Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Mong-koo and his son Eui-sun have once again put on sale their combined 13 percent stake in the automaker’s logistics affiliate Hyundai Glovis, the company said in a press release on Thursday. Their first attempt to sell the stake in a block deal last month failed due to unspecified reasons, although industry sources attributed it to the size of the deal at 1.5 trillion won ($1.39 billion) and sales conditions.“The company has an urgent need to push for the dea

Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles debuted the 2015 all-new Chrysler 200 in Korea on Tuesday, targeting the midsize sedan market, one of the most competitive segments here. Models pose in front of the all-new Chrysler 200, which debuted in Korea on Tuesday. (FCA Korea)With an affordable price in the 30 million won ($27,000) range and new design, the gasoline-powered family sedan will compete against best-selling models in the category, including the BMW 3, Toyota Camry and Hyundai Sonata, FCA Korea presi

Falling oil prices are not expected to put a brake on the zeal for battery-powered, plug-in clean cars, as global automakers are competing to expand their electric vehicle lineup to win the battle for the clean car market. Carmakers have diversified their lineups of plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles. The trend was well reflected through the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit from Jan. 12-25. “At the show, most of global carmakers clearly delivered a message that the

By tapping into a security flaw in a digital-service system, hackers could wirelessly open BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles in minutes, according to a report by German auto club ADAC. About 2.2 million vehicles equipped with BMW’s ConnectedDrive service were vulnerable, ADAC said.  BMW’s electric car i3 EV, fitted with ConnectedDrive. (BMW)The Munich-based carmaker said it upgraded the system to close the security gap and that the software update will take place automatically when a vehicle co

An improving job market and cheap gasoline is likely to add 200,000 more car sales this year than analysts estimated just two months ago, according to a new survey. After a strong finish to 2014 ― November and December were two of the year’s three best months ― most analysts surveyed by Bloomberg increased their 2015 estimates, raising the average projection to 16.9 million deliveries. As recently as mid-November, the average estimate was for sales to rise about 200,000 to 16.7 million cars and

Pontiac and Toyota vehicles will be called back for more repairs following reports that the air bags could deploy while driving, the U.S. Transportation Department said Saturday. The new recall covers vehicles made in the early 2000s with an electronic component from TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a release. The models involved are the Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix

Juicing has become popular across the country. Many Koreans put drinking a glass of fresh fruit or veggie juice a day on their list of New Year’s resolutions, and most coffee chains have begun selling fresh juices.  A fresh juice bar run by Organica at a branch of high-end supermarket chain Super Star in southern Seoul. (Organica)Behind the boom is the craze for cleansing the body of toxins with juice ― the so-called “juice cleanse.’’Drinking “detox’’ juice has become a daily routine for many Ko

For Lee Kyung-ja, a 63-year-old housewife who has lived in Latin America for more than 40 years, the biggest concern ahead of her planned return to Korea was food.Having lived in Bolivia, the home of a slew of so-called superfoods like quinoa and lentils, she had no idea how to maintain her decade-old eating habits. But her concerns vanished during a recent visit to Seoul. “I was pleasantly surprised that almost all food items from Latin America are available at local supermarkets. There were ev

The presidential office said Tuesday that South Korea would help nurture the country’s southwestern region as a center of automotive start-ups in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s fifth-largest carmaker.Cheong Wa Dae said Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller sister company Kia Motors Corp. would provide about 1,000 unused patents to those who want to open automotive start-ups in an innovation center in Gwangju.“Hyundai Motor will offer substantial assistance in the whole process of

Axel van TrotsenburgEvery minute, dozens of people in East Asia move from the countryside to the city.The massive population shift is creating some of the world’s biggest megacities including Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Seoul and Manila, as well as hundreds of medium and smaller urban areas.This transformation touches on every aspect of life and livelihoods, from access to clean water to high-speed trains that transport millions of people in and out of cities during rush hour each weekday.People m

