Carmaker and unions agree to reinstatement of 119 former workers, ending longstanding conflict

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo promoted his son Chung Eui-sun to executive vice chairman, a new position created to assist his father, the company said Friday.The heir to the world’s fifth-largest carmaker has worked as the vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Corp. so far. The promotion will give him authority to oversee the entire operation of the Hyundai Motor Group, of which Hyundai Motor Corp., is a part. Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun (Yonhap)According to

After a brief compromise, unionized laborers of GM Korea said they oppose the company’s decision to relocate an executive previously in charge of laying off workers at its Gunsan factory that shut down in May to its headquarters.GM Korea has named Lee Dong-woo, senior vice president who headed overall operations of the Gunsan factory, as the head of the Bupyeong manufacturing site. The unionized workers claimed that Lee had pressured workers to retire voluntarily by telling them that they would

Hyundai Motor vice chairman calls for large-scale commercialization of hydrogen

Preliminary injunction filed by KDB barring GM Korea from holding general shareholders meeting

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s latest measures, hurdles and the market drive for hydrogen economy. This is the fourth installment. -- Ed.Hydrogen technology, which aims to replace the use of fossil fuels, would not only benefits carmakers, but also other traditional industrial players such as shipbuilders, the head of H2Korea said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.“The market perception that the government’s push for hydrogen technology is only for

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors were the third-largest sport utility vehicle makers in the first half of the year, a survey showed Wednesday.According to the UK market research firm Jato Dynamics, combined SUV sales by the two companies accounted for 8.2 percent of total global sales of SUVs, a 1.2 percentage point increase from 7 percent in the same period last year. Facelifted Tucson unveiled in Aug seen during a test drive. (Hyundai Motor)About 15 million SUV units were sold i

Hyundai Motor is investing in foreign startups in the US that develop solid-state batteries and mobility services, as part of its investment in future technologies, according to news reports.The South Korean carmaker was among a list of investors in the Series A funding round arranged by Solid Power, a Colorado-based solid-state battery cells maker, according to Bloomberg on Tuesday. The list of investors for the $20 million financing round also included the venture capital unit of Samsung Elect

Elliott Advisors, the Hong Kong arm of Elliott Management, on Friday afternoon released letters it had sent a month earlier to directors of Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors. The recent move is a response to news reports full of speculation that the US hedge fund leaked excerpts of its letters to the media.“Because portions of these letters were selectively provided to the press and others, Elliott has decided to make the full contents of the letters publicly available in the i

Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Chung Eui-sun vowed on Friday to transform the automotive group in response to changes in the auto industry so that it can take the lead in India’s smart mobility revolution.Speaking in New Delhi at the first Global Mobility Summit, called MOVE and organized by the Indian government, Chung detailed the three-point strategy that Hyundai would pursue in order to reach its goal in the world’s fourth-largest electric vehicle market, where it now ranks No. 2 in sales after

Hyundai Motor unveiled an upgraded version of the sixth-generation Avante on Thursday, targeting young drivers looking for their first cars. The carmaker has set a sales target of 120,000 units by next year. The new compact car underwent a drastic change in its design with arrow-like triangular elements on the front and wheels.“The car will become a new standard in the global midsized sedan market, with a near-full design change, state-of-the-art safety features, enhanced performance and fuel ef

The South Korean government said Thursday it will impose penalties on carmakers that cover up manufacturing defects and fine them for delayed recalls.The move comes in the middle of BMW Korea's recall of 106,317 vehicles in South Korea to fix a faulty part following dozens of engine fires in its cars so far this year. (Yonhap)"A series of fires in BMW vehicles has fueled safety concerns among local consumers. The government has come up with strengthened measures to keep carmakers from delaying r

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors sold a combined 111,406 units in the United States last month, up roughly 3.5 percent on-year on the back of strong sales of sport utility vehicles in the overall US auto market, the company said Wednesday.Of the total, Hyundai’s luxury sedan brand Genesis accounted for 613 units.By carmaker, Hyundai Motor sold 57,542 units last month, up 6 percent, the company said. The Avante compact car was the No. 1 seller with 14,502 units, followed by the midsize SUV Tucson wit

Audi Korea began test running its partially self-driving car at the country’s test bed for automated vehicles in Gyeonggi Province, the company said Wednesday, becoming the first import carmaker to test out its self-driving technology here.Since receiving authorization to test out its driverless Audi A8 flagship car this March from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, experts from German headquarters flew in last month and held a pre-test run at K-City, Korea’s test bed for self-d

South Korea’s first-ever driverless vehicle to be developed by a municipality -- dubbed Zero Shuttle -- began a test drive Tuesday at the second Pangyo Techno Valley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.Two of the level-four autonomous 11-seaters will run between the entrance of the second Pangyo Techno Valley and the Pangyo subway station, a distance of about 5.5 kilometers. The vans will travel at 25 kilometers per hour. There are five levels of autonomy among self-driving vehicles, with a level-fiv