Audi’s all-new A4 and all-new A4 Avant    German luxury carmaker Audi is showcasing new sedans, an electric SUV concept car to challenge Tesla, and its state-of-the-art auto technologies at the 66th International Motor Show in Frankfurt, running from Sept. 17 to 27. 　One of highlights at the event is the launch of the all-new A4, the carmaker’s most popular sedan, and the all-new A4 Avant. 　The range-topping small sedan in competition with Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class and BMW’s 3 Series came back, ar

Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW's head of design   FRANKFRUIT, Germany -- Luxury German carmaker BMW, which turns 100 years next year, is one of the few automakers in the world that has kept its design traditions for so long. BMW cars still share their longtime design features like the double kidney grille up front. The carmaker introduced the typical grille shape in the 1930s.　But the Munich-based automaker has also made a lot of changes and innovations in vehicle design along with continued advanceme

   The Korean branch of Philips, a global leading company in health and well-being sectors, said Wednesday it has launched an integrated brand campaign under the slogan of ‘‘innovation and you” in an effort to strengthen its refreshed brand identity and brand positioning here.　As a highlight of the campaign, aimed at raising public awareness of Philips’ new mission to improve people’s lives through meaningful innovation, the company has started an online platform (www.philips.com/innovationandyo

    Hyundai Motor America named Derrick Hatami, sales chief of Nissan America, as vice president for domestic sales, replacing 26-year Hyundai veteran Bob Pradzinski, the company said Thursday.Hyundai Motor America's new sales chief Derrick Hatami 　　Hatami had served as the general manager of Hyundai Motor America’ 12-state western region for three years before he moved to Nissan in 2012.“We couldn‘t be happier to have Derrick rejoin us,” said David Zuchowski, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor

Ssangyong Engineering & Construction chairman Kim Seok-joon (right) poses with Ssangyong Motor CEO Choi Johng-sik after donating his 18-year old Ssangyong Motor full-size Chairman sedan to the carmaker in Seoul on Monday. The donated car by the former Ssangyong Group chairman was the first Chairman built on the Mercedes-Benz’s W124 platform back in 1997. Ssangyong Motor

Renault Samsung Motors launched LPG-powered large sedan SM7 Nova LPe to revive sagging gas-powered car market at the Namsan J-Gran House, Seoul, Thursday. The new sedan will compete with market-dominant models of Hyundai and Kia in the segment, armed with better fuel efficiency and donut-shaped fuel tank to offer bigger trunk space than its competitors. RSM 　

Former Lotte Holdings VP Shin Dong-ju    Former Lotte Holdings vice chairman Shin Dong-joo, the eldest son of Lotte Group founder Shin Kyuk-ho, has refused to disclose personal information in a document specifying the conglomerate’s governance structure submitted to a watchdog, industry sources said. 　The Fair Trade Commission requested the document in its attempt to raise understanding of the retail giant’s murky governance structure, revealed amid a family feud involving the group founder and

    Hong Kong-based logistics start-up GoGoVan, better known as “Uber for delivery,” will debut its Korean-language app next month, a source close to the matter told The Korea Herald. 　GoGoVan, founded in summer 2013 in Hong Kong with an app to connect licensed van and truck drivers with users for free, is one of the fastest growing start-ups in Asia, expanding its global reach to mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, beyond its home market. 　   The company announced the entry to Korea early thi

    Despite the slowdown in its key automotive business, Hyundai Motor Group, the nation’s second-largest conglomerate, will create more than 10,000 new jobs this year -- the largest annual recruitment plan in its history -- in response to the worsening youth unemployment. 　The group originally had a plan to hire 9,500 workers this year. 　“The company expects to push for the largest hiring plan this year with the support of the wage peak system,” a group official said. 　Last Thursday, the automo

   Armed with price competitiveness, powerful design and high-tech safety features, Chevrolet’s Impala, the iconic full-size sedan from General Motors, is quickly emerging as a dark horse in the Korean large family sedan market, whose growth has recently been slow due to lack of new models and the growing popularity of sports utility vehicles. 　CONFIDENCE IN IMPALA -- Marc J. Comeau (left), vice president of marketing at General Motors Korea, and Nichole Kraatz, Impala chief engineer (center) ho

