[THE INVESTOR] On Aug. 2, the South Korean government suspended the sales and revoked the certification of 80 vehicle models sold by Audi Volkswagen Korea for manipulating documents to cheat on official emissions and noise level tests.  Below is the full list of penalized vehicles.  Volkswagen Tiguan   Bentley Continental GT V8

[THE INVESTOR] The Ministry of Environment on Aug. 2 suspended sales of 80 vehicle models sold by Audi Volkswagen Korea and fined it 17.8 billion won (US$16.01 million) for manipulating documents with an intention to cheat on the government’s emissions or noise level tests. The ministry said it has revoked certification -- which ultimately leads to a sales ban -- on 83,000 units of Volkswagen, Audi and Bentley vehicles that were sold here between 2009 to July 25. The affected models include some

[THE INVESTOR] An arrest warrant for Renault Samsung Motor CEO Park Dong-hoon, former chief of Volkswagen Korea, was rejected by the court on Aug. 1. The Seoul Central District Court dismissed the request, saying that it does not see the necessity of the warrant after having reviewed the case so far. Also, it believes that an arrest warrant at the moment can violate the suspects’ right to defend himself. Renault Samsung Motor CEO Park Dong-hoon, former chief of Volkswagen Korea, appears to the p

[THE INVESTOR] Domestic sales of South Korea’s five main automakers fell by 10.58 percent in July from a year earlier, hit hard by the termination of the tax cut on car purchases, according to data released individually by the vehicle manufacturers on Aug. 1. The combined local sales of Korea-based automakers -- Hyundai Motor ,  Kia Motors, GM Korea, Renault Samsung and Ssangyong Motor  -- came to 121,144 units in July, in comparison to 135,471 units from the same month last year. The figure als

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Wia, the automotive parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group, is struggling to improve profits, hit hard by a slump in the all-important Chinese market. In its recent earnings report on July 27, the company reported its second-quarter operating profit of 90.79 billion won (US$81.86 million), a 31.6 percent plunge from a year earlier. Hyundai Wia headquarters in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.Sales fell 2.7 percent to 1.94 trillion won, while net profit dropped 51 percent to

[THE INVESTOR] Ssangyong Motor on Aug. 1 said its July sales grew by 8.2 percent from a year earlier, aided by rising exports of Tivoli sport utility vehicle that offset decrease in domestic sales. The Korean unit of Indian auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra sold 12,784 units in July, in comparison to 11,814 units from the same month last year. Ssangyong Motor Tivoli AirDomestic sales decreased 8.1 percent on-year to 7,546, which also reflected a 22.6 percent decline from June. The downturn is attri

[THE INVESTOR] Ssangyong Motor , owned by India’s auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra, bounced back into profit in the first half of the year for the first time in nine years, thanks to the popularity of its Tivoli sport utility vehicle. The automaker posted operating profit of 27.4 billion won (US$24.40 million) in the first half of the year, reversing a nine consecutive loss-making years since 2007, the company said in a regulatory filing on July 29. Sales stood at 1.77 trillion won, while net prof

[THE INVESTOR] Ailing shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries posted an operating loss of 283.7 billion won (US$253.18) in the April-June period, mainly because of workforce restructuring costs, the company said in its quarterly earnings report on July 29. The fall, however, is an improvement from 1.54 trillion won loss a year earlier, up by 81.7 percent. Samsung Heavy Industries' shipyard.For the second quarter, the Samsung affiliate logged net loss of 212.4 billion won, narrowing the loss from 1.15

[THE INVESTOR] Sales of imported company cars in Korea fell in the first half of the year on toughened tax laws, industry data showed on July 29.In the January-June period, sales declined 15.8 percent from the same period in 2015, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. In total, 40,698 units of company cars were sold to account for 34.9 percent of the nation’s imported car sales. 　 The BMW 520d is cited as one of Korea’s most widely used company cars.The declin

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Motor is planning to roll out the second-generation fuel-cell version of its Tucson ix sport utility vehicle in 2018, just in time for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics taking place in South Korea, local news reported on July 29. Hyundai Motor's fuel-cell Tucson ix, the first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle in the world.Since 2013, South Korea’s largest automaker has been producing the first fuel cell version of its Tucson sport utility vehicle, known as Tucson FCEV -- which

