South Korea’s export of eco-friendly cars mainly involving compact sport utility vehicles such as Hyundai Motor’s Kona and Niro have expanded significantly, government data showed Sunday.According to data compiled by the country’s Transport Ministry and Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, exports of eco-friendly vehicles including electric vehicles and hybrid cars increased 41.8 percent to 189,033 units from January to September, compared to a year ago.  In Septemb

South Korea's vehicle exports fell 4.8 percent in September from a year earlier due to production losses caused by strikes at GM Korea Co., the trade ministry said Thursday. Five passenger and two commercial carmakers in South Korea shipped a combined 171,425 vehicles last month, down from 180,051 a year ago in terms of units, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. "GM Korea suffered over 15,000 units in production losses (in September) as its union went on strike f

Hyundai Motor said Thursday its compact vehicle Kona was named the best diesel SUV model in Europe by an auto magazine in Germany. 　The German publication Auto Bild conducted a comparative evaluation of four compact diesel SUVs currently sold in Europe -- Hyundai Motor’s Kona, Mazda’s CX-3, Ford’s EcoSport and Dacia’s Duster.  The four models were assessed across seven categories of body, powertrain, driving dynamic, connectivity, environment, driving comfort and cos

GS Caltex, a local oil refiner that has a vast network for energy distribution here, will open its first hydrogen refilling station in Seoul at a retail outlet that also houses other sources of energy such as electricity, liquefied petroleum gas and gasoline.Calling it Total Energy Station, the planned station will be built on 3,300 square meters in Gangdong, southeastern Seoul, to provide all sorts of energy needed for ground transportation. It will start operation in December.The hydrogen refi

Hyundai Motor to invest W41tr by 2025 for development of future mobility services

Daimler Mobility AG -- a subsidiary of Daimler AG, which owns Mercedes-Benz -- has established Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea to offer mobility solutions in Korea, the firm said Tuesday.The new entity by the mobility unit of the Daimler AG, which recently changed its name from Daimler Financial Services AG to Daimler Mobility AG, will focus on providing digitalized customer service and premium mobility products, MBMK said. MBMK will kick off in Korea with the launch of a premium long-term car rent

Storage for strollers, golf clubs and boxes of groceries, spacious backseats and high-end safety features are increasingly becoming important factors to customers in Korea seeking vehicles that fit their family-oriented lifestyles.Rather than choosing sedans with better driving performance, a growing number of customers -- particularly those in their 30s and 40s -- are looking for mid-sized sport utility vehicles in consideration of fuel economy, passenger convenience and ease of use.According t

Dimitris Psillakis (left), CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Korea, and Mark Raine, vice president of product and marketing, pose for photos at a session held for the media to test the new Mercedes-AMG GT four-door coupe and E53 4MATIC+ at the AMG Racing Track in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, Monday. Introducing the family of high-performance AMG vehicles, Psillakis said, “No matter which AMG model you choose, you will get a high-performance vehicle, which excites with powerful performa

New addition to global leadership comes amid imminent launch of GV80, barometer for Genesis’ success in market entry

Hyundai Motor’s open-innovation business has inked a partnership with US-based fleet management software company Netradyne to create digital maps necessary for autonomous driving technologies, Hyundai Motor America said Thursday. Hyundai Cradle, the automaker’s wholly owned venture capital arm, said its partnership and investment in Netradyne would help the firm build a high-definition map for level-three advanced driver assistance systems, according to Hyundai Motor America. Under t

 The number of commercial vehicles sold by Volvo Trucks Korea has surpassed the 25,000 mark, a first for a foreign auto brand here, the company said Tuesday.The local importer and distributor of the Swedish carmaker delivered its 25,000th vehicle to a customer on Monday at its central cargo center in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province. After delivering its first vehicle in South Korea in 1997, Volvo Trucks Korea went on to sell its 5,000th in 2007 and reached the 10,000 mark in 2012. Since then

A group of South Korean reporters covering automobiles picked Mercedes-Benz’s latest sports utility vehicle, the New GLE, as the car of the month, they announced Tuesday.According to the Korea Automobile Journalists Association, the SUV from the German luxury carmaker earned 18.4 points of 25, taking the top spot for the monthly award. It competed against GM Korea’s Chevrolet Traverse and Kia Motors’ Mohave the Master.The association assesses finalists in five categories. The N

South Korea’s auto industry, a key driver of the nation’s economic growth, is likely to go through throes of change as carmakers’ restructuring plans are gaining market support.An advisory group consisting of five independent industrial experts said Sunday in a report presented to the management and the labor union of Hyundai Motor that it would be inevitable for the largest carmaker here to reduce its manufacturing workforce by 20-40 percent by 2025. Stressing several changes

German carmaker Mercedes-Benz recorded the third-highest sales figure in the country in September, after Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, outpacing three major local carmakers, according to industry data.According to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association and the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association, a total of 118,895 vehicles were sold in September, an increase of about 8.9 percent from the previous month.Of them, Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors accounted f

Han Sung Motor's Dream Gream project fosters young artists through diverse opportunities