Volvo Car Korea said Tursday it will invest 150 billion won ($124 million) over the next three years to expand its after-sales service centers to better serve customers. Volvo Car Korea plans to nearly double the number of service centers to 52 and that of repair centers to 312, by 2023, the company said in a statement.    Volvo has reported robust sales in Korea so far this year, helped by new models, such as the new S60 sedan. Its sales in the January-April period jumped

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker, unveiled renderings of its all-new Carnival minivan on Thursday ahead of its domestic launch in the third quarter. The fourth-generation Carnival comes with a dynamic radiator grille and a bold side character line that runs the length of the car, the company said in a statement. At the rear, the side character line trails into the back and merges with the rear lamp graphics. The roof has a bit of a fastback look, ending at the trunk li

Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said Wednesday that it has completed the preliminary match for the Mercedes Trophy Korea 2020 Give ’N Golf tournament. Some 380 Han Sung Motor customers participated in the match, called the Han Sung Classic, on May 25, June 8 and June 15 at the Gapyeong Benest Golf Club and Anyang Benest Golf Club, the company said.  Prizes already awarded included products from KGC Korea Ginseng Co., Swedish bedding brand Duxiana and prem

Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday that it will open the country’s largest driving center, called the HMG Driving Experience Center, in the first half of 2022 to offer customers new opportunities to experience the brand and practice driving.  The automaker said the facilities will be built within the driving test site of local tiremaker Hankook Tire Technology in Taean, South Chungcheong Province.  A ceremony to celebrate the partnership was held at Hyundai Motor Group’s

Porsche Korea said Wednesday it sold over 4,200 units last year for the second consecutive year, highlighting its achievement in the local market along with its effort to introduce a more varied lineup of models here.  “(Porsche Korea’s sales performance has paved) the way for Porsche’s future product strategy, which focuses on emotional gasoline, powerful hybrid and progressive electric vehicles,” said Porsche Korea CEO Holger Gerrmann during a press conference he

Non-US firms close gap with Silicon Valley while rivals sit idle due to pandemic

Hyundai Motor Co. said Tuesday that it will supply 10 hydrogen buses to South Korea's defense ministry by next year. Under an initial agreement with the ministry, Hyundai Motor also said it will build a hydrogen charging station at a military training facility in the central city of Daejeon. The move comes as South Korea is pushing to use hydrogen as the main source of energy for cars instead of fossil fuel. Carmakers have been racing to go eco-friendly amid tightened regulations on emission

Airlines open more international routes, focused on recovering cargo business

Asiana Airlines held an extraordinary shareholders meeting Monday, and voted to raise capital by increasing shares and issuing convertible bonds. The South Korean flag carrier put to a vote its decision to revise its articles of association, calling for an increase in the total number of issued shares and a higher limit on CBs. The amendment was passed with the approval of all shareholders present. With the shareholders’ approval, Asiana will increase the total number of its shares to 1

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering said Monday it is applying domestically developed technologies at its shipbuilding sites to reduce person-to-person contact amid the coronavirus pandemic. The shipbuilder said it recently completed testing liquefied natural gas carriers by utilizing its own remote maintenance support system called DS4 AR Support. Its pilot tests were successful, which were done with engineers from overseas via an online application.  This system combines au

Struggling Korean automaker to apply for W40tr government subsidy to stay afloat

Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's second-biggest carmaker by sales, halted its two domestic plants Thursday, as two workers at the plants near the capital were confirmed to have contracted the new coronavirus. The suspension came after the two worker at the plants in Gwangmyeong, just southwest of Seoul, tested positive for COVID-19. South Korean health officials tested workers who came into contact with the virus patients. The test results are due as early as Friday morning. Kia Motors and he

Local automakers including Hyundai Motor Group and GM Korea have joined hands with the government for guarantee funds to support auto parts makers hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Thursday. An agreement to the effect was signed in Seoul by the automakers and the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups.  Transport Minister Sung Yoon-mo said that the fund would “work as a liquidity supporting net for midsized companies with l

Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea's largest airline, said Thursday it will extend unpaid leave for its flight attendants in the latest move to cope with a sharp decline in air travel demand amid the spread of the coronavirus. Korean Air said all flight attendants who have worked for the flag carrier for at least two years can take the unpaid leave for a minimum period of six months and up to one year, beginning on July 1. The latest move comes amid no clear sign of business normalization due

South Korea's auto exports more than halved in May from a year earlier due to falling demand in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic that as infected more than 7 million people, data showed Thursday. Local carmakers shipped 95,400 units of cars overseas last month, down 57.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, auto exports also fell 54.1 percent over the period to reach $1.81 billion. In the first