Land Rover Korea is poised to top the country’s sport utility vehicle market based on its unique driving performance and luxury brand image.Rapidly expanding its presence, the SUV powerhouse ranked No. 3 among import carmakers by monthly sales this September, selling 1,323 units. Riding on the popularity of its all-new Discovery premium family SUV and the Range Rover Velar midsize SUV released this summer, as well as the steady-selling Discovery Sports midsize SUV, Land Rover Korea has sold 9,28

SsangYong Motor, the local unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra, will start 2018 by re-entering the lucrative Sudanese market after eight years, seeking to expand its market share in Africa, the company said Friday. The decision came after the US lifted economic sanctions against Sudan in October 2016 after some 20 years.Starting with the Korando Sports pickup truck, which will go be called Actyon Sports there, and the Korando Turismo multipurpose vehicle, the company plans to export some 2,400 u

The eco-friendly compact sedan Ioniq plug-in hybrid electric vehicle does not have a sporty look. Yet, it is far more exciting to drive than expected.A latecomer to the green movement, Hyundai Motor released three different versions of Ioniq. The Ioniq PHEV, tested by the Korea Herald for three days last week, is the latest in the Ioniq series targeted at mass consumers. After three consecutive days of traveling nearly 200 kilometers, the Ioniq PHEV showed fuel economy of 18.7 kilometers per lit

Hyundai Mobis is developing a driverless system that would direct the vehicle to a safe area when it senses the driver dozing off, the company said Thursday.The system named departed driver rescue and exit maneuver, or DDREM, takes full control of the steering wheel when it determines that the driver is incapable of driving and leads the vehicle to the nearest road shoulder or resting area. The company aims to fully develop it by 2021, after introducing it at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las

Lexus Korea released the LS 500h flagship premium hybrid sedan Wednesday in Jamsil, eastern Seoul. The premium carmaker introduced the fifth-generation model at the Geneva Motor Show in March. It took 11 years to design the fully changed LS 500h.The company highlighted during a press launch that it represents the new segment that has combined premium and hybrid models. The LS 500h flagship premium hybrid sedan (Lexus Korea)The automaker’s flagship models have been targeting the small yet lucrati

State-run Korea Land and Geospatial Informatix Corporation will seek to bolster mutual development with small and midsize firms and expand support for promising individuals by forming a 20 billion won ($18.3 million) fund within three years, the company said Wednesday.“Public institutions are responsible for creating an economy in which all members are well off,” said Park Myoung-sik, CEO of LX Corp.“LX will continually make efforts to put together more opportunities to support SMEs, entrepreneu

In an effort to tackle global warming, the South Korean government has decided to allocate 538.4 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions rights to 591 companies across 26 industries in 2018, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Tuesday. The government will also announce an emissions allocation for 2018 - 2020 in the first half of next year, which is a year behind the initially scheduled deadline of this June.Relevant authorities have not yet reached a consensus for the later time frame due

In a bid to reclaim the No. 3 spot in the local auto market, Audi Volkswagen Korea, importer and distributor of the German vehicles, has signaled a comeback after a more than yearlong sales suspension resulting from the diesel gate emissions scandal.Last month, Audi Korea launched the R8 V10, a flagship high performance sports car, its first release in one year and three months since the S8 Plus sedan was rolled out in June last year. Models widely expected to be launched in early 2018 are Volks

Volvo Car Korea, the local importer and distributor for the Swedish automaker, on Friday said it plans to sell 8,000 units here next year riding on the popularity of XC60 midsize SUV, XC90 large SUV and soon-to-be-launched XC40 compact SUV. “To invest in dealer networks, we need to sell about 10,000 units annually,” said Lee Yoon-mo, Volvo Car Korea CEO, during a lunch meeting with the media. “Our target sales for next year is 8,000 units. We view it as a moderate goal considering recent growth.

