HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Amid fears that the nation’s largest carmaker might be losing momentum, engineers at Hyundai Motor’s research and development center flaunted their creative and innovative ideas for cars of the future in front of executives seeking breakthroughs.Pitching products that ranged from stair-climbing personal mobility devices to air pumps to clear water away from side mirrors, 12 teams of young engineers competed in the annual R&D idea festival, suggesting new possibilit

Apparently seeking a change after the earnings shock last week, Hyundai Motor carried out a major reshuffle of its executives on Monday.The South Korean carmaker promoted Thomas Schemera, executive vice president of its high-performance vehicle division, to head its product planning and strategy division. The former BMW M executive is now in charge of setting the direction for technology development and product planning in light of the fast-changing market and innovations in technology, the comp

Upon stepping into American classic sports utility vehicle brand Jeep, one cannot help but feel the urge to become a little bit more adventurous. The brand that symbolizes such boldness, however, gets a softer tone with the Jeep Compass, a midsized model in its SUV lineup, especially in its latest version. The All New Jeep Compass that reached the local market in July has gotten an urban touch with modern, young design elements. But it has kept its daredevil spirit inside. The Tighershark MultiA

Hyundai Motor is joining forces with a Chinese engineering institute to raise around $100 million for an investment fund for startups with innovative ideas on hydrogen technology and infrastructure building, the company said Monday.The South Korean carmaker and the Beijing-Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute signed a memorandum of understanding Friday, agreeing to establish a “Hydrogen Energy Fund.” The fund will be managed by Hyundai Motor and Yield Capital, an investment unit under the Chinese e

Hyundai Mobis, a parts maker within Hyundai Motor Group, posted 1.44 trillion won in operating profit, a 15.1 percent decrease from a year ago, the company said in a statement Friday.Between July and September, the parts maker saw 8.42 trillion won in revenue, a 3.9 percent drop on-year, with a net profit of 449.4 billion won, which also declined 6.8 percent over the same period.Sales dropped due to the lower production volume of vehicles in the last three months and the temporary suspension of

The National Pension Service, operator of the state-run pension fund, holds stakes of 10.03 percent in LG Innotek and 10 percent in Hanmi Pharmaceutical, it said in a statement Friday.The pension operator’s stake in CJ CGV, the movie theater arm under food and retail giant CJ Group, has reduced to 9.9 percent from 10.72 percent, it added.(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

Kia Motors, sister company of Hyundai Motor, posted an operating profit of 117.3 billion won for the third quarter, lower than market projections, the company said Friday. Kia generated 14.74 trillion won in revenue, and its operating profit has turned around from the 427 billion won deficit posted a year earlier.The market projection for the carmaker’s third-quarter operating profit was 300 billion won. (Herald DB)A day earlier, Hyundai Motor said it had brought in 288.9 billion won in operatin

The idea of nurturing budding enterprises in North Korea at first glance draws skepticism.People from free market economies may question how it will be even possible in a country that prohibits the ownership of personal assets, not to mention incentives for ventures.It might sound paradoxical. However, the more North Korea has faced tougher economic sanctions from the international community in the last 10 years, the more passion for business success among people there has built up, said Geoffre

Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest carmaker, has suffered the biggest-ever drop in quarterly earnings since adopting its current standards in 2010, with operating profit diving 76 percent on-year, the company said Thursday.The carmaker sold a total of 1.12 million vehicles around the world between July and September, posting 24.4 trillion won ($21.4 billion) of revenue and 288.9 billion won in operating profits, according to the statement.The company faced a significant drop in profit due to slowing

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon has made a proposal to replace police buses with fuel cell buses to promote the nation’s leading hydrogen technology.“I publicly propose to replace police buses that are often dubbed ‘henhouse cars idling at Gwanghwamun’ with hydrogen vehicles,” he said at a meeting of ministers. “Along with electric vehicles, (we) must actively develop hydrogen cars more.” A fuel cell bus powered by hydrogen (Hyundai Motor)Currently, the police operate 5,581 buses, according to the K