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung SDI, the battery arm of Samsung Group, posted operating loss of 54.2 billion won (US$48.13 million) in the second quarter, the company said in its quarterly earnings report on July 28. The company, however, narrowed its losses from 58.81 billion won a year earlier and 703.75 billion won from the previous quarter. Sales stood at 1.31 trillion won, up 11.95 percent on-year. In the April-June period, the net profit came to 955.8 billion won, reversing a loss of 310.3 billion

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts unit of Hyundai Motor Group, will invest 643 billion won (US$571.53 million) to build the auto conglomerate’s new headquarters -- Hyundai Global Business Center -- in Southern Seoul, the company said in a regulatory filing on July 28. Hyundai Global Business Center to be built in Samseong-dong, Seoul.  Hyundai Motor GroupHyundai Motor Group is planning to erect a 105-story skyscraper in Samseong-dong area of Seoul, on a plot purchased from state-run K

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Mobis on July 28 said that it posted a 13 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit from a year earlier, thanks to favorable currency rates and improved supply to sport utility vehicles. South Korea’s largest automotive parts supplier affiliated with Hyundai Motor Group reported the April-June operating profit of 784.7 billion won (US$696.2 million), compared with the 694.4 billion won from the same period last year. Hyundai Mobis’ Mabuk technical center in Yongi

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor slipped down in the US ranking of cars that measures the overall satisfaction of owning and driving cars. Hyundai Motor ranked ninth, down from second last year, among non-premium brands on the J.D. Power’s Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout Study, released on July 27. The result is based on responses from more than 80,000 purchaser and lessees of new vehicles who assessed the performance and design after 90 days of ownership

[THE INVESTOR] Prosecutors on July 27 filed for an arrest warrant for Park Dong-hoon, Volkswagen Korea’s former chief executive officer, over the German automaker’s emission rigging scandal. Park has been charged with fabrication of private documents, obstruction of justice and violation of the Clean Air Conservation Act. The 63-year-old headed the Korean unit from its initiation in 2005 to 2013 before moving to Renault Samsung Motors as sales chief. He took helm of the Korean unit of France’s R

[THE INVESTOR] Hyundai Heavy Industries bounced back into profit in the second quarter, driven by cost-cutting efforts under the industry-wide restructuring program and strong performance in its non-shipbuilding sectors. The world’s largest shipbuilder posted operating profit of 557.2 billion won (US$490.70 million), a huge turnaround from a loss of 171 billion won from a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing on July 27.  Hyundai Heavy's shipyardIn the April-June period, the ship

[THE INVESTOR] Samsung C&T, a construction and trading affiliate of Samsung Group, bounced back into profit in the second quarter, on the back of its construction and resort segments. In the April-June period, the company posted operating profit of 176.81 billion won (US$158.88 million), reversing a loss of 434.81 billion won in the previous quarter, it said in a regulatory filing on July 27. Net profit came to 134.58 billion won, a turnaround from 516.63 billion won loss from the January-March

[THE INVESTOR] LG Innotek, the electronics parts unit of LG Group, suffered an operating loss of 34 billion won (US$30 million) in the April-June period, the company said in its quarterly earnings report on July 27. Revenue stood at 1.12 trillion won, down 22.6 percent from a year ago.The company said the slowing demand for smartphones has affected its overall sales negatively, adding that it would making a big push on the more lucrative automotive parts business as its new growth engine.In the

[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors, a Hyundai Motor's smaller affiliate said on July 27 it plans to roll out a new sport utility vehicle in China in response to stagnating car sales in the world’s second largest economy. “In China, we will unveil a new SUV, similar to Sorento, next year,” Han Chun-soo, Kia’s chief financial officer, said at the conference call after announcing the Q2 results. “Besides SUVs, we will also include compact cars and the K5 hybrid model in the new lineup to increase presence i

[THE INVESTOR] Kia Motors posted an 18.5 percent increase in second-quarter operating profit, driven by newly launched cars and solid demand in its major markets including the US and Europe. South Korea’s second largest automaker on July 27 reported the April-June operating profit of 770.9 billion won (US$679.20 million), compared with the 650.7 billion won from the same period last year. It is the first time that the company’s operating profit has exceeded the 700 billion-won mark since the sec