Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun won the 2021 Autocar Awards' top accolade, the Issigonis Trophy, for his contribution to the global automotive industry, the company said Wednesday. Named after legendary car designer Sir Alec Issigonis, the trophy is awarded by Autocar to an individual who has played a significant role in helping to shape the future of the auto industry. "Chung has overseen the Hyundai Motor Group, whose brands include Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, in transforming in

Jeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier by sales, said Tuesday it has resumed flights to Saipan in a preemptive measure to absorb post-coronavirus travel demand. Jeju Air started to provide one flight a week on the Incheon-Saipan route on the day following permission from the transport ministry, a company spokesman said over the phone. "We expect most of the initial passengers to be businessmen, Koreans residing overseas and their family members. But pent-up demand for travel (

Booking sites enjoy surge in travel demand while airlines resume flights to Saipan, Guam

Audi Korea to strengthen EV product lineup with high performing variants such as RS e-tron GT this year

Tesla’s Model Y dethroned longtime favorite the Mercedes-Benz E-Class to become the top-selling imported car in South Korea in May, industry data showed Thursday. According to market tracker CarIsYou, 3,461 Y vehicles were newly registered with local authorities that month, compared with 2,387 E-Class vehicles. Sales of the Y, the all-electric compact sport utility vehicle and the latest release from the American electric car brand, began in earnest here last month. From January thro

Porsche Korea has launched Taycan Turbo, a high-performance model of the brand’s first electric vehicle, the company said Thursday. Taycan Turbo is the third Taycan variant to be launched here in Korea, and stands in between Taycan Turbo S and Taycan 4S, performance-wise. Like the Taycan Turbo S -- the higher-performing variant -- it is equipped with a Performance Battery Plus, with a gross capacity of 93.4 kilowatt hours as standard. Using launch control, the vehicle can exert up to 68

Kumho Tire is exclusively supplying its best-selling tire Ecsta HS51 for Renault Samsung Motors’ compact sports utility vehicle Arkana -- known as the XM3 in South Korea -- distributed in Europe, the company said Thursday. According to the South Korean tire manufacturer, Ecsta HS51 is their best-selling tire in Europe, using rubber and high grip resin for enhanced braking function. The model is noted for a variety of technologies and devices, such as Virtual Product Development simulat

German truck manufacturer will voluntarily recall Euro 6 truck models to regain customer trust

US electric vehicle maker Tesla's newly released Model Y was the top-selling foreign car model in South Korea last month, beating German luxury brand Mercedes-Benz's E-Class, industry data showed Thursday. A total of 3,461 Tesla's vehicles were registered in May, sharply up from 76 in April, thanks to the release of new EV models, according to the data by CarIsYou Data Research Center. Tesla's Model Y accounted for most of the Korean sales, selling 3,328 units in May, becoming the best-selling

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Corp., South Korea's two biggest carmakers, said Thursday their combined US sales again broke their monthly record for the third consecutive month in May thanks to the popularity of their SUV models.  Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 170,315 vehicles in the United States last month, up 64.6 percent from a year ago, according to the companies' sales data. Both Hyundai and Kia, which together form the world's fifth-biggest carmaker by sales, reported the

South Korean carmakers' sales rose 41 percent last month from a year earlier on strong overseas demand amid a quicker-than-expected recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and a lower base effect, industry data showed Tuesday. The country's five carmakers -- Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Corp., GM Korea Co., Renault Samsung Motors Corp. and SsangYong Motor Co. -- sold a combined 608,430 vehicles in May, up from 432,621 units a year ago, according to data from the companies. Their domestic sales fell 13

SsangYong Motor Co. said Tuesday its sales rose 6 percent last month from a year earlier on increased exports of its SUVs. SsangYong Motor sold 8,750 vehicles in May, up from 8,254 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Exports more than quintupled to 3,854 units last month from 711 a year ago, but domestic sales fell 35 percent to 4,956 units from 7,575 over the cited period, the statement said. From January to May, its sales fell 19 percent to 31,660 units from 39,206 units

Hopes coalesce around a deal to save troubled budget airline

Renault Samsung Motors Corp. said Tuesday its sales fell 13.3 percent last month from a year earlier due to weak domestic demand. The South Korean unit of Renault S.A. sold 10,348 vehicles in May, down from 11,929 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement. Domestic sales tumbled 56.2 percent on-year to 4,635 units last month in the face of toughening competition with other brands. Exports rose more than fourfold to 5,713 units over the cited period as the automaker shipped 4,247

Financially troubled budget carrier Eastar Jet Co. has received letters of intent (LOIs) from some investors for its stake up for sale and will select a final bidder next month. Easter Jet, currently under a court-led rehabilitation scheme, has received LOIs from several companies, including a consortium led by Kanglim, a local equipment maker under underwear company Ssang Bang Wool, and other private equity funds, according to industry sources.   The budget carrier selected a preli