Toyota Motor Korea Co. has recalled 3,357 Lexus ES330 and RX330 vehicles for faulty power steering pulleys that can cause safety problems for drivers, the transportation ministry said Sunday.According to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, the problems in the two models can cause the power steering system to fail or suddenly make it hard to control the handling of the car.Vehicles subject to the recall were cars made by Toyota in Japan between June 1, 2004 and March 31, 2011.Fr

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea‘s largest carmaker, said Wednesday that it signed a three-year contract to support the U.S. Grammy Awards.Under the contract, Hyundai will be the exclusive vehicle partner for the prestigious award sponsored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences for outstanding achievement in the music industry. The carmaker said that its vehicles will be used to ferry celebrities to the awards ceremony slated for February 2012.It will also play a role in the Gramm

HONG KONG -- South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has introduced its first localized car model at an international motor show in China, vying to grab a larger share of the world’s largest automobile market, company officials said Tuesday. Hyundai Motor said earlier it would develop a new brand exclusively for China in a bid to provide a more tailored product for Chinese consumers.The new concept car is called the “Shouwang”, meaning being “of high birth” in the ancient Chinese language.

Denmark and Norway have chosen the Tucson ix35 sport utility vehicle by South Korea’s leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. as a fuel cell test bed vehicle, the company’s parent group said Tuesday.Hyundai Motor Group, whose flagship companies include Hyundai and Kia Motors Corp., said the selection highlights the competitiveness of its fuel cell technology and growth potential of the eco-friendly vehicles.Fuel cell systems convert chemical energy from natural fuel sources, such as hydrogen, direct

Ssangyong Motor Co., South Korea‘s smallest carmaker, announced Monday the launch of its flagship luxury sedan for the first time in China, as the company moves to expand into the world’s largest auto market.The Chairman W, which is on display at the ninth annual Guangzhou International Motor Show, will officially go on sale Tuesday, the carmaker said.The CW700 limousine features a 3.6-liter XGi3600 engine and carries a price tag of around 120 million won ($105,200), Ssangyong said, adding it is

Suzuki Motor Corp said Friday it was terminating itspartnership with Volkswagen AG and threatened to take the matter toan international arbitration if the German company refused to sellits 19.9-per-cent stake in its smaller Japanese partner.The two carmakers are at odds over claims by Suzuki thatVolkswagen had not granted it access to certain technologies, inbreach of a promise made in a 2009 partnership deal. Relations souredfurther after VW called Suzuki an “associate” in its annual report.“To

Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest seller of gasoline-electric cars, said U.S. sales of Prius will revive with increased inventory and rising oil prices.Deliveries of the Prius, the top-selling hybrid since 1997, declined 9.4 percent through October from a year ago. Competitors also stumbled. Honda Motor Co.’s Insight fell 21 percent and Ford Motor Co.’s Fusion Hybrid sedan slid 48 percent in the same period, according to Autodata Corp.“When Toyota is 70 percent of the market and we had to stop Pri

New car registrations in Europe fell by 1.8 percent in October, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said Wednesday, amid signs of deepening economic gloom across the region.The month-on-month drop brought total new registrations in the 27-member European Union down to 1.01 million vehicles, with sharp falls in the nations that have emerged at the heart of Europe’s debt crisis.This includes Italy and Spain, where new car registrations slumped by 5.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent respec

Imported cars registered in South Korea are expected to surpass the 600,000-unit mark for the first time this month, buoyed by solid consumer demand, a trade association said Thursday.The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association said the number of foreign-made cars on the country’s streets, excluding commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses, hit 596,398 units as of the end of October.The figure is equivalent to 4.2 percent of the 14 million passenger cars registered in the cou