Han Sung Motor, an official local dealer of Mercedes-Benz in Korea, said Thursday it will offer customers free and unlimited service for changing engine oil and oil filter.  The promotion applies to those who purchase a new car from Han Sung Motor in June, regardless of models or trims including Mercedes-AMG lineup.  Through the promotion, customers can enjoy engine oil and oil filter change service at Han Sung Motor’s 20 service centers across the country, even after the offi

South Korean air carriers including Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have extended unpaid leave for foreign pilots amid slowing recovery of the aviation industry after COVID-19, companies said Thursday.  Korean Air said it had extended the unpaid leave period for all 376 of its foreign pilots to the end of July, a month longer than previously planned. They have been away from work since April.  “As the situation shows no sign of abating, we had to extend the unpaid leave period.

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday that it has unveiled a digital content for its global hydrogen campaign in collaboration with K-pop group BTS.  The footage was specially designed to give millennials a better understanding of hydrogen as a future energy source, the company said.  The 1 minute, 28 second video titled Positive Energy features BTS and the company’s hydrogen-powered sports utility vehicle Nexo to deliver the message, “A small drop of water for a better futu

Audi Volkswagen Korea said Wednesday it has launched four new models each of its premium midsized sedans Audi A4 and Audi A5. The new Audi A4 is the fifth-generation face-lifted model and comes in different versions -- A4 40 TFSI, A4 40 TFSI Premium, A4 35 TDI Premium and A4 40 TDI Quattro Premium -- depending on the engine type. The gasoline engine model, TFSI model, exerts up to 190 horsepower and torque of 32.6 kilogram meters.  The two TDI diesel engine models, TDI Premium and TDI Q

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association said Wednesday it has selected compact sport utility vehicle Renault Captur as car of the month.  The association has been selecting the best model each month among new vehicles and face-lifted versions that were launched within a month, based on five criteria including exterior, interior design, practicality, safety and comfort features, product marketability and purchasing intent.  For the car of the month in June, Audi Q3 and Porsche 9

South Korean air carriers that had planned to resume flights to the US this month amid the slow spread of COVID-19 are cautious and taking a “wait and see” approach due to growing protests in the US over the death of an African American man in police custody, according to industry sources Tuesday.  Protests against the death of George Floyd and police brutality have spread to over 100 cities since last week.  The country’s flag carrier Korean Air’s flight dep

Volvo Truck Korea said Tuesday that Park Kang-seok, who is in charge of its aftermarket business as an executive director, has been appointed its new CEO.  Park joined Volvo Truck Korea’s service division in 2006 and has led its service and retail network in Gyeongsang Province since 2014.  He has contributed to increasing competitiveness of the company’s core cargo business and rejoined the aftermarket business division last year to offer a differentiated service for cu

GM Korea said Monday that it sold a total of 24,778 vehicles in May, while sales of sport utility vehicles such as the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Equinox and Traverse rose by 43.1 percent on-year. The automaker said of the 24,778 sold, 5,993 units moved domestically, while 18,785 units sold abroad.  Subcompact car Chevrolet Spark led May sales with 2,065 units, the company said. A monthly high of 822 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles sold in May. Compact SUV Trailblazer, which the automaker has been

SsangYong Motor said Monday it has sold an after sales service center located in Guro-gu in Seoul for 180 billion won ($146 million), as part of its efforts to improve its fiscal health.  The automaker said by selling noncore assets, it will continue to secure liquidity and focus on increasing competitiveness for product development.  In the first quarter this year, its net loss expanded to 193.5 billion won over the economic impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Its operating loss came

Volvo Cars Korea said Monday that it has introduced a lifetime auto parts warranty for customers -- the first such guarantee by a carmaker here -- as part of its efforts to improve customer services. The service will allow customers to receive repairs on auto parts that have been changed at its official after sales service center, regardless of the number of times they have received the service and how long they have had the car. Those who have changed auto parts after June 1 and have agree

Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with photovoltaic solar cells manufacturer Hanwha Q Cells for energy storage systems to use recyclable batteries from electric vehicles.  The two firms held an MOU signing ceremony on Friday, which was attended by Hyundai Motor Group President and head of Strategy and Technology Division Chi Young-cho and Hanwha Q Cells President Kim Hee-chul attended.  Amid the expanding ratio of renewable energy use such a

Japanese carmaker Nissan said Thursday that it has decided to shut down its business operations in South Korea from 2021, as part of its global business restructuring strategy. According to its local unit, the decision was made by the headquarters to “secure a healthy profit model and establish a ground for sustainable business.” The automaker said despite its efforts to sustain business in Korea, the situation has deteriorated due to internal and external factors. “(The he

Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has clinched a partnership deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to allow customers experience its future mobility and new technologies via the latter’s platforms such as movies, animations and digital contents.  According to the automaker, its latest mobility technology will be featured in Sony Pictures’ movie “Uncharted” and “Spider Man 3,” which will be released in July 2021 and November 2021, respectively. 

Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts making affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group, said Wednesday that it would invest 1 trillion won ($810 million) this year in some 2,000 research and development projects for future mobility, as part of its effort to secure competitiveness as a sustainable company.  Under the plan, its workforce for research and development will expand to some 5,000, the company said. Marking the 20th anniversary after changing the company name to Hyundai Mobis, the company mapped

Kia Motors’ European subsidiary said Wednesday it plans to launch a micro-size electric vehicle that can replace public transportation amid increased preference for use of private vehicles following the COVID-19 pandemic. “People want to feel safe today. We saw that very clearly from a survey that was done after the coronavirus outbreak in China. People started shifting from public transport to private vehicles. They safer in their own car compared to public transport,” KIA M

South Korean air carriers suffering from the impact of COVID-19 outbreak plan to gradually relaunch their international routes from next month but worries linger over prospects of a business recovery, according to industry sources Tuesday. Low-cost carrier Jin Air said Tuesday that it is resuming five international routes including Incheon-Bangkok, Incheon-Hanoi, Incheon-Taipei, Incheon-Narita and Incheon-Osaka from next month. It comes two months after it suspended the routes over the virus p

South Korean tire manufacturer Kumho Tire said Monday that it bagged a supply deal for Spanish automaker SEAT’s flagship model Ibiza.  The company said Kumho Tire’s Ecowing ES31 185/65R 15 88H is being supplied to SEAT’s bestselling compact hatchback Ibiza since November 2019.  SEAT is the only automaker in Spain, which is owned by the Volkswagen Group. It is known to have Italian design and German technology prowess, according to Kumho Tire. Named after a Spanish

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Monday that it has launched an upgraded third-generation version of its flagship sport utility vehicle the new GLS here.  The seven-seater SUV was first introduced in Korea in October 2016.  “The new GLS will suit the active lifestyle of high-end customers, as it can be dubbed as the S-Class of SUV,” said Mark Raine, vice president of product and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Korea during the unveiling ceremony. S-Class refers to the automaker&rsqu

More often than not, when automakers launch their face-lifted models as something “new,” there are little design or functional changes, only a price increase. But that is not the case with SsangYong Motor’ relaunched subcompact flagship sport utility vehicle in April. Its upgraded Re:spec edition came with dramatically changed interiors and is fully equipped with a connected car service, with little price increase. The name Re:spec stands for the automaker’s “res

South Korean carriers are moving to relaunch their long-waited international routes as well as expand domestic flights, slowly recovering from the impact of COVID-19 outbreak, industry sources said Friday. According to the country’s largest LCC by sales Jeju Air, it will resume operation of Incheon-Manila route once a week from June 6.  The airliner said it was due to the demand from Korean residents living in the Philippines.  Jeju Air currently runs service to three oversea