Most Popular
-
1
1 in 3 Koreans live alone, family types becoming diverse
-
2
Korea, Japan finance chiefs vow to tame rampant FX market volatility
-
3
US 'incredibly concerned' about suspected NK-Iran military ties
-
4
K-pop group's manager dismissed for setting up spycam in theater dressing room
-
5
K-pop singer lost consciousness after being hit by foul ball, cancels show
-
6
Korean Muslim YouTuber's plan to build mosque in Incheon goes viral
-
7
Why is Apple Pay struggling to get purchase in Korea?
-
8
Yoon's office denies considering liberal figures for key posts
-
9
Seoul says Fu Bao loan 'not going to happen'
-
10
[Today’s K-pop] BTS pop-up event to come to Seoul
-
Mercedes-Benz, BMW getting on front-wheel-drive path
For decades, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have made rear-wheel drive central to their definitions of performance and luxury, even as the rest of the industry embraced front-wheel drive long ago.But both German marques, among the last holdouts, are about to cave.Just before the Detroit auto show last week, Mercedes-Benz showed off the CLA 250, a compact, four-door coupe, the first front-wheel-drive car bearing the brand’s three-pointed star logo. BMW also said at the show that it plans to offer front-wh
Jan. 20, 2013
-
Korean recipe for smallest Chevy
General Motors, whose typical cash cows include trucks and sport utility vehicles, is profiting recently from a long-ignored segment ― the mini city car.With higher gasoline prices and growing appetite for smaller cars, the U.S. auto giant last year newly added the Spark mini car to its Chevrolet global lineup.The Spark, overcoming earlier skepticism among GM executives and dealers, sold 12,385 vehicles in the six months up to December. The researcher IHS Automotive forecasts the sales figure co
Jan. 20, 2013
-
Super hero-themed vehicles promote fighting hunger
Two super hero-themed vehicles at the auto show in Detroit are there for more than just their flashy looks.The Batman-decorated Kia Optima and the Green Lantern-wrapped Kia Soul are at the South Korean automaker‘s exhibit to promote an effort to fight hunger in Africa. Features include Batman symbols inside and outside on the Optima, and the Green Lantern’s symbol on the Soul‘s wheels.The vehicles were created as part of a partnership involving DC Entertainment. The ``We Can Be Heroes’‘ effort i
Jan. 16, 2013
-
Mercedes-Benz recalls 425 cars for defective air hose
Mercedes-Benz Korea is recalling over 400 diesel vehicles in South Korea for a defective air hose that could crack, causing the vehicle’s engine to stop operation, the Transportation Ministry said Monday.The recall affects 181 units of the C220 CDI and 244 units of the E220 CDI, both produced between Aug. 20, 2011 and Dec. 12, 2011, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.The ministry said the vehicles’ air intake hose may crack, which could limit the engine’s output or
Jan. 14, 2013
-
Honda to cut 800 U.K. jobs as European car market shrinks
Honda Motor Co., Japan’s second-largest carmaker by market value, said it will eliminate as many as 800 jobs in the U.K. this year as the European auto market may shrink for the sixth year in a row. The manufacturer will start talks with labor representatives for the cutbacks, which it plans to implement by about the second quarter, Tokyo-based Honda said today in an emailed statement. The company’s plant in Swindon, England, has a workforce of 3,500 people, said Fiona Cole, a spokeswoman. “Thes
Jan. 13, 2013
-
Playing on home field
Hyundai Motor Group has recently made an unprecedented decision to cut the prices of its flagship cars that it markets on its home turf of Korea. As of Jan. 1, Hyundai Motor has begun to offer five midsize and large models, including the Sonata, Genesis and Santa Fe, at discounted prices of up to 1 million won less than their 2012 versions. Its affiliate Kia Motors on Wednesday announced price cuts for popular models, unveiling the new K9 with a lowered price tag even though high-end features su
Jan. 13, 2013
-
Hyundai-Kia emerges as biggest exporter to Germany: VDIK
South Korea's Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group emerged as the biggest exporter of automobiles to Germany last year, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have sold 155,673 units in the biggest European market in 2012, according to data by the International Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (VDIK). Renault SA came second with 150,740 units and Skoda third with 142,611 units last year. Hyundai-Kia was third with 128,931 units in 2011, when Ren
Jan. 13, 2013
-
Imported car sales jump 24.6% in 2012
Sales of imported cars in South Korea jumped 24.6 percent on-year to a record high last year as foreign brand vehicles have successfully made their presence felt in the country, a trade association said Monday.A total of 130,858 foreign-made cars were sold in 2012, compared with 105,037 units tallied a year ago, topping the 130,000 mark for the first time, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association. Its earlier sales target for last year was 120,000 units.The sales
Jan. 7, 2013
-
Is BMW invincible?
