way to becoming a leading provider of customer specific solutions. LS Cable&System is a company where its employees can achieve their dreams.All employees share in the vision of creating a world-class company that can be the No.1 creative partner for customers.The state-of-the-art technologies of LS Cable&System meet the needs of consu

Industry Oct. 30, 2012