The Korea Herald

Is BMW invincible?

Jan 6, 2013

Carmakers going all out to bite into sales of the best-selling foreign car firm
Porsche 911 triggers my racer instinct

Jan 6, 2013

The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at multinational companies or ranking diplomats here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For any inquiry into this column, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. By Kim Byung-chul, Director of Philip Morris KoreaI sat ― no, drove ― in the lap of luxury when I had the opportunity to take the new Porsche 911 Carrera S for an outing on a recent weekend. The car is one of the fastest cars
Hyundai-Kia top midsize car sales in U.S.

Jan 6, 2013

Hyundai and Kia topped U.S. car sales in the midsize segment for the second consecutive month in December, industry data showed Sunday. Hyundai Motor Group, which owns Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, sold 32,834 midsize sedans in the U.S. market last month, slightly outpacing Japan’s Toyota that sold some 31,000 units. The Korean auto giant grabbed the top position in the segment in November for the first time since its entry into the U.S. market, largely driven by Hyundai’s Sonata and Kia’s K5 se
S. Korea's auto sales top 8 mln in 2012

Jan 2, 2013
Toyota rated worst in U.S. insurance group’s tests

Dec 23, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp.’s Camry, the best-selling mid-size car in the U.S., and the Prius V hybrid earned the lowest ratings in a new crash test simulating a severe front-end collision, an insurance group found. The two Toyotas received the only “poor” scores on an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety test intended to evaluate a crash in which the front corner of a vehicle collides with another car, a tree or a pole. It is more stringent than the U.S. government’s test, which simulates a collision
Audi, BMW see ‘Gangnam Style’ sales boost in Korea

Dec 23, 2012

Kim Ju-hee says the Korean cars favored by her parents and winning customers around the world aren’t bad, just rather dull. So as she looks for a new set of wheels, she’s skipping the Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. dealerships near her Seoul home to scout Audi AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG showrooms in the city’s ritzy Gangnam district. “Audis are just better looking and offer something unique,” said the 27-year-old accountant, who has her eye on an Audi A6. “South Korean cars may h
Local CEOs credited with import car boom

Dec 23, 2012

Best-selling import cars of the year
Hyundai Mobis completes plant in Slovakia

Dec 17, 2012

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s biggest auto parts manufacturer, said Monday that it has kicked off production of conventional braking systems at its plant in Slovakia.Hyundai Mobis, an auto parts arm of Hyundai Motor Group, spent 50 billion won ($46.6 million) to complete the line to produce the braking system components at its Slovakia plant located in the northern region of Zilina.The new production line will have an annual production capacity of 600,000 conventional braking system component
2020 road map for development of electric vehicles faces bumpy road

Dec 17, 2012

The nation’s ambitious goal to become one of the world’s top four electric-vehicle production powerhouses faces a bumpy road due to slower-than-expected market penetration.Under the 2020 vision for green cars, unveiled in 2010, the government plans to replace 20 percent of cars on the road with EVs for Korea to take 10 percent of the global EV market. For this goal, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Knowledge Economy have invested in infrastructure for EVs to boost demand for the v
U.S. upgrades investigation into Ford Motor pedal problem

Dec 16, 2012

An investigation into complaints that loose floor mats in some Ford Motor Co. Fusion, Lincoln MKZ and Mercury Milan cars may jam accelerator pedals was upgraded by U.S. regulators. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which regulates auto safety, today said it intensified a probe opened in May 2010 to an engineering analysis after receiving 52 complaints. The investigation covers about 480,000 cars from model years 2008 to 2010, NHTSA said today on its website. Accelerator pedals
German firms lag in customer satisfaction

Dec 16, 2012

Poll shows sales ranking does not match level of consumer satisfaction
Mercedes looks to blue to make diesel green

Dec 9, 2012

The Korea Herald, in cooperation with carmakers, offers a test-driving experience to executive officials at Korean or multinational companies here. The opinion below is the author’s own. For inquiries, please contact jylee@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed. Visually similar to the vehicle Jang Dong-gun called “Betty” in the drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity,” the Mercedes-Benz ML350 BlueTEC that I had the pleasure of driving for a weekend is what you might call Betty’s less wild, economically minded, environment
Little big heroes

Dec 9, 2012

From Mercedes to Fiat, carmakers to up the ante in Korea’s premium compact market next year
Japanese dealerships in China retrench in wake of disputes

Dec 9, 2012

Three months after a territorial dispute led rioters to vandalize Japanese cars in China, automakers from Toyota Motor Corp. to Nissan Motor Co. are luring back buyers with discounts and guarantees. Dealers like William Chen may take more persuasion to invest in the brands. “Sales of Japanese brands plunged about a third at my outlets,” said Chen, whose family owns about 30 showrooms selling Nissan and nine other brands in the eastern city of Taizhou. “I would prefer safer brands over Japanese o
Equus wins U.S. value award

Dec 9, 2012

Hyundai Motor’s Equus took first place in the luxury car segment in the 16th annual Strategic Vision Total Value Awards in the United States.“Our flagship sedan Equus beat out competitors such as the Mercedes-Benz CLS, the Audi A8 and the Jaguar XJ,” the company said in a statement Sunday.While Strategic Vision’s Total Value Index reflects all aspects of perceived value ― from quality, to economics to customer appeal ― the Equus also received the award for Best Model and the automaker’s Sonata s