Bentley’s new Continental GT3-R supercar. (Bentley Motors)Bentley Motors, the supercar unit of German carmaker Volkswagen, launched the new Continental GT3-R, a race-inspired limited edition supercar, in Seoul on Tuesday.“We only sell six Bentley GT3-R vehicles in Korea with a price tag of 380 million won ($349,800),” the company said. The model, launched in 2014, is a limited-edition vehicle with just 300 units.The Continental GT3-R boasts a 580 horsepower output from its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V

Mobility Jan. 20, 2015

KAI’s transport utility helicopter Surion. (KAI)Korea Aerospace Industries said Tuesday its Surion-based helicopter variant for the Korean Marine Corp. completed its first test flight. KAI has led the project to develop the helicopter by investing 800 billion won ($713m) since July 2013. “With the successful test flight, we are confident of completing the development by end-2015 as scheduled,’’ the flight manufacturer said in a press release.After the project completion, KAI will supply 40 Surio

Industry Jan. 20, 2015

Hyundai Motor Co., the nation’s largest carmaker, has decided to lower the price of its Tucson fuel cell sport utility vehicle to compete with rising Japanese rival Toyota Motor in the segment, industry sources said. “Hyundai Motor recently informed Gwangju City, a major local buyer of the Tucson FCV, of its internal decision to cut the car price,” an industry insider close to the matter said on condition of anonymity last week.Gwangju City, which purchased five Hyundai FCVs last year, has a pla

Mobility Jan. 18, 2015

The mood is exuberant at this year’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Automakers are flush with profits and the show gleams with performance cars, beefy trucks and exciting experiments, from plug-in hybrids to cars carved by a 3-D printer. Here are some key takeaways from the show, which opened to the public Saturday. Optimism The U.S. economy is rejuvenated. Interest rates are low and auto financing is readily available. Carmakers have lots of new offerings with cool

Industry Jan. 18, 2015

The government plans to invest 180 trillion won ($166 billion) this year to foster a start-up ecosystem, new industries and markets with growth potential. Five economic ministries and agencies including the Science Ministry reported their new policies to President Park Geun-hye at the government complex in Sejong City.The Industry Ministry said it set this year’s exports target at over $600 billion and foreign direct investment at more than $20 billion. President Park urged the economic minister

Jan. 15, 2015

Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, plans to integrate two onshore and offshore plant business units and begin voluntary redundancies to overcome its financial difficulties.But insiders said the merger of the two units is an apparent move to gradually withdraw from the money-losing onshore plant business “Top management ordered the business unit to stop activities to win new plant orders,” an industry source said. The company’s drastic measure came after it posted a record

Industry Jan. 14, 2015

Incheon City said Monday that it is in talks with Alibaba Group to attract investment from the Chinese e-marketplace giant. “The city has sought investment from the Chinese retail giant, promoting the city’s geopolitical advantage, since the latter half of last year, but more time is needed for both parties to develop the details of the investment plan,’’ Incheon City spokesman Woo Seung-bong said. The remarks came after a local newspaper reported that the port city, located 40 kilometers west o

Industry Jan. 12, 2015

Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation’s largest utility company, said Thursday that it would invest a record high of 5.5 trillion won ($5.01 billion) this year in improving the safety of power generation and distribution-related facilities and in developing new growth engines in the energy sector. The state-run KEPCO will increase investments by 54 percent in 2015 from a year ago, which is the largest investment plan in its 54-year-long history, company officials said.Under the plan, the power

Industry Jan. 8, 2015

In contrast to the stagnant growth of major domestic carmakers, sales of imported cars in the Korean market jumped 25.5 percent to a record high of 196,359 vehicles last year over the previous year, data showed Wednesday.The growth marks an upward trend for the fifth consecutive year, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. “It is a matter of time before we see the number of registered foreign cars exceeded 200,000 early this year,’’ an industry insider said, ad

Mobility Jan. 7, 2015

Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest automaker, said Tuesday it would invest about 81 trillion won ($73 billion) over the next four years to improve facilities, expand production lines, develop core technologies for smart and green cars, and construct its headquarters building. Under the investment road map, the automaker is expected to spend an annual average of 20.2 trillion won through 2018, which would surpass its previous high of 14.9 trillion won in 2014.Hyundai Motor’s new inves

Mobility Jan. 6, 2015

Chung Eui-sun, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, visited the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas to showcase the firm’s future auto technology, the company said Tuesday.It is the first time the heir apparent of Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo has attended the world’s largest consumer electronics trade show since 2011.  Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (Yonhap)His attendance demonstrates the automaker’s attention to the global trend of convergence between cars and informa

Industry Jan. 6, 2015

Renault Samsung Motors unveiled the SM5 Nova, the latest edition of its flagship mid-size premium sedan, on Monday in Seoul to continue its sales momentum. The SM5 Nova adopts Renault’s new brand identity and boasts technological prowess and better fuel efficiency, the company said. The carmaker raised hopes for a repeat of last year’s success of the small crossover sport utility vehicle QM3 with the SM5 Nova this year. The success of the QM3 boosted Renault Samsung’s sales at home last year. Th

Mobility Jan. 5, 2015