Last year may have been all about fuel efficiency and hybrids, but sleek, executive sedans from Germany are taking over the hype this year. Hot new cars are to come from Porsche, BMW and Volkswagen, which plans more new launches than ever in 2012.Volkswagen will introduce the Scirocco R-Line in Korea next month, a long awaited sports coupe with looks to match Hyundai Motor’s Veloster. The three-door coupe is a third-generation model and will come with a six-speed manual transmission and up to 17

Automaker denies report on Chevrolet plant moving to EuropeGM Korea announced Friday that its CEO Mike Arcamone has resigned with his term not yet expired and that GM International Operations vice president John Buttermore will assume the interim chief position. GM Korea said Arcamone “would leave the auto industry and return to his homeland of Canada” without elaborating. Arcamone’s departure came as the Korean unit of the U.S. automaker is seeing a surge in sales on the domestic market after i

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest carmaker, said Friday that it is targeting to sell 700,000 vehicles in the domestic market this year, up 2.4 percent from 2011.Hyundai Motor, which sold 683,570 units locally last year, said competition in the domestic market is expected to be fierce this year and a free trade deal with the U.S., expected to go into effect in the next few months, could make foreign-made cars more competitive.“Imported cars are expected to compete more aggressively for dom

Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea’s smallest automaker, on Thursday unveiled the latest version of its diesel-powered leisure utility vehicle in a bid to meet growing consumer demand for outdoor leisure activities.The Korando Sports is equipped with a 2.0-liter e-XDi200 diesel engine, which produces a maximum 155 horsepower. The company said the engine has a high fuel efficiency of 15.6 kilometers per liter and six-speed automatic transmission, the carmaker said.“Ssangyong invested 90 billion won

Unionised workers at South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor stopped work at engine plants in one factory Tuesday after a union member set himself ablaze due to alleged bullying by bosses. (Yonhap News)The union said workers at the five engine plants in the southeastern city of Ulsan stopped pr

General Motors Co., with renewed verve as the world’s biggest automaker, will be in the spotlight at the Detroit auto show next week taking on BMW and its popular 3-Series line with a new compact Cadillac. The new model represents Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson’s strategy for gaining ground in the compact-luxury segment. GM is trying to barge into the market for small, upscale cars, an important entryway for new customers that is dominated by German vehicles such as the 3-Series and the Mer

Audi will add models to feed U.S. passion for sedans and sport-utility vehicles and gain ground on market leaders Daimler AG and BMW.Audi will use the Detroit motor show next week to unveil a concept “Vail” version of the compact Q3 SUV for the U.S. market and plans to build a sedan version of the A3 hatchback after the newest model comes to market this year, CEO Rupert Stadler said in an interview. U.S. growth is critical to efforts by Audi, the top seller in western Europe and China, to replac

Ssangyong back in expansion mode, plans 5 new cars by 2016DELHI, India ― India’s largest SUV manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. says it will bring its flagship model XUV500 to the Korean market.“We’re studying the business feasibility of launching XUV500 in Korea. Various components needs to be adjusted to meet local demands before we can make the decision to bring the vehicle to the Korean market, and we’re trying to see if the investment would be worth the potential revenue,” Pawan Goenka,

BMW overtook Mercedes-Benz in a surprise upset Thursday to grab the crown of best-selling luxury brand in the United States after an incentive-fueled race to the finish of 2011. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ( BMW) vehicles are displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show 2011 in Tokyo, Japan. (Bloomberg)Th

The nation’s import car industry saw its monthly sales fall for the first time in 28 months in December 2011.According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, foreign carmakers reported combined sales of 7,879 units last December, down from 8,294 units a year earlier.The year-on-year drop in sales was the first since the figure stood at 3,612 units in August 2009, compared with 4,894 units in August 2008.In addition, the figure of 7,879 is quite low compared to the 9,230