[THE INVESTOR] Mercedes-Benz Korea on Aug. 18 rolled out its new E-class diesel model following a delay, the Korean unit of the German automaker said.  Mercedes-Benz’s E-class 220dThe new E-class 220d sedan is equipped with the automaker’s latest 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo diesel and nine-speed automatic transmission to output a maximum of 194 horsepower. The E-class gasoline models E300 and E300 4Matic were already released in June. The diesel model was delayed for three months as the Korean

[THE INVESTOR] More than 1,000 consumers in South Korea are taking legal action against local water purifier-maker Coway over its cover-up of defective ice water purifiers containing nickel. A group of 1,126 Coway users will file a damage suit on Aug. 19, demanding of 2.5 million won (US$2,240) each -- including 1.5 million won for a medical checkup and 1 million won in compensation for emotional distress. The amount totals 28 billion won. Nickel, which came off from an internal component, had b

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Hanon Systems will join hands with China’s Shandong Binzhou Bohai Piston to launch a new auto parts firm in China, local news reported on Aug. 18. The Korean auto parts-maker has signed a letter of intent to establish a 49:51 joint venture with the Chinese counterpart. The two firms will initially invest a total of 33 million yuan (US$4.98 million) in the new venture based in Shandong Province. The venture will mainly produce air conditioning units for Beijing Benz,

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s Ministry of Environment has initiated an inquiry against 23 imported carmakers to review the possibility of their having manipulated registration documents, in an effort to curb another Volkswagen scandal. A ministry official on Aug. 18 said it requested the state-run National Institute of Environmental Research conduct examinations of over 100 different models equipped with Euro 6-engines sold by carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Ford. It will check whether t

[THE INVESTOR] GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, will export its new Malibu sedan to Middle Eastern countries, local news reported. According to online media outlet News1, the automaker will ship around 2,000 units of the midsize sedan Malibu to 10 countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Qatar and Kuwait. GM Korea is set to export 12,000 units yearly. GM Korea CEO James Kim poses with the all-new Malibu. GM KoreaThe new Malibu has enjoyed great popularity he

[THE INVESTOR] Hankook Tire posted a 54.3 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit on the back of strong sales of high-performance tires in its major markets, including the US and Europe. South Korea’s largest tire-maker on Aug.17 reported the April-June operating profit of 310.2 billion won (US$279.4 million), compared with 201.0 billion won from the same period last year. The sales stood at 1.72 trillion won, reflecting a 6.6 percent increase from a year earlier. A Hankook Tire fact

[THE INVESTOR] The operating margin of South Korea’s automotive industry stood at a meager 5 percent last year, an industry study showed Aug. 17. The study by the Korea 20000 Corporate Research Institute analyzed 1,079 companies, including auto and auto parts manufacturers and vendors, both public and private. Combined sales of 1,079 firms posted 234.8 trillion won (US$212.2 billion) in 2015. Their operating profit came to 12.18 trillion won, accounting for 5.2 percent of their sales.  South Kor

[THE INVESTOR] The head of Kia Motors on Aug. 17 said it will take a while for Korea’s second-largest automaker to build an auto plant in India. “It won’t be that easy,” Park Han-woo, president of Kia Motors, told reporters after a breakfast meeting in Seoul with the trade minister and heads of other carmakers. “It will take some time because there isn’t a proper site or (the necessary) people in India yet.” Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo visits Hyundai Motor’s India plant in Chenna

[THE INVESTOR] Coway, an embattled Korean water purifier-maker, is caught up in a new row after some consumers claimed metal powder was discovered again inside the company’s other products, local news reported Aug. 16. According to cable news network YTN, some metal coating was found in dispensed water in Coway’s water purifier model CHPI-08BL. The customers thought it was a cleaning problem, so they requested after-sales service to get their products cleaned. But the same problem existed after

[THE INVESTOR] Ssangyong Motor CEO Choi Johng-shik said the automaker aims to bounce back into profit this year, reversing nine consecutive loss-making years.“Thanks to the executives and staff members’ endeavors and determination, we returned to profit in the first half of the year for the first time in nine years,” Choi told the company’s 200 senior managers gathered at an event called “Leaders Round Table” on Aug. 12.  Choi Johng-sik, CEO of Ssangyong Motor, speaks at the “Leaders Round Table

