Mike Arcamone, CEO and President of GM Korea (Ahn Hoon/The Korea Herald)The race is on. GM Korea, the nation’s No.3 carmaker, is out to challenge its big-time rival Hyundai Motor Co. by betting big on superior quality and designs.“We’re going to challenge. We’re going to challenge our competition in all the segments, but in particular in areas where we have not competed before,” Mike Arcamone, CEO

(Yonhap News) Volkswagen Korea, the local importer of German automaker Volkswagen AG, introduced the latest version of its Touareg crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) in South Korea on Monday.   The mid-size model has a wider wheelbase compared to the older model but its weight has been brought down by a maximum 201 kilograms. It also comes with an eight-gear automatic transmission, a first for

                                                                     Honda AccordHonda Korea is offering special deals for the Accord mid-sized sedan until the end of the month in celebration of selling more than 40,000 units here, the company said.The company is offering a complimentary DVD-navigation system and free check-ups for up to five years, all on top of 1 million won ($939) cash coupons.

Toyota and other Japanese car sales down more than a fifth in JuneLocal automakers led by Hyundai, Kia and SsangYong reported all-time high sales with double-digit growth in the first half, benefiting from the demand-drop for Japanese vehicles after the March earthquake.Domestic sales at Hyundai Motor Co., the industry leader, jumped 7.2 percent on-year to 344,422 units in the January-June period.

                                                                   Porsche CayenneChina surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest car market on sales of sedans. Future growth lies with sport-utility vehicles. SUV deliveries rose 30 percent this year through May, compared with a 6 percent gain for total passenger-car sales, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Sales of SU

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s BMW brand outsold Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz last month, expanding its lead as the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. so far this year.BMW’s U.S. sales, helped by deliveries of the new 5 Series sedan and sport-utility vehicles, rose 13 percent last month to 21,637 compared with a year earlier, the Munich-based automaker said yesterday in a statement.Mercedes sa

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors emerged as one the world’s top five automakers in global sales last year, selling more than 5 million vehicles.About a decade ago, the two companies under the wing of Hyundai Motor Group ranked 11th worldwide in total sales volume.Climbing six notches in less than 10 years was not a simple accomplishment, as it required stepping over global players includ

Mercedes-Benz Korea, the local unit of the luxury car division of Daimler AG, has introduced the second-generation of its passenger vehicle, the CLS 63 AMG, in Korea.The new CLS 63 AMG comes with a new V8 5.5-liter biturbo engine that is smaller than the 6.2-liter engine in the previous version, but generates more horsepower and torque while consuming less gasoline. Mercedes-BenzThe new engine pro

Renault Samsung Motors on Sunday unveiled its updated QM5 crossover utility vehicle that aims to enhance the carmaker’s image as a quality manufacturer of upper-end cars.The new QM5 is a makeover of the existing vehicle with streamlined exterior lines, rearranged headlamps and a radiator grille that gives it a more “urban” style that could be more attractive to Korean consumers.The company, which

Portion of small vehicles continues to drop in American sales over a decadeHyundai Motor had been regarded as a minor player in the United States and had focused on finding a niche. Its main target was the small-sized vehicle market.Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors saw small vehicles account for more than half in their North American sales in 2001.But the portion of small cars in Hyundai

In road show, Italy focuses on Korean auto parts makersHyundai Motor Group held a fair in Italy to give Korean auto parts manufacturers the opportunity to make inroads into the southern European market.The automotive group said Thursday that it held a “Fiat Tech Fair,” a road show for auto components, at Fiat Group Automobiles in Turin, Italy. Hyundai Mobis, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, hosted t

Kia’s MorningAuto Build, the world’s most circulated car magazine from Germany, selected Kia’s Morning as the best compact car in the world, The Hyundai Kia Automotive Group said.In a comparative analysis of the world’s compact cars, the magazine selected Kia’s latest version of Morning city car as the best model for driving comfort, followed by Hyundai’s i10.Other candidate models included