Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Korea released the new Compass compact sport utility vehicle, eyeing a share of Korea’s expanding imported compact SUV segment, the company said Tuesday.Designed to target urban drivers, the Compass SUV stands between the Jeep Renegade compact SUV and Cherokee midsize SUV. Local drivers will first be introduced to the all-new Compass Longitude 2.4 gasoline model and all-new Compass Longitude Limited 2.4 gasoline trims.  Jeep new Compass compact SUV (FCA Korea)Over 260,0

Hyundai and Kia Motors, South Korea’s top two automotive companies, will hold their biannual meeting this week with representatives of regional headquarters and overseas branches to discuss the issue regarding a possible US car tariff, alongside ways to bolster sales in the second half of the year, the companies said Tuesday.This week’s meeting is the first since the auto giants established regional headquarters in the US, Europe and India last month as part of Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy to

Record-high sales growth in EU suggests market potential amid waning sales in US, China, though questions linger over fate of premium brand

Hyundai’s three-door with yellow flames and purple wrapping Veloster hatchback roaming the streets of San Francisco is the ride characters in the Marvel movie titled “Ant-Man and the Wasp” use to save Ant-Man.Setting out to cement its image as a fun and exciting brand, Hyundai has launched the Veloster hatchback this February.The vehicle, with its red, asymmetrical exterior design, is unique and eye catching on first impression. The new Veloster (Hyundai Motor)The three-door hatchback has one ov

 Kim Soung-soo (second row, third from right), chairman of Youth For Understanding Korea, a nonprofit student exchange organization, poses with seven Korean students selected for the 2018 Korea-Japan exchange program sponsored by Toyota Korea. In the back row left from Kim are Nobuyuki Takemura, head of Toyota Korea; Hiroshi Shimbo, first secretary of the Japanese Public Information and Cultural Center; and In Sung-yeon, YFU Korea assistant national director. (YFU Korea)

South Korea's electric vehicles sales surpassed the 10,000-mark for the first time ever in the January-June period on strong demand for such cars as the Ioniq and Bolt, corporate data showed Sunday.Data from local carmakers and the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said EV sales in the first half of2018 stood at 11,866 units, roughly equal to the total sales tallied for the whole of 2017. Last year, EV sales reached 4,412 in the first six months and the annual figures hit 1

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, has faced a temporary halt in production at its factories here due to strikes staged by its labor union, the company said Friday.The union held a total six-hour partial strike Thursday, and will stage a 12-hour strike Friday after failing to reach an agreement in wage talks. This is the seventh consecutive year that union members of the automaker have staged strikes.According to the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System, the temporary

In an attempt to highlight Clio’s French heritage, Renault Samsung, the French carmaker’s South Korean subsidiary, has decided to use the Renault marque for the hatchback’s sales here.Instead of using Renault Samsung’s “storm-eye” badge, the carmaker has attached Renault’s diamond emblem to the Clio, the company said. It means that the carmaker wants to promote Renault as an independent brand, and also that Clio is a compact vehicle that evolved for a long period of time, it explained. Promotion

Amid a steady shift in South Korean drivers’ preferences, imported car makers in the local auto industry continue to expand their presence, with Toyota Korea and Jaguar Land Rover Korea becoming the latest to each post over 1 trillion won ($887.8 million) in earnings, industry figures showed Thursday. This the first time that imported car makers besides the three German-based automakers, Mercedes-Benz Korea, BMW Korea, Audi Volkswagen Korea, have earned more than 1 trillion won here. The three G

Automaker’s shares soar upon Mahindra’s remarks on SsangYong‘s W1.3tr investment

South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked the head of an Indian conglomerate to reinstate former workers at SsangYong Motor who were sacked during the restructuring of the then ailing carmaker.President Moon Jae-in (second from left) talks Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra during a roundtable session for business leaders from South Korea and India. Next to the chairman is Pawan Goenka, managing director of Mahindra Group and the chairman of SsangYong board. (Yonhap)“The issue of reinstating dismis

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese tech firm Baidu to boost cooperation on connectivity technology in a bid to ramp up demand from young Chinese drivers and its future mobility technology, the company said Tuesday. The signing follows shortly after Hyundai agreed to participate in Baidu’s self-driving project Apollo at the CES Asia 2018 in June. This time, the two agreed to “take their partnership to another level” by maki

The popular Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle, GM Korea’s second model to be introduced here since the business normalization of the local unit, was unveiled at the Busan Motor Show last month, with the task of recovering the automaker’s local sales.The Equinox was met with mixed market reactions, with some customers here expressing dissatisfaction over the higher-than-expected price tag of the midsize SUV, to which GM Korea Vice President Dale Sullivan replied, “I challenge you and everyo

Hyundai Motor, South Korea’s No. 1 automotive company, is tapping into Australia’s car sharing market by developing a mobile app to replace car keys, together with Australian peer-to-peer car rental company Car Next Door, it said Wednesday.Hyundai and Car Next Door will roll out a mobile app dubbed “Hyundai Auto Link” that works as a car key and turns the engine on and off, by 2020 at the earliest, the company said.The app will enhance convenience for users of the P2P car rental service, allowin

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, South Korea’s two leading automotive firms, are expected to record a drop in second-quarter earnings this year due to slowing demand in China and the US on top of uncertainties surrounding a global trade war, industry data showed Tuesday.According to data compiled by market researcher FN Guide, Hyundai Motor’s operating profit for the second quarter is projected to slide 22.3 percent on-year to 1.04 trillion won ($928 million), while its earnings will drop 0.6 perce