Cloud-piercing skyscrapers filling the skylines are often held up as a symbol of a country’s economic power and technological development.Korea’s first high-rise 63 Building located in Yeouido, western Seoul, opened doors to the public in July 1985 during the country’s rapid economic growth.The 274 meter high, 63-floor building is no longer the tallest building here. But it stands as a landmark and a symbol of the so-called Miracle on the Han River. After the 1997 Asian financial crisis the Kore

Hyundai Mobis, the auto parts unit of Hyundai Motor, will hold a technical contest for local startups in search of original technology to invest in or startups to collaborate with, the company said Thursday. Those preparing to open a startup can also register for the event named 2017 M, M standing for Mobis and mobility. Relevant sectors will include automobile, artificial intelligence, future mobility, smart city, robots and energy.“Hyundai Mobis will expand its future technologies together wit

Hyundai Motor to release 38 green cars by 2025kicker: Automaker feels the need to get its hands on EV battery technologyBy Kim Bo-gyungSouth Korea’s Hyundai Motor has pledged to roll out 38 green car models by 2025 from the current 13, pursuing a two-track strategy centered on electric vehicles and fuel cell electric vehicles. The company shared its road map for green cars during a seminar held at Hyundai Motor Studio in central Seoul last week. In the first quarter of 2018 Hyundai will launch t

Korea‘s Transport Ministry crowned the BMW 520d, Mercedes-Benz E220d and Kia Motors Stinger sedans the safest cars of the year.In this year‘s vehicle safety test conducted by the government, BMW’s top-selling 520d sedan proved to be the safest, with 99.1 points out of 100.That marked the highest point total ever since the ministry started its annual testing in 2013. BMW 520d (BMW Korea)The Benz E220d received 97.4 points, followed by Kia’s performance sedan Stinger at 92.6 points, the ministry s

The government has imposed a 170 billion won ($156 million) tariff on Posco, South Korea’s leading steelmaker, for underreporting the price of liquefied natural gas imported from Indonesia to evade tax, Korea Customs Service said Tuesday.KCS‘ latest decision was based on grounds that the price of LNG imported by Posco between 2012 and 2016 was about half the figure reported by state-run Korea Gas Corporation. The government argues Posco has evaded tax worth some 100 billion won by underreporting

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor signed a business deal to set up a commercial vehicle joint venture with Indonesia’s Artha Graha Group to tackle the Southeast Asia market, the company said Tuesday.The joint venture marks the first outcome in the private business sector of President Moon Jae-in‘s New South Policy introduced during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last month. The initiative aims to expand economic cooperation and personnel exchanges between South Korea and Southeast Asian

Hyundai Motor’s unionized workers will stage three or four strikes over five consecutive days starting Monday, as it failed to meet halfway with management over raises and job security.Starting with a three-hour partial walkout, workers at car manufacturing plants and auto parts factories are scheduled to stage four-hour partial strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, the union said. The entire labor union will continue four-hour partial strikes Thursday and Friday. Hyundai Motor's union

A crew of Hyundai Motor employees dressed in Santa Claus outfits launched a monthlong mission to deliver presents to underprivileged households, the company said Monday. The company hosted the 11th annual Christmas event jointly with ChildFund Korea at its domestic sales division headquarters in central Seoul. During the event, Hyundai delivered 100 million won ($92,000) in donations to ChildFund Korea, the company said.“The popular Kona SUV will act as Rudolphs for this year’s Christmas event.

Amid a tighter global market and steeper competition between South Korean and Japanese automakers, Japan’s quantitative easing as part of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe‘s “Abenomics,” will be key to Korean players’ competitiveness next year, industry experts have said.“Korean carmakers compete with Japanese companies, which means the exchange rate will continue to play an important factor in price competitiveness,” Lee Bo-sung, director of Hyundai’s Global Business Intelligence Center said d

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors separately held biannual meetings on Friday with some 50 overseas representatives, where they discussed ways to recover this year’s lackluster performance with overseas sales boost next year by focusing on regional management.The discussions took place at the company’s headquarters in southern Seoul.Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun led the meeting for Hyundai for the second time, followed by the one in July this year. Lee Hyoung-keun, vice chairman of Kia Mo

Kumho Tire officials visited a social welfare center in western Seoul to share the holiday spirit with minority groups, the company said Friday.As part of its Christmas campaign managed with Childfund Korea, the company delivered gifts including unicycles and family trips to Jeju to 12 children from underprivileged households. Kumho Tire employees deliver Christmas presents to children at the Salvation Army Seoul Broadview Children‘s Home in western Seoul on Friday. (Kumho Tire)“The event was pr