South Korean aviation and travel industries have been hit hard by refunds and cancellations in response to the new Chinese coronavirus outbreak, according to the industry on Tuesday. Several airlines have suspended the operation of routes to China and fully refunded customers for reservations, without applying the usual surcharge.  The travel authorities and related businesses have also strengthened hygiene guidelines for their employees, such as obligating all cabin crew on flights and

South Koreans in their 30s made up the biggest customer group for foreign cars here last year, according to industry data on Monday.  Data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association showed that in 2019, a total of 153,677 units of foreign cars were bought by individuals.  Of the number, 50,645 vehicles, or 33 percent, were purchased by those in their 30s, followed by those in their 40s (31 percent), 50s (19.6 percent), 60s (8 percent), 20s (5.8 percent) and 7

Hyundai Motor Co. said Saturday it will produce hydrogen fuel-cell electric commercial vehicles in its Chinese plant to make inroads into the local electric vehicle market.In the China EV100 Forum held in Beijing from Jan. 10-12, Executive Vice President Lee In-cheon, head of Hyundai‘s Commercial Vehicle Business Division, unveiled the plan. In August last year, the Hyundai executive said the hydrogen commercial car production plan will begin in 2023 if the company makes the decision. Sich

The road to Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun reigning over the nation’s largest automobile giant is predicted to be less bumpy as activist hedge fund Elliott, which had put the brakes on his succession plans, recently sold all its stakes in Hyundai Motor companies. According to the industry, Elliott sold its stakes of 2.9 percent of Hyundai Motor, 2.1 percent of Kia Motors and 2.6 percent of Hyundai Mobis as of Wednesday. Elliott’s departure is expected to giv

Eyes on KCGI, Bando Construction, Kakao to see if they back Cho Won-tae or Cho Hyun-ah

Automaker sees boost from higher-end models; firm to maintain year-end dividend at the 3,000 won level

Sales of imported commercial vehicles in South Korea fell 11 percent in 2019 from a year earlier as demand remained weak amid a slowing economy, an industry association said Wednesday.The number of newly registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 3,896 units last year from 4,394 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said in a statement.The annual sales data does not include figures for dump trucks, as KAIDA only began to add those numbers to its commercial

Automaker chief says there is no shortcut to future hydrogen society

Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. is considering a capital injection of 500 billion won ($430 million) for its South Korean unit, SsangYong Motor Co., by 2022 to secure its turnaround, industry sources said Tuesday.In a meeting with SsangYong Motor employees on Thursday, Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Pawan Goenka said 500 billion won is needed to turn SsangYong Motor around in the next three years, a person familiar with the matter told Yonhap News Agency.Goenka flew into

Cadillac said Monday that it planned to launch four new models and one face-lifted model in Korea this year -- mostly sports utility vehicles -- to position itself as a young, dynamic brand for young generation.The American automotive brand owned by General Motors said in a press release that it would introduce three new models and one face-lifted model in the first half of this year, including a large-size sports utility vehicle XT6 and its bestselling SUV model XT5’s facelift version. Th

South Korea's finance and environment ministries said Monday that they have changed a state subsidy scheme for eco-friendly vehicles to allow buyers of efficient cars to get larger subsidies from this year.  Currently, the state subsidy is calculated on an electric car's battery capability.  Under the revised subsidy program, buyers of an electric vehicle with a longer driving range per charge will get more in subsidies, the finance ministry said in a statement.  Effective from th

Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand Genesis unveiled its first sport utility vehicle GV80 last week, with a goal of selling 24,000 units in South Korea this year. The model will be launched in North America this summer.The Korea Herald had an opportunity to test drive GV80 in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, on the day of its launch on Wednesday. Genesis’ first vehicle based on a rear-wheel-drive platform -- runs on a six-cylinder diesel engine -- which exerts a maximum torque of 60 kilogram-meter

Luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce sold a record 5,152 cars globally in 2019, up 25 percent on-year. And the South Korean market was “instrumental” in this achievement with the growing popularity of its SUV Cullinan, a top executive said Jan. 7. “It has been an excellent year for our brand, and the South Korean market has seen tremendous growth -- very solid, robust and successful -- and is a market that is very important for our business,” Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Roll

Korean Air, the country’s biggest and national flag carrier, is trying to assuage customers ill at ease about a revised plan for the airline’s loyalty program, saying the latest changes reflect global standards, including reasonable benefits for customers in comparison to foreign carriers, according to the company on Friday. The airliner recently uploaded a notice to its homepage to clarify facts about the revision plan for the loyalty program amid strong backlash from customers, inc

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. looks set to inject fresh cash into its cash-strapped South Korean unit SsangYong Motor Co. in a move to seek help from SsangYong's main creditor bank, industry sources said Friday. Mahindra & Mahindra Managing Director Pawan Goenka said the Indian carmaker will make a 230 billion-won ($198 million) investment after obtaining approval from its board during his meetings with SsangYong's labor union and Lee Dong-gull, chairman of the state-run Korea Development Ban