Renault Samsung Motors’ sport utility vehicles have been gaining popularity in South Korea as more consumers choose SUVs for city driving and commuting with the vehicle’s improved fuel efficiency and ride quality. Sales of SUVs in Korea this year were tallied at 315,534 so far, a 25 percent from the same period of last year. In line with the upward trend, RSM’s SUV sales have been on the rise too, the automaker said. Its best-selling model mid-sized SUV QM6 sold 24,946 uni

BMW Motorrad, the German motorcycle brand, said Friday that it has officially launched its latest model, the new R 18, in South Korea. The new motorcycle, featuring a classic design and the latest technology, was unveiled at BMW’s Hockenheim Motorrad exhibition hall in Bundang, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. BMW said the new R 18 borrows both technologically and visually from famous models such as the BMW R 5 -- a popular model launched in 1936 -- shifting the focus back onto the ess

Hyundai Glovis said Thursday it partnered with Thailand’s No. 1 business group, Charoen Pokphand Group, to target the country’s logistics market. Under the partnership, the two companies will start a pilot project by the end of this year by injecting electric trucks into the transportation of convenience store 7-Eleven’s products operated by CP Group across Thailand. This is expected to be the first time for an electric truck to be introduced to a Thai logistics site, the Ko

Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it has received 10,842 precontracts on launch day for its new sport utility vehicle, the all-new Tucson, in South Korea. It is the first SUV model to surpass the 10,000 mark on the first day, the automaker said. The New Grandeur, launched last year, sold 17,294 units and the new Avante sold 10,058 units on the day of its release earlier this year. The latest SUV was introduced at an online world premiere event on Tuesday, drawing 410,000 viewers from around

Kia Motors is set to release seven electric vehicles by 2027 that will use the company’s dedicated EV platform, a move to speed up the transition to EVs in the growing eco-friendly car market. The first model, called CV and built on the Electric Global Modular Platform, or E-GMP, will be released next year, the automaker said Wednesday. Hyundai and Kia will establish the exclusive E-GMP next year. Kia Motors also said it will continue to build a lineup of electric vehicles both on ex

Hyundai Motor said Wednesday that it had exported hydrogen fuel cell systems to Swiss firm GRZ Technologies and an unnamed European energy solution start-up, in line with its efforts to expand its hydrogen business to the non-automotive sector. The 95-kilowatt fuel cell system that is currently used for the Nexo hydrogen electric vehicle will be used by the two companies to produce mobile generators that supply emergency power. The name of the second firm was not disclosed due to business co

South Korean exporters need to be on alert as India has been strengthening trade remedies such as anti-dumping measures to protect its industries, a local trade association said Tuesday. According to a report released by the Korea International Trade Association, the number of newly launched investigations on imports by India between 2016 and 2019 was 60.5 on average per year, nearly doubling from 30.3 between 2010 and 2015. As for the countries subject to new investigations since 2016, Chin

Hyosung Group has selected a consortium of STLeaders Private Equity and the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives as the preferred bidder for Hyosung Capital, according to the firm Tuesday. Another local financial firm, WWG Asset Management, was selected as the second preferred bidder. Hyosung plans to sell 8.84 million shares of Hyosung Capital (a 97.5 percent stake) and the sale price is estimated to be around 400 billion won ($338 million). “We have selected preferred

The American Chamber of Commerce in Korea said Monday it endorses Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee for the position of director general of the World Trade Organization. “Minister Yoo has proven herself to be a strong and principled leader as well as a champion of free and fair trade during a time of historic challenges for international trade and the global economy,” the organization said in a released statement. “We have no doubt that she is ideally equipped to realize the v

South Korea will strengthen support for promising startups and small and medium-sized companies to export their products online in the global market, officials said Monday. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the “future tasks of supporting exports of small and medium-sized enterprises using online trends” at a ministerial meeting. “We will strengthen support for online exports, which are showing an upward trend despite difficult external conditions caused by COVID-1

It has been two years since Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun became the de-facto head of the group. Under his leadership, the automaker has bet big on future mobility centering on smart cars and eco-friendly vehicles. To envision future mobility, Hyundai showcased three solutions for the future -- urban air mobility, purpose built vehicle, and hub, a place for mobility transfer and community activities -- at CES 2020 in Las Vegas early this year. Based on these mobil

After a planned sale of debt-ridden Asiana Airlines to HDC Hyundai Development collapsed, the carrier is expected to undergo organizational restructuring, including sales of some of its subsidiaries. Also due to the sales failure, Asiana’s largest shareholder Kumho Industrial and HDC Hyundai Development are both expected to file lawsuits, as they blame each other for the deal’s collapse. Creditors, including Korea Development Bank, are considering selling subsidiaries such as Air

Hyundai Motor said Thursday that it will launch a global “Hydrogen to you” campaign starting in Europe to promote sustainable energy hydrogen with its fuel cell vehicle Nexo. The automaker said the campaign will promote its leadership in hydrogen fuel cell technology, sustainable future mobility and the establishment of hydrogen ecosystem via video and social media from this month until next August. The “Hydrogen to you” campaign is aimed at professionals in the aut

As Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary and front-runner to replace outgoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is seen as likely to carry forward his predecessor’s hard-line stance on South Korea, it is difficult to expect a major change in the strained trade relations between the two countries, experts say. Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is to hold a leadership election on Monday. Suga is estimated to have secured more than 70 percent of the party’s parlia

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has set out to determine whether Google’s monopoly on mobile operating systems and app markets blocks the emergence of rival OSs and app markets. “Currently, the regulator is focusing its investigation on whether operators who dominate the mobile OS market obstructed the production of devices equipped with rival OS, or by forcing app developers to exclusively launch their apps on its app markets,” Fair Trade Commission Chairperson Joh S

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said Wednesday that it has completed work on a mural near its Seongnam exhibition hall. The automotive dealer said it had painted an old wall measuring about 50 meters wide and created the mural to improve the regional environment. The mural was painted under the voluntary initiative of Han Sung Motor’s Seongnam unit to re-create the alley as a street where people want to walk and a “street of youth,” according to

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors will work together with SK Innovation to develop an electric vehicle battery ecosystem, the automaker said Tuesday. Hyundai said the companies will build a cooperation system involving various business areas related to the rental of electric vehicle batteries, battery management services, and the reuse and recycling of EV batteries. Both sides agreed that it is necessary to create high added value and strengthen the eco-friendliness of electric vehicle batteries t

Mercedes-Benz Korea said Tuesday that its fourth Ausbildung, a German vocational training program, began early this month. The online kickoff ceremony held Monday was attended by around 70 people, including Kim Jee-seop, interim president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, Susanne Wohrle, vice president of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 18 newly selected trainees and 16 professional trainers. The fourth Ausbildung, which began Sept. 1, involves 18 senior high school student

South Korea’s top 100 companies by revenue saw overseas sales drop 19.8 percent in the second quarter year-on-year due to the global economic downturn caused by the pandemic, data showed Monday. According to the Federation of Korean Industries, which analyzed the disclosure data of the nation’s 100 largest companies, their overseas sales declined 19.8 percent to 146.3 trillion won ($123 billion) in the April-June period from a year earlier. This is compared with the first quarter

Models introduce Rolls-Royce’s luxury sedan the new Ghost at the automaker’s Seoul boutique, Monday. The new Ghost adapts a version of the 6.75-liter twin-turbo V12 engine with a maximum power of 571 horsepower and a maximum torque of 86.7 kilogram-meters. The new vehicle can be ordered from Monday and will be delivered to customers sequentially from December this year. (Yonhap)