Kia Motors Corp., South Korea's No. 2 carmaker by sales, has received 2,500 orders for its new subcompact SUV since its launch two weeks ago, the company said Tuesday.Kia Motors came up with the Stonic subcompact SUV to absorb growing demand for recreational vehicles amid a global economic recovery and low oil prices.The B-segment SUV market has grown more than five times in the past five years since 2013 to 110,000 units in South Korea, the carmaker said. Kia Motors` Stonic subcompact SUV (Yonh

(123rf)Amid heated debate over who is responsible when car accidents occur in self-driving mode, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea’s Rep. Park Young-sun has proposed a law recognizing artificial intelligence robots as “electronic personalities,” thereby holding them responsible if necessary. “Robots have become more than electronic devices. They can now learn information by themselves and their data processing abilities equate to higher-level thinking of humans,” Park said through a statement

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp. outsold Toyota Motor Corp. in Mexico in the first half of this year, the South Korean carmakers said Monday. The strong sales comes as Hyundai and Kia reported weak numbers in the key US and Chinese markets due to a lack of new models and diplomatic rows, respectively.The two Korean carmakers sold a combined 61,616 vehicles in Mexico in the first six months, up a solid 53 percent from 40,264 units a year earlier. Sales by rival Toyota ros

South Korea’s Environment Ministry said Friday that it would start investigating Mercedes-Benz’s vehicles over alleged breaches of diesel emissions regulations. Starting August, the ministry will conduct periodic inspections as well as defect investigations for 47 Mercedes-Benz models, powered by OM642 or OM651 diesel engines.  (Yonhap)The number of vehicles in question is around 110,000 units, according to the company. The National Institute of Environmental Research will be responsible for the

Hyundai‘s second plant in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang Province. Hyundai Motor GroupHyundai Motor, South Korea’s largest automaker, will invest 300 billion won ($270 million) through Sept. 17 to upgrade its second factory in Ulsan, the company said Sunday.This is the second major reconstruction this year, following the rebuilding of the first factory in Ulsan last February for which Hyundai spent 220 billion won, the company said.Seeking to expand productivity, all stages of production, including ass

The G90 luxury sedan by Genesis Motors was the top of its class in the latest US vehicle quality awards, the company said Friday. The flagship vehicle of the stand-alone sub-brand of South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. was No. 1 in the luxury segment for the 2017 Total Quality Impact report released this week by US automobile market survey firm Strategic Vision, the carmaker said. The G90, also called the EQ900 in South Korea, scored 761 out of 1,000 points in terms of design, driving perfor

Kia Motors Corp. on Thursday domestically launched a face-lifted Sorento crossover to maintain its edge in the midsize SUV market. The upgraded Sorento incorporates a new grille and front and rear graphics and LED accents that make the car sharper. It can be equipped with a choice of 2.0-liter turbo gasoline, a 2.2 diesel or 2.0 diesel engine with buyers given the option of an eight-speed automatic transmission, the first of its kind for a locally produced midsize SUV, the company said in a stat

Mercedes-Benz and Aston Martin will recall 24 vehicles in South Korea for faulty parts, the transport ministry said Thursday. This is the latest in a series of recall orders issued by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to both domestic and foreign carmakers. The carmakers plan to recall two different models totaling 24 units. The models include Mercedes-Benz's AMG E63 4MATIC high-performance car and Aston Martin's DB11 super car, the ministry said in a statement.  (Yonhap)The pro

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Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest carmaker by sales, will start operation of its fifth assembly plant in China next month to better meet growing local demand for small vehicles, the company said Wednesday. Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a 50:50 joint venture set up by Hyundai Motor and Beijing Automotive Group Co., has invested a combined $1 billion to build the 300,000-unit-a-year plant in Chongqing, Southwest China, the carmaker said in a statement. This year, Hyundai plans to produce 30,00

Amid German prosecutors’ investigation into defeat devices installed in Mercedes-Benz diesel cars, the Environment Ministry here said Tuesday that some 110,000 units powered by the engines in question were sold in Korea. The ministry started examining 110,000 units across 47 models running on engines codenamed OM642 and OM651, following a report by German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung that said the number of concerned Mercedes-Benz cars totaled over a million units worldwide last week.The Germa

Hyundai Motor Co. on Tuesday added the Sonata plug-in hybrid to its lineup in a move to absorb growing demand for environment friendly vehicles. As the government moves to implement stricter regulations against fine dust-emitting vehicles centered generally around diesel cars, automakers are making an effort to highlight their "green" credentials in their lineups. Hyundai Motor`s Sonata New Rise plug-in hybrid model (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor) (Yonhap)The Sonata New Rise plug-in hybrid wen

Unionized workers at Kia Motors Corp. will vote on whether to stage a walkout as they press for more wages and benefits, the company's union said Monday. The vote scheduled from Monday through Tuesday comes as Kia's wage talks with the management recently broke up and it struggles with slowing sales in major markets such as China and the United States.  (Yonhap)Members of Kia's 30,000-strong union will cast their votes by 1 p.m. Tuesday, with the results to be made available at around 6 p.m. The