Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. said Wednesday their sales jumped 26 percent in the United States last month from a year earlier on strong demand for SUVs. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a total of 138,599 vehicles in the US last month, up from 110,156 units a year ago, the companies' sales data showed . SUV and eco-friendly models drove July sales as consumers responded to Hyundai's diversified lineup to find a vehicle that meets their transportation needs, Senior Vice President Ran

Korean Air has operated 10,000 cargo-only passenger flights as of Sunday, the airline said on Monday, as it pivoted to the cargo business amid a decline in air travel demand during the pandemic. The airline first flew a passenger flight carrying only cargo on the Incheon-Ho Chi Minh route in March last year. Since then, it has operated such flights on 65 routes to North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, China and Japan, transporting 400,000 tons of cargo around the world. Some 40 tons of cargo

Kia Corp. on Monday released its first all-electric sedan EV6 in the domestic market ahead of its global launch set for later this year. The model has logged 30,000 preorders since March, 21,016 of which were on the first day of the offer. It was the South Korean automaker’s best-ever presale record. EV6, built on the company’s new EV platform E-GMP, has also seen strong demand in Europe, where it will be released later this year, and the US is set for a 2022 release, the company

Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. beat its Japanese rival Toyota to become the world's largest fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) maker in the first half of the year with the release of a facelifted model, industry data showed Monday. Hyundai Motor, the maker of the NEXO SUV, sold about 4,700 units in the January-June period, up 62.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by SNE Research. Hyundai slipped to second place in the FCEV market in the first quarter, but it regained the t

Kakao Mobility is expanding into the on-call chauffeur service market by buying into the field’s No. 1 player, Korea Drive, the company said Sunday. According to Kakao Mobility, the mobility service affiliate of Kakao Group, its subsidiary CMNP has acquired an undisclosed amount of shares in Korea Drive. It has established a new company called K Drive to take over Korea Drive’s 1577 Chauffeur business. Kakao Mobility Chief Financial Officer Lee Chang-min will head K Drive. Whi

South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Group and battery producer LG Energy Solution are joining forces to establish a $1.1 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Indonesia, the companies said Thursday. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government for the plant, which would produce 10 gigawatt-hours worth of NCMA (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) lithium-ion battery cells annually, enough for 150,000 electric vehicles, the firms sai

Hankook Tire & Technology, the world‘s sixth-largest tiremaker by sales, is further expanding its portfolio of Original Equipment tires by working with global automakers and ramping up efforts to secure core technology in the field. It has so far struck a partnership with 46 car brands for some 320 models across the world, according to the company on Wednesday, including premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. Hankook Technodome, its flagship research and development faci

Hydrogen fuel-cell trucks from Hyundai Motor will hit the roads in California by 2023, said the South Korean automaker Tuesday, after it won a bid to provide clean-fuel vehicles for two clean-air projects in California. This will be Hyundai’s largest deployment of hydrogen vehicles in the United States. A consortium led by Hyundai and California’s Center for Transport and Environment, a government organization that promotes eco-friendly transportation projects, will roll out 30

South Korean tire maker Kumho Tire said on Tuesday it has renewed its sponsorship contract with English football club Tottenham Hotspur. The long-term extension to a deal that was first signed in 2016 marks the third time the company has continued its support for the team as their official tire partner. The move comes after South Korean player Son Heung-min recently signed a new four-year contract with the team until 2025. Son’s presence means his team also has many fans in his home cou

After HAAH Automotive Holdings, a US-based automobile distributor, confirmed its intention to acquire SsangYong Motor, eyes are on whether the American firm, which just gave up on its Chinese car business with a bankruptcy filing, will be able to close the deal to salvage the financially troubled automaker in Korea. Speaking to a US media outlet, the founder and chief executive officer of HAAH Automotive, Duke Hale, revealed that it has established a new company, Cardinal One Motors, which wi

Mercedes-Benz Korea is expanding its business beyond cars and car-related items on the back of strong sales: with accessories. The Korean branch of the German automaker currently sells some 4,000 branded accessories and about 1,000 “collection items” made in collaboration with other companies at 41 stores and online. The products are diverse and not limited to car-related uses, such as wallets and clothes. Sales of the accessories have shown steady growth since 2014, Mercedes-B

South Korea’s first travel bubble with Saipan kicked off quietly on Saturday morning with just a handful of passengers traveling under the scheme amid a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections. Two flights from Asiana Airlines and low-cost carrier Jeju Air departed from Incheon Airport for the main island in the Northern Mariana island chain. Though a total of 92 passengers were on board both flights, only six people on board the Asiana flight were traveling under the quarantine-free travel a

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor said Sunday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with safety standards company UL to strengthen the safety of its second life battery energy storage system, also known as SLBESS. The move will see both companies work together in adopting the UL Signature Solution to strengthen credibility, jointly developing exclusive UL evaluation standards, as well as collaborate in “multiple aspects” for demonstration projects in North Americ

Kia Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, said Sunday it will suspend one of its eight domestic plants on Monday as dozens of workers at the factory were infected with COVID-19 in recent days. The No. 1 Sohari plant's suspension may be extended depending on the result of coronavirus tests on its workers, a company spokesman said. The Sohari plant in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, has an annual output capacity of 320,000 units and mainly produces the Stinger sports car, the K9 flags

Hyundai Motor Group’s Honorary Chairman Chung Mong-Koo became the first Korean to be officially inducted into the international Automotive Hall of Fame, the automotive giant said Friday. His son, Chung Euisun, who is the incumbent chairman of the group, received the trophy and delivered a speech on behalf of his father at the ceremony for 2020 and 2021 inductees, held at the ICON Convention Center in Detroit, the United States on Thursday, the company said. “Honorary Chairman Ch