FRANKFURT, Germany -- Of the many auto mechanical devices -- mostly cold and heavy metal -- ever invented in human history, perhaps nothing has made people's hearts beat more than cars. Millions around the world go wild watching various flavors of motorsports competitions from Formula One to World Rally Championship, which tests both human limits and the high-performance capabilities of the cars. Marking a meteoric rise, Hyundai Motor’s racing team has been sweeping up championship titles in rec

PARIS -- South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor has focused on developing high-performance cars in recent years, in an attempt to diminish its not-so-positive image of being a fast follower. And the strategy is working quite well, especially in Europe, the home of luxury carmakers more than a century old. Sales of Hyundai’s first car under its high-performance brand N have exceeded market expectations. The carmaker has sold 3,777 units of the i30N between January and August this year, 35 percent

Western cosmetics giants have dominated the beauty industry for a long time, but Korean brands are increasingly setting new standards of beauty, driven by the worldwide popularity of K-pop. A growing number of people, regardless of gender and age, are investing time and money on beauty products from Korea’s cosmetic shops. This includes a large portion of foreigners searching for K-beauty -- a new norm referring to a wide range of skin care and makeup products that originate from Korea, and the

PARIS -- Still considered young brands, South Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia are expected to sell more than 1 million vehicles in Europe this year, 41 years after they entered the continent home to car manufacturers aged more than 100 years old. In the January-August period, the two carmakers under Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 715,050 passenger vehicles in Europe, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Hyundai saw a steep growth in sales in the same period, sell

PARIS -- With the French capital raising the curtain on new cars targeting customers in Europe, Korean carmakers are gearing up to accelerate sales growth in the region with cars designed to be both dynamic and energy efficient.At the Paris Motor Show, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors unveiled new cars exclusively designed to target the audience here.Kia introduced the ProCeed, a five-door wagon developed to continue the success of

Reflecting growing interest in battery-only cars, the Paris Motor Show, the largest auto festival in the second half of the year, kicks off Tuesday, featuring a variety of green cars ready for market debuts.From sport utility vehicles to compact cars, the show will present a series of world premieres, but the size of the show is likely to be smaller than previous editions, with a group of carmakers skipping the event.It is considered one of the five major auto shows in the world, but it has been

Samsung Electronics unveiled its fifth web drama series “Ambergris” earlier this month, depicting a dystopian future where humanism is revived with the help of artificial intelligence.The story is of a woman taking a life-risking journey to find a whale in the sea in 2053, when the world is on the brink of the apocalypse due to severe micro dust.The main character, played by I.O.I’s Kim So-hye, longs for a whale she saw with her mother years ago, replaying her memories with virtual reality devic

CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik won Van Fleet Award from the Korea Society on his contribution in strengthening ties between South Korea and the United States, the company said Wednesday.The award was accredited to his work on introducing Korean culture to the US and bridging the two countries as the former head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, it added. CJ Group Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik receives the Van Fleet Award from Korea Society Chairman Thomas Hubbard (left) and Korea Soci

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world’s largest automotive alliance, has topped global sales in the first half by selling 5.53 million units, the company said Wednesday. The Franco-Japanese partnership topped the list again this year for the second time, with a 5.1 percent increase on-year. It took the top honor last year. The sales growth was driven by increased demand for crossovers, sport utility vehicles and pickups as well as zero-emissions electric and hybrid-electric models, the alliance s

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 fifth installment. -- Ed.(Video shot and produced by Lim Jeong-yeo/The Korea Herald)Surrounded by gasoline cars at the Yongin expressway service area, south of Seoul, a midsized sport utility vehicle with a sleek body and grey matte finish caught the eye of motorists. Looking unfamil

Coupang’s Rocket Delivery has surpassed 1 billion deliveries four years after the South Korean e-commerce firm started the end-to-end service, the company said Thursday.To bring innovation to the e-commerce market, the company has built its own logistics center and hired deliverymen to handle the entire process from product purchase to door-to-door delivery. The speed of the service is key so customers can receive the products they ordered the next day, the company said. Rocket Delivery is the f

Hyundai Motor will supply 1,000 hydrogen-powered fuel cell trucks to Europe over the next five years, making its debut on the continent’s green commercial vehicle market, the company said Thursday.The South Korean carmaker signed a memorandum of understanding with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy at the trade show IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 held in Hanover. H2 Energy Chairman Rolf Huber (second from left) speaks at a press conference held on the sidelines of IAA Commercial Vehicles 2018 in Han

The leaders of the two Koreas agreed Wednesday to hold a groundbreaking ceremony to link roads and railways within the year, in a move affirming willingness to resume business cooperation “to develop the nation’s economy in a balanced manner” on the Korean Peninsula. The two sides also agreed to normalize stalled operations of the Kaesong industrial park and the Kumgangsan tour program “as conditions ripen.”“The two sides agreed to pursue substantial measures to further advance exchanges and coo

South Korea will become a global logistics hub benefitting giants in the industry here if a railway project aimed at reconnecting the South and the North is realized, experts at a forum in Seoul on Tuesday.“Strained ties between the South and the North have blocked the (international) logistics flow. But if the inter-Korean railway is reconnected all the way to Busan, neighboring countries will enjoy a large convenience in terms of time and costs,” said Na Hee-seung, head of the Korea Railroad R

The speed of technology has already overtaken the human ability to act and think, but the domain of feelings remains unaffected, suggesting that emotional interpretation will become the essential task of people in general, businesses and governments in the future, said Lee Dae-hyung, a renowned curator, at a forum in Seoul on Friday.“The world is changing so fast and it is no longer important to seek good solutions. But we have to find good questions,” said Lee at the 2018 Herald Design Forum at

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo promoted his son Chung Eui-sun to executive vice chairman, a new position created to assist his father, the company said Friday.The heir to the world’s fifth-largest carmaker has worked as the vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Corp. so far. The promotion will give him authority to oversee the entire operation of the Hyundai Motor Group, of which Hyundai Motor Corp., is a part. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun (Yonhap)According to

After a brief compromise, unionized laborers of GM Korea said they oppose the company’s decision to relocate an executive previously in charge of laying off workers at its Gunsan factory that shut down in May to its headquarters.GM Korea has named Lee Dong-woo, senior vice president who headed overall operations of the Gunsan factory, as the head of the Bupyeong manufacturing site. The unionized workers claimed that Lee had pressured workers to retire voluntarily by telling them that they would

Hydrogen can speed up the evolution of digital technologies and is a reliable source of energy that can tackle climate change, said CEOs from global companies that gathered for an annual forum on the alternative energy on Thursday.“Together, we can deliver concrete solutions while ensuring a sustainable future. We believe hydrogen is key to power the digital revolution,” said Benoit Potier, CEO and chairman of Air Liquide and co-chair of the Hydrogen Council.Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Yang Woon

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s latest measures, hurdles and the market drive for hydrogen economy. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.Hydrogen technology, which aims to replace the use of fossil fuels, would not only benefits carmakers, but also other traditional industrial players such as shipbuilders, the head of H2Korea said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.“The market perception that the government’s push for hydrogen technology is only for

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors were the third-largest sport utility vehicle makers in the first half of the year, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the UK market research firm Jato Dynamics, combined SUV sales by the two companies accounted for 8.2 percent of total global sales of SUVs, a 1.2 percentage point increase from 7 percent in the same period last year. Facelifted Tucson unveiled in Aug seen during a test drive. (Hyundai Motor)About 15 million SUV units were sold i