Under Ausprung’s 9-year leadership, the MBK dealer has grown to 17 showrooms, 22 service centers, 2,400 employees

GAPYEONG -- Renault Samsung Motors Corp., the South Korean unit of Renault SA, will focus on promoting SUV models to revive sales amid the coronavirus pandemic, the company's country manager said Wednesday. Renault Samsung has suffered a sharp decline in sales this year in Asia's fourth-biggest economy due to lack of new models and the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on production and sales. "We don't really know about the market because of the coronavirus, but the QM6 SUV and the XM3 SUV (set

Unionized workers at GM Korea Co. said Wednesday that they will continue their partial strike this week for higher wages despite the company's statement that it may reconsider planned investments in its plants. GM Korea's daytime and night-duty workers will stage a four-hour strike from Wednesday to Friday, while continuing to refuse to work overtime during the week and on the weekend, union spokesman Cho Ha-soo said over the phone. The daytime and night workers already held two rounds of par

South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday it will produce the all-new Tucson SUV in its US plant to meet local demand for SUV models. Hyundai Motor plans to produce the 2022 Tucson gasoline and gasoline hybrid models in the Alabama plant next year for the sale of the compact SUV in the US market starting early next year, the company said in a statement. The Tucson with a gasoline and a gasoline hybrid engine will also be manufactured in Hyundai's main Ulsan plant in South Korea. The 2022

Tivoli back after discontinuation as pandemic drives demand for low-risk outdoor activities

Budget airlines Jeju Air and T’way Air said on Friday they will be resuming flights between Incheon and Narita following the easing of travel restrictions between the two countries. From Nov. 21, Jeju Air will fly once a week on a Saturday from Incheon to Narita International Airport, nearly three months after the flight was suspended after a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. The Incheon-Osaka route, which had previously operated two times a day on weekdays, will also change to Frid

Renault Samsung Motors said Friday it launched a revamped model of its bestselling sports utility vehicle QM6. The updated QM6 is the second face-lift for the SUV since June 2019, when it was first upgraded as the QM6 LPe, the country’s first LPG-powered SUV, and the premium trim Premiere. This time, major changes were made to the appearance, with a new chrome radiator grille, Quantum Wing, the automaker said.  “Since the first launch in 2016, QM6 has numerous records in

GM Korea said Friday it would put off a plan to invest in its Bupyeong plant, which was scheduled for the production of next-generation global products, as workers’ strike continued.  GM Korea offered to invest about 215 billion won ($190 million) in its first plant in Bupyeong, which produces Chevrolet Trailblazer, during the 19th round of negotiations held last month. The automaker said it has already suffered a serious cash liquidity crisis due to production losses of more than 6

While the automobile industry continues to face difficulties amid the pandemic, GM Korea’s labor union has decided to stage another three-day partial strike in protest against the management over wage and collective agreement negotiations, the automaker confirmed Thursday. The GM Korea branch of the hard-line umbrella labor union the Korean Metal Workers’ Union held a central committee meeting on the day to draw up guidelines for the struggle, including partial strikes. Accordin

Jeju Air, South Korea's top low-cost carrier, is expected to receive some 190 billion won ($169 million) in state financial support, as the company seeks to overcome a pandemic-caused cash crunch, sources said Thursday. The main creditor, the Export-Import Bank of Korea, has conducted due diligence on Jeju Air and estimated it needs a capital injection of about 198 billion won, according to the sources. In May, South Korea launched a 40 trillion-won fund to provide financial aid to the count

Korean Air Lines, South Korea's biggest carrier, said Thursday its net losses widened in the third quarter from a year earlier amid the pandemic. Net losses widened to 385.93 billion won ($343 million) in the three months that ended in September from 211.85 billion won in the same period of last year, the company said in a statement. Korean Air has suspended most of its flights on international routes since March as travel demand dried up amid virus fears. Flights to Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris

Renault Samsung Motors said Wednesday it had started a race contest with the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea involving its electric vehicle Twizy, to encourage donations from ECCK member firms. The automaker said it is participating in the event hosted by the ECCK, as the main sponsor to provide five units of its ultracompact model, Twizy. For the four-day event, the five Twizy cars departed from Seoul and will stop at Daejeon and Daegu before arriving in Busan on Friday. The fundrai

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their retail sales rise in the US market last month, according to the automaker’s US units Wednesday. In the performance data released on the website of Hyundai Motor America, total sales in October recorded 57,395 units, up one percent from the same month last year. Retail sales reached 52,117 units, up 10 percent year-on-year. HMA said sales of sport utility vehicles, which accounted for 68 percent of total retail sales, increased 23 percent. Sales vo

Hankook Tire & Technology Co., the world's seventh-largest tiremaker by sales, said Wednesday it has been supplying tires for Audi RS models this year. Hankook Tire has supplied the high-performance Ventus S1 evo 3 and Winter i*cept evo2 tires for Audi's RS 7 Sportback sedan and RS6 Avante wagon since early this year, the company said in a statement. The company didn't provide an exact time frame for the supply deal or the value of the deal. The tiremaker has supplied original equipment

Chung faces task of stabilizing labor-management relation, reorganizing governance structure