Korean companies and their leaders have been one of the biggest contributors to the transformation of Korea, once one of the poorest countries in the world, into a donor nation for the past 70 years after liberation in 1945.Partnering with the military government, which launched the nation’s first five-year economic development plan in 1962, the first generation of Korean chaebol leaders exerted strong leadership to build the foundation of businesses from scratch, while linking their business pr

GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha poses in front of the silver Impala, GM’s full-size sedan at a launch Tuesday. GM Korea 　   Chevrolet Impala, General Motors’ flagship full-size sedan model with a history of 58 years, debuted in Korea on Wednesday seeking to raise the company’s domestic market share to 10 percent. 　It is the first time for the automaker to enter the large sedan market in Korea. 　“GM Korea is taking an exciting step forward by introducing the best-selling large sedan in U.S. history,” s

Mercedes-Benz’s new E350 BlueTEC 4MATIC BMW 530d xDrive     BMW and Mercedes-Benz will compete in the local premium taxi market from October as the two German luxury carmakers’ best-selling mid-size luxury saloons were selected for a pilot project last week. 　Seoul City designed the project, partnering with a local taxi association and Daum Kakao, the nation’s biggest messaging company, to cope with app-based international taxi service providers like Uber. 　According to High&, the Seoul City-inv

    British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover launched Jaguar’s new compact sports sedan XE in Seoul on Thursday with the ambition to create a “game changer” in the segment where German carmakers are dominant. Jaguar unveils its entry-level sports sedan XE at a launch in Seoul on Thursday. Jaguar Land Rover Korea　Bigger competitors of Jaguar XE in the luxury entry-level sedan market are BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes C-Class. 　“We are going to deliver British premium experience to young car

The introduction of a nine-speed transmission offering better fuel economy and driving performance is nothing new in the global automotive industry these days. 　However, car buyers and lovers were excited about the announcement that Mercedes-Benz, with the slogan of “the best or nothing,” would install a nine-speed gearbox in its E-class range back in 2013. As promised, the German carmaker unveiled  with a new nine-speed transmission last year and, finally, it debuted in Korea in January this ye

In a move to grant its customers an unforgettable journey of a lifetime, Harley-Davidson Korea hosted a cross-country motorcycle tour of 14 nights in the United States, which officially concluded last week.Under the title “Into the Route 66,” the program brought a total of 40 Harley-Davidson customers, their family and company staff on a road trip down the historic Route 66 -- one of the oldest highways in the U.S. also known as the “Mother Road.”The tour kicked off on July 11 from the highway’s

　BMW’S RIDE SUPPORT FOR TOM CRUISE --  U.S actor Tom Cruise, who visited Seoul last Thursday to promote his new action move “Mission Impossible 5: Rogue Nation,’’ walks toward the event hall in southern SEoul after getting off a BMW 7 Series car, offered by BMW Korea for a VIP ride. He rides BMW M3 and S1000 RR in the movie. 

Forza Motors Korea, the local importer and distributer of Italian supercar Maserati, launches a brand marketing event to offer Koreans a chance to download the engine sound of Maserati GranTurismo between July 31 and Aug. 9 for free on its Facebook page. FMK

F&B chain brand stores, run by CJ Foodville, opened at the Incheon International Airport on Thursday. CJ Foodville       CJ Foodville, the food and beverages arm of South Korean retail giant CJ Group, opened “CJ Airtown,’’ composed of its F&B brand stores, at Incheon International Airport, the company said Thursday.　In the first stage of the F&B brand mall development, the company has opened six homegrown F&B chain brand stores -- including Bibigo and Seasons Table, both of which are Korean food

nuclear plant photo:　The Shin-Wolsong nuclear reactor unit 2 (left) and reactor unit 1 within the Wolseong nuclear power plant complex, located in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The Shin-Wolsong nuclear reactor unit 2 started its commercial operations last Friday as the nation’s 24th reactor. KHNP    Korea, the world’s fifth largest producer of nuclear energy, has raised its dependency on nuclear power having recently started the commercial operations of its 24th nuclear reactor. 　Korea Hy