Annual event draws 12 Korean and 23 foreign carmakers


The upcoming Seoul Motor Show is set to be the biggest yet, with new offerings from domestic and foreign carmakers.

This year’s Seoul Motor Show, to open with a media preview on March 31, will be packed with 12 domestic carmakers and 23 foreign brands.

In comparison, last year’s Busan International Motor Show had only two foreign carmakers ― Lotus and Subaru ― present their wares, adding little credibility to its status as an international event.

The previous Seoul Motor Show, held in 2009, the country’s largest and only one recognized by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers didn’t fare much better, with only eight foreign carmakers taking part.

With 35 carmakers taking part, this year’s Seoul Motor Show will offer a large number of new vehicles for Korean car enthusiasts, and the event’s organizers are expecting more than 1 million visitors to flock to the KINTEX exhibition center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

This year’s offerings will include 54 new vehicles, of which five will be world premieres while 22 models will be unveiled for the first time in Asia.

The five world premieres will include Hyundai Motor Co.’s concept car HND-6 and Kia Motors Corp.’s KND-5 concept cars, and GM Korea Co.’s concept car Miray.

Renault Samsung Motors Co., which hasn’t launched a new model in some time, will be displaying the show car version of the upcoming replacement for the SM7 large sedan.

Of the 22 Asia premieres, nine will be from domestic firms. Foreign firms’ Asia premieres will be dominated by U.S. brands with Ford and Chrysler vehicles accounting for six of the 13 such vehicles.

Foreign carmakers will also present a number of concept cars. The largest number of concept cars will come from the Japanese giant Toyota, including plug-in hybrid version of the Prius and FT-86 G Sports Concept.

High-end marques such as Infiniti, Audi and Porsche will also be showing off concept vehicles at the show.

Audi’s contribution to Seoul Motor Show’s concept car lineup will be the e-tron, while Infiniti will be unveiling the Essence concept for the first time in Korea. German luxury sports car maker Porsche will be introducing the 918 RSR.

While foreign carmakers’ presence at the show is set to be on an unprecedented scale, the show will nevertheless be dominated by Korean firms, with their booths taking up much of the floor space.

However, the show still promises to be an exciting opportunity for enthusiasts to view the latest developments in the industry.

The country’s largest carmaker Hyundai will display 17 different models including hybrid electric versions of the midsized sedan Sonata and the compact car Avante. The company will also present the HCD-12 concept car seen at overseas industry events.