Kim & Chang ranked ninth among the world’s top tax law firms, the Korean company said Monday.The Korean firm earned the honor from the U.K.-based Legalese, which published the Tax Directors Handbook 2015 after analyzing the tax practices of law firms globally.According to the annual book, Kim & Chang has 152 tax lawyers, about 21 percent of all its lawyers. “Kim & Chang is the only law firm put on the list of the top 10 tax law firms in the Asia-Pacific region,” the company said in its release.T

Hanwha Q Cells, a Germany-based solar power business unit of Hanwha Group, announced Thursday that it would end its production operations in Germany from March 1 and relocate them to Malaysia. The solar photovoltaic-maker will maintain its research and development operations in Germany.“Behind the decision is weakening demand for solar cells and modules in Europe and higher labor costs than other regions,’’ a Hanwha Group official said. The group added the restructuring of Hanwha Q Cells would h

Hyundai Motor, the nation’s largest automaker, said on Thursday that although the company had achieved growth in car sales and revenue last year, its profits dropped to a four-year low. The carmaker said it sold a total of 4.96 million vehicles last year, up 4.8 percent from 2013. It posted 89.3 trillion won ($82.2 billion) in sales, a 2.2 percent rise from the previous year. Despite higher sales, its operating profit fell 9.2 percent to 7.55 trillion won ($6.96 billion) in 2014 over 2013. This

South Korea’s parcel delivery service companies have expressed opposition to the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or NongHyup, over its plan to enter the delivery business.“If NongHyup launches a parcel delivery service, it would lead to mutual destruction in the much saturated industry,” Park Jae-euk, chairman of the Korea Integrated Logistics Association, said during a press conference on Tuesday. Representatives of domestic delivery companies such as CJ Korea Express, Hyundai Log

POSCO’s $12 billion steel plant construction project in India is facing another delay as the Indian state government recently announced an ordinance that will require all mining licenses for iron ore and other minerals to be awarded via auctions.The mines ordinance is likely to dash the steelmaker’s long-awaited hope of getting early preferential access to an iron ore mine near the site of its steel plant in the Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha, India.“The success of the Indian steel mill projec

Bentley’s new Continental GT3-R supercar. (Bentley Motors)Bentley Motors, the supercar unit of German carmaker Volkswagen, launched the new Continental GT3-R, a race-inspired limited edition supercar, in Seoul on Tuesday.“We only sell six Bentley GT3-R vehicles in Korea with a price tag of 380 million won ($349,800),” the company said. The model, launched in 2014, is a limited-edition vehicle with just 300 units.The Continental GT3-R boasts a 580 horsepower output from its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V

KAI’s transport utility helicopter Surion. (KAI)Korea Aerospace Industries said Tuesday its Surion-based helicopter variant for the Korean Marine Corp. completed its first test flight. KAI has led the project to develop the helicopter by investing 800 billion won ($713m) since July 2013. “With the successful test flight, we are confident of completing the development by end-2015 as scheduled,’’ the flight manufacturer said in a press release.After the project completion, KAI will supply 40 Surio

Samsung Techwin, a South Korean aeronautics and defense technology company, said Monday that it has struck a 470 billion won ($430 million) parts supply deal with U.S.-based General Electric. The contract will run from 2016 to 2025.Under the deal, Samsung Techwin will provide 18 types of parts to one of the world’s major airplane engine producers, in collaboration with Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce. Those parts will be used in the next-generation leading-edge aviation propulsion engine, which

Hyundai Motor Co., the nation’s largest carmaker, has decided to lower the price of its Tucson fuel cell sport utility vehicle to compete with rising Japanese rival Toyota Motor in the segment, industry sources said. “Hyundai Motor recently informed Gwangju City, a major local buyer of the Tucson FCV, of its internal decision to cut the car price,” an industry insider close to the matter said on condition of anonymity last week.Gwangju City, which purchased five Hyundai FCVs last year, has a pla

European car sales in 2014 rose the first time in seven years, approaching the top end of industry executives’ forecasts as buyers seeking to replace vehicles chose new low-cost models from Renault and Volkswagen.Registrations increased 5.4 percent to 13 million cars, the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said. That compares with growth estimates late last year ranging from 2 percent predicted by PSA Peugeot Citroen chief executive Carlos Tavares to 6 percent foreseen