The nation’s import car market is rushing into a fierce sales war. With Korean carmakers planning only five launches this year, foreign brands are hinting at intensified offensives, with around 50 new models.For import brands, their main goal, among others, is taking even a tiny bite out of the growing sales pie of German carmakers, especially BMW, the best-selling foreign brand here for three consecutive years. German brands ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volkswagen ― topped import car sales la
Jan. 6, 2013
-
Porsche 911 triggers my racer instinct
The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at multinational companies or ranking diplomats here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. By Kim Byung-chul, Director of Philip Morris KoreaI sat ― no, drove ― in the lap of luxury when I had the opportunity to take the new Porsche 911 Carrera S for an outing on a recent weekend. The car is one of the fastest cars
Jan. 6, 2013
-
Hyundai-Kia top midsize car sales in U.S.
Hyundai and Kia topped U.S. car sales in the midsize segment for the second consecutive month in December, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 32,834 midsize sedans in the U.S. market last month, slightly outpacing Japan’s Toyota that sold some 31,000 units. The Korean auto giant grabbed the top position in the segment in November for the first time since its entry into the U.S. market, largely driven by Hyundai’s Sonata and Kia’s K5 se
Jan. 6, 2013
-
S. Korea's auto sales top 8 mln in 2012
Jan. 2, 2013
-
Toyota rated worst in U.S. insurance group’s tests
Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry, the best-selling mid-size car in the U.S., and the Prius V hybrid earned the lowest ratings in a new crash test simulating a severe front-end collision, an insurance group found. The two Toyotas received the only “poor” scores on an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety test intended to evaluate a crash in which the front corner of a vehicle collides with another car, a tree or a pole. It is more stringent than the U.S. government’s test, which simulates a collision
Dec. 23, 2012
-
Audi, BMW see ‘Gangnam Style’ sales boost in Korea
Kim Ju-hee says the Korean cars favored by her parents and winning customers around the world aren’t bad, just rather dull. So as she looks for a new set of wheels, she’s skipping the Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. dealerships near her Seoul home to scout Audi AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG showrooms in the city’s ritzy Gangnam district. “Audis are just better looking and offer something unique,” said the 27-year-old accountant, who has her eye on an Audi A6. “South Korean cars may h
Dec. 23, 2012
-
Local CEOs credited with import car boom
The nation’s import car market is enjoying a heyday.Foreign carmakers, largely led by the popularity of German brands have continued posting record sales here in recent years. This year their combined market share surpassed a milestone 10 percent in Korea where Hyundai and Kia vehicles dominate almost 80 percent of the market. Their car sales increased more than 20 percent to reach some 130,000 units this year. Next year the sales figure is expected to reach some 150,000. One of the reasons behi
Dec. 23, 2012
-
Hyundai Mobis completes plant in Slovakia
Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s biggest auto parts manufacturer, said Monday that it has kicked off production of conventional braking systems at its plant in Slovakia.Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts arm of Hyundai Motor Group, spent 50 billion won ($46.6 million) to complete the line to produce the braking system components at its Slovakia plant located in the northern region of Zilina.The new production line will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 conventional braking system component
Dec. 17, 2012
-
2020 road map for development of electric vehicles faces bumpy road
The nation’s ambitious goal to become one of the world’s top four electric-vehicle production powerhouses faces a bumpy road due to slower-than-expected market penetration.Under the 2020 vision for green cars, unveiled in 2010, the government plans to replace 20 percent of cars on the road with EVs for Korea to take 10 percent of the global EV market. For this goal, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy have invested in infrastructure for EVs to boost demand for the v
Dec. 17, 2012
-
U.S. upgrades investigation into Ford Motor pedal problem
An investigation into complaints that loose floor mats in some Ford Motor Co. Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan cars may jam accelerator pedals was upgraded by U.S. regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates auto safety, today said it intensified a probe opened in May 2010 to an engineering analysis after receiving 52 complaints. The investigation covers about 480,000 cars from model years 2008 to 2010, NHTSA said today on its website. Accelerator pedals
Dec. 16, 2012
-
German firms lag in customer satisfaction
German automakers lagged behind their Japanese competitors in customer satisfaction in after-sales services in Korea, a vehicle research report showed Sunday.According to a yearly assessment by Marketing Insight based on a consumer survey on major carmakers, Volkswagen and BMW shared the lowest score of 746 out of 1,000 points in the after-sales sector.Audi and Mercedes-Benz posted 768 and 808 points, respectively, but none of the four German companies outperformed any of the five major Japanese
Dec. 16, 2012
-
Mercedes looks to blue to make diesel green
The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at Korean or multinational companies here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For inquiries, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. Visually similar to the vehicle Jang Dong-gun called “Betty” in the drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity,” the Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC that I had the pleasure of driving for a weekend is what you might call Betty’s less wild, economically minded, environment
Dec. 9, 2012