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s latest measures to support the hydrogen economy, the market drive for hydrogen-powered vehicles and the hurdles that stand in the way. This is the seventh installment. -- EdULSAN -- The southeastern city of Ulsan has long served as the backbone of South Korea’s industrial growth, and in its search of a new role in the era of the “fourth industrial revolution,” the city is betting big on hydrogen.Despite pervasive public indiffe

Hyundai Motor’s high performance vehicle i30 N set a new monthly sales record in Europe last month, the company said Sunday.The carmaker sold a total of 907 units in September, further raising the sales performance of the vehicle, which debuted last year. The figure takes the total for this year to 4,678, surpassing its annual goal of 2,800.  i30 Fastback N (Hyundai Motor)Of all i30 vehicles sold in Europe, 15 percent were the high performance version of the hatchback, it added. The company is e

Renault Samsung, the South Korean branch of the French carmaker, has launched a membership-based mobile application for easier vehicle management, the company said Sunday.Named “My Renault Samsung,” the app offers online reservation and maintenance tracking systems as well as information on customer service and various promotional events held by the carmaker. In the near future, the company plans to adopt a mobile-payment system in connection with the app for vehicles that undergo maintenance se

Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors are reviewing a request from the US Senate to testify over engine fires in its vehicles, officials in Seoul said Thursday, quoting statements from their US branches. “Hyundai received the request to appear from the Senate Commerce Science & Transportation Committee and is currently reviewing it,” the company said.“Hyundai actively monitors and evaluates potential safety concerns, including non-collision fires, with all of its vehicles and acts swiftly to reca

The head of South Korean energy-to-retail giant GS Group urged CEOs of affiliates to seek ways to make inroad into the Southeast Asian market by taking Thailand as a strategic base, the company said Thursday.At a meeting with GS CEOs held in Bangkok, Chairman Huh Chang-soo stressed the importance of the market, citing the fast economic growth and increasing demand to build infrastructure.  GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo (right) tries a product exported by South Korean company 9tails at a studio

Hyundai Motor has signed a memorandum with French energy firms to expand the sale of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the company said Wednesday.Under the agreement, the South Korean carmaker will partner with Air Liquide SA and Engie to promote the use of FCEVs and hydrogen refilling stations across France.The agreement came after Hyundai announced a plan to export 5,000 FCEVs to France by 2025.Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng (left), Engie President for hydrogen business Michele Azalbert (c

In a market segment dominated by domestic brand Hyundai and German luxury cars, Volkswagen is seeking a greater presence in the highly competitive sector by introducing its flagship model Arteon, the company’s Seoul branch said Wednesday. Volkswagen’s premium sedan Arteon (Volkswagen Korea)Arteon is a four-door coupe that combines design elements of classic sports car and fastback models. The premium model opens a new chapter in Volkswagen’s design history and is expected to be an exclusive prod

The ASEAN countries, including Singapore, can be a neutral platform upon which to build entrepreneurship in North Korea and facilitate inter-Korean economic ties in a stable and consistent manner, the head of Choson Exchange said Tuesday.Speaking at The Korea Herald Biz Forum in Seoul, Geoffrey See, founder and CEO of the organization, said he hopes that Singapore and ASEAN can play a role in bringing about the gradual integration of both Koreas’ economies and with North Korea’s transition to a

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s latest measures to support the hydrogen economy, the market drive for hydrogen-powered vehicles and the hurdles that stand in the way. This is the sixth installment. -- Ed.More than seven years have passed since Japan suffered from a devastating earthquake and tsunami that caused meltdowns at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The disaster that claimed hundreds of lives and contaminated the air and water also served as a grave

NOSOVICE, Czech Republic -- Located in the industrial zone of Nosovice, a four-hour train ride from the Czech capital of Prague, Hyundai Motor’s plant is where the carmaker’s popular hatchback and sports utility vehicle series are born. On a 2 square-kilometer plot, the plant has full auto manufacturing capabilities, and is partly operated by robots. Considering the massive size of the plant, there are not many workers around. Instead robot arms move endlessly to weld steel components.  Workers