Kia Motors, the sister company of Hyundai Motor, rolled out a fully changed version of its K9 flagship sedan with the aim of dominating the local large size sedan market, targeting Mercedes’ E-class as its rival, the company said Tuesday.“I am confident that customers will be able to experience Kia on a whole new level through the newly launched K9,” said Kia Motors CEO Park Han-woo at the media event held in Gangnam, southern Seoul. “Completing the second generation lineup of K-series models, t

Cash-strapped tiremaker Kumho Tire Co. was at a crossroads Friday as the deadline approached for the labor union's agreement to the planned sale of a majority stake to a Chinese investor.The main creditor Korea Development Bank has warned Kumho Tire that it will face court receivership unless the labor union decides to accept the stake sale to China's Qingdao Doublestar Co. by the end of the day. According to industry sources, creditors' voluntary agreement on financial support for Kumho Tire en

Hyundai Motor Group's plan to streamline its governance structure among affiliates will pave the way for future mergers and acquisitions and help it focus on its mainstay car manufacturing business, local analysts here said Thursday. (Yonhap)On Wednesday, the country's biggest carmaker announced it will spin off the module manufacturing and after-sales parts business of auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co. and merge it with logistics firm Hyundai Glovis Co. to enhance the cross-shareholding struct

Hyundai Motor Group on Wednesday announced long-awaited plans to overhaul its governance structure in a move to bolster future growth and shareholder value amid growing pressure from the government for the country’s leading automotive group to overhaul its complex cross-sharing holding structure by the end of this month.As the first and major step, changes will be made to the auto group’s business structure.The board members of the group’s auto parts making unit Hyundai Mobis and logistics affil

SsangYong Motor, the local unit of Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, stood firm as the No. 1 best-selling automaker in the compact sport utility vehicle segment last year on the continued popularity of Tivoli, the company announced Wednesday.A total 55,280 units of the Tivoli SUV were sold here last year, compared to 45,021 units sold in 2015 when the model was launched.Tivoli marks the first model released after SsangYong’s the merger with Mahindra & Mahindra.SsangYong Motor underlined desi

Unions at South Korea's two-largest automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., have blasted plans to revise a free trade deal with the United States, saying the amended deal will prevent local automakers from entering the fast-growing US pick-up truck market.  "It is a humiliating deal that accepts Trump's strategy to preemptively block South Korean pick-up trucks," Hyundai Motor's labor union said in a statement.  (Yonhap)As part of talks on revamping a free trade deal that took effect

With four days left until the deadline creditors of Kumho Tire have set for the labor union to agree on injecting foreign capital to save the ailing company, midsized South Korean tiremaker Tire Bank on Tuesday officially announced its willingness to buy Kumho Tire.The abrupt entrance of the Daejeon-based tiremaker into the picture has further complicated the sale of Kumho Tire, with experts casting doubts over the financial capacity of Tire Bank in coming up with 646.3 billion won ($603.9 milli

BMW Korea, the local unit of the German luxury carmaker, on Tuesday highlighted the comfortable driving experience and sporty design of the BMW new 6-Series Gran Turismo.“The new 6-Series Gran Turismo has been reborn as a completely new model. Like that of a large size flagship sedan, its design and performance has been pulled up to another level,” BMW Korea said in a statement.It was launched here in September 2017.The new model offers the most spacious storage room among similar BMW sedans due

The Seoul government’s midterm briefing on its renegotiation of a free trade deal Monday was met with mixed reactions here, with steelmakers heaving a sigh of relief while carmakers expressing concerns of losing its presence further to imported cars from US.The Trade Ministry said that South Korea agreed to open its auto market to the US in return for exempting the country from the US’ steel tariffs. Though excluded from the list of countries to be faced with the tariffs, South Korean steelmaker

　Long after market rumors had circulated of GM Korea’s possible withdrawal from the country, GM headquarters made a decision to shut down the Gunsan plant in North Jeolla Province in February.　The announcement immediately sent shock waves across the local auto industry, which is facing similar hardships, with militant labor unions demanding higher wages despite declining productivity and sales.　The last time Daewoo Motor, the predecessor of GM Korea, was sold in 2002, it was due to the 1997-1998

Hyundai Motor will unveil a concept vehicle of an electrified Genesis at the New York International Auto Show that kicks off next week, the company said Sunday. The concept car will be a gran turismo designed to show off Genesis’ long-distance driving range on electric power.  Special edition of Genesis G90 unveiled in Los Angeles earlier this month (Hyundai Motor)Genesis, a luxury brand by the South Korean auto giant, plans to begin production of an electric sports coupe that can travel 500 kil

 LG Chem, the nation’s largest chemical company, will invest 3.8 trillion won this year, a 52 percent increase on-year, to accelerate its goal of reaching the world’s top five by 2025, the company said Sunday.The investment is being made to prepare each business for the “fourth industrial revolution,” increase competitiveness and explore new businesses, it said.LG Chem’s carbon nanotube plant in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province (LG Chem)The company plans to speed up its development of more high valu

South Korean cosmetic giant Amorepacific hosted a marathon in the southern port city of Busan to raise public awareness about breast cancer, with about 5,000 participating, the company Sunday. Participants of Pink Run, a marathon event held by Amorepacific, pass the starting line in Busan on Sunday. (Amorepacific)Titled “Pink Run,” Amorepacific has been holding marathons in five cities in South Korea. Funds raised during the events, by selling tickets, have been donated to the Korea Breast Cance

South Korean cars currently make up 3 percent of the Chinese market, the central bank said in a report on Sunday, claiming that local carmakers should target smaller cities in China currently experiencing growth in purchasing power.According to the report released by the Bank of Korea, South Korean carmakers saw their market share in China fall gradually after posting a record 9 percent in 2014. As of the January-February period in 2018, South Korean carmakers accounted for only 3.8 percent of A

Head of Porsche Korea talks about automaker’s soul-searching after document-forging scandal, Mission E and Hyundai Motor