Hyundai Motor Group said Thursday it has extended its initiative to grow together with its vendors for another year.In an agreement with the Fair Trade Commission, officials from the automotive group pledged to build a cooperative ecosystem for the group and its small vendors.The nation’s anti-trust body has made such fair trade agreements with major conglomerates since 2007. Hyundai Motor Group joined the FTC’s “economic democratization” initiative in 2008, pledging to encourage its affiliates

Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Chung Eui-sun will attend the third International Electric Vehicle Expo that will open on Jejudo Island on March 24, group officials said Wednesday.During the seven-day exposition, Chung is expected to introduce Hyundai’s Ioniq series — the carmaker’s green car lineup. He had also done so at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland earlier this month. Hyundai Motor vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (Yonhap)The expo plans to display various electric vehicles and batte

Korea's automobile exports shrank for four consecutive months in February due mainly to contracted demand from emerging markets amid fast-falling oil prices, the government said Wednesday.Outbound shipments of vehicles came to 192,276 units last month, down 8.1 percent from 209,148 units tallied a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.The February figure narrowed from an 18.8 percent on-year plunge in January, the fastest decline since October 2010, but extended i

The first motorcycle trade show in Seoul will be held on March 31 at Coex in Samseong-dong, Seoul, said co-organizers Coex and the Korea Motorcycle Industry Association on Tuesday. The Seoul Motorcycle Show 2016 aims to attract motorcycle maniacs and other interested public, they said. About 80 motorcycles from nine makers will be exhibited at the show. They include BMW, Ducati, Harley-Davidson, Honda, Indian Motorcycle, Kawasaki, KR Motors, Kymco and Suzuki. Twelve of them are being presented t

The Korean government issued a temporary license plate Monday for the nation's first self-driving car.Hyundai's luxury sedan Genesis equipped with a high-tech driving assist system will be able to hit the road in six routes designated by the transport ministry. Hyundai Genesis EQ900 (Yonhap)The move is part of efforts to commercialize autonomous vehicles and develop driverless cars in the long term.Korea, a car-making power, pushes not to lag behind its global competitors in the promising field.

Hyundai Motor Group denied a local new report on Monday that Kia Motors -- one of its two auto units alongside Hyundai Motor -- is mulling a plan to build a plant with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units in India. The reports also mentioned Tada in the state of Andhra Pradesh as the strongest candidate for the site location.“India is one of countries Kia inspected for an overseas plant, following its investment in Mexico, but nothing has been decided yet for the Indian project,’’ an o

Falling oil prices and demand for leisure activities spur sales of large SUVs

AUDI INTRODUCES NEW Q7-- Audi Korea on Thursday launched the New Audi Q7, an improved version of the German carmaker’s signature premium sports utility vehicle. The New Q7 is 325 kilograms lighter and fitted with state-of-the-art features such as the Audi Virtual Cockpit interface, a Traffic Jam Assist. Prices start from 110 million won ($89,374). (Audi Korea)

Volkswagen and its luxury brand Audi plan to start the recall process for their emissions-faked vehicles sold in Korea in late April following a delay caused by the Seoul government rejecting the companies' measures to fix the problem for being insufficient, industry sources said Thursday.The two German carmakers recently submitted their recall plans to the environment ministry for around 125,000 vehicles equipped with what are called deceit devices designed to manipulate emissions results. Unde

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors--Korea's two major automakers -- are showcasing major sport utility vehicle models at a motor show in Geneva in a bid to strengthen their presence in what is deemed to be one of just a few growing markets this year, market observers said Thursday.At the motor show underway in the European city, which kicked off earlier this month, the two Korean carmakers put their latest versions of the Tucson and the Sportage on display, as they are eyeing the steadily growing mark

Volvo Car Korea CEO Lee Yun-mo poses next to the all-new XC90 SUV at a launch in Seoul, Wednesday. 　　 Swedish luxury carmaker Volvo Car launched the all-new XC90, a seven-seater premium SUV, in Seoul on Wednesday and started accepting preorders.　The company hopes that its latest flagship SUV will fuel growth momentum in Korea, one of the world’s most dynamic markets for luxury carmakers. 　“Considering the fast-growing premium SUV market in Korea, the company has set the annual sales target for X

   Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Chung Eui-sun hinted Wednesday that the carmaker will proactively invest more in future car projects, adding that the company will extend the role and domain of a car in its bid to  create “mobility freedom’’ for people. Hyundai Motor Group vice chairman Chung Eui-sun (second from right) poses with David De Rothschild (right), a British adventurer and environmentalist, and Hyundai Motor executives after the launch event for Hyundai’s Ioniq line-up on the open

Controversy is mounting over local importers of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and other car brands for allegedly giving out price cuts when there were de facto excise tax refunds. The Fair Trade Commission on Wednesday said that it is considering launching an investigation to see whether the companies have imported cars at tax-deducted prices, then sold them at lower prices as if they were giving a special discount when all they were actually doing was reflecting the tax cut. The special excise

Hotel Shilla, an affiliate of Samsung Group, said Tuesday it plans to open a duty-free shop in downtown Bangkok, speeding up efforts to expand its overseas presence.The company said the duty-free shop, which will open within this year, comes after Hotel Shilla first established a joint venture named GMS Duty Free with a Thai firm in 2013. The South Korean retailer holds a 25-percent stake in this venture. Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin (Yonhap)Hotel Shilla said the opening date for the new shop ha