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean prosecutors will summon Thomas Kuehl, the CEO of Volkswagen Korea, on Aug. 18 for questioning over his involvement in the automaker’s emissions-rigging scandal. The Seoul Central Prosecutors’ Office on Aug. 16 said it plans to grill Kuehl, who has been in charge of importing and selling Volkswagen vehicles here as head of the Korean unit since Sept. 2013. The investigators suspect Kuehl took part in selling the seventh-generation Golf 1.4 TSI while aware that it fell

[THE INVESTOR] GM Korea, the Korean unit of General Motors, plans to launch the Chevrolet Camaro SS sports car in September, the automaker said Aug. 16. The Camaro SS -- the same model that starred as Bumblebee in the 2014 movie “Transformers: Age of Extinction” -- boasts a powerful engine and impressive interior and exterior design. Some 700 preorders for the muscle car were made at the latest Busan Motor Show in June.  Chevrolet Camaro SS in flaming red. GM KoreaThe newest Camaro uses a 6.2-li

Inside a sprawling three-story Volkswagen showroom in the affluent Gangnam area of Seoul, just two cars - the CC 2.0 TSI and Touareg - were on display. These are the only two cars that were permitted to be sold here following a government sales ban and decertification move that affected a wide array of Volkswagen cars.  Volkswagen showroom in Seoul. (Park Hyun-koo/The Investor)“We hardly have visitors these days,” one salesman at the dealership said, declining to be identified. “For now, these a

[THE INVESTOR] Inside a sprawling three-story Volkswagen showroom in the affluent Gangnam area of Seoul, just two cars - the CC 2.0 TSI and Touareg - were on display. These are the only two cars that were permitted to be sold here following a government sales ban and decertification move that affected a wide array of Volkswagen cars. “We hardly have visitors these days,” one salesman at the dealership said, declining to be identified. “For now, these are the only cars we can sell,” he said, poin

[THE INVESTOR] Sales of imported diesel cars plummeted by 42.2 percent in July compared to the same month last year, hit by Volkswagen’s emission-rigging scandal, industry figures showed on Aug. 4.According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, a total of 8,286 units of diesel engine cars were sold in July, compared to 14,325 units a year earlier.  BMW’s 520d. Their market share went down from 69.2 percent to 52.7 percent of all imported cars. The fall was led

[THE INVESTOR] Korean owners of Volkswagen vehicles will be filing a damage claim against Audi Volkswagen Korea, the carmaker’s Korean unit, for the lost resale value of their cars due to the VW emission-rigging scandal, local news reported on Aug. 4. “We are gathering car owners who suffered a price loss as a result of the ministry’s latest decision to nullify registration and ban sales of VW cars. We will register a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office as early as next

[THE INVESTOR] Volkswagen’s July sales in South Korea tumbled by 85.8 percent from a year earlier, as consumers turned away from the German automaker that cheated on emissions and noise level tests, industry data showed on Aug. 4. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, only 425 VW cars were sold here in July, a downturn from 2,998 units in the same month last year. The figure is a 76.8 percent decline from June this year. With the drop, VW barely made

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s car exports declined 13.5 percent in the first half of the year, dragged down by a slowdown in emerging markets, industry data showed on Aug. 3. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, five major automakers -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Renault Samsung, Ssangyong Motor and GM Korea -- shipped 1.33 million units from January to June, in comparison to 1.54 million units in the same period last year. The overall exports value tumbled to US$19.01 bi

[THE INVESTOR] Over 3,000 Audi and Volkswagen cars that are imported from Germany to South Korea will have to head back immediately upon arrival.  Volkswagen cars are parked at the carmaker's warehouse near the Pyeongtaek Port.A total of five vessels carrying a month’s supply of cars had left Germany between end-June to mid-July, before the South Korean government officially banned sales of the VW vehicles, an official from Audi Volkswagen Korea was quoted as saying by a local news outlet. The f

[THE INVESTOR] Audi Volkswagen Korea on Aug. 2 apologized to the South Korean customers for its emission-rigging scandal, promising to win back customer trust. The Korean unit of the German automaker also said it will come up with countermeasures against the government’s punitive steps. Audi Volkswagen Korea managing director Johannes Thammer (right) and Volkswagen Korea chief Thomas Kuehl attend a parliamentary hearing in October last year. The Investor“We deeply apologize to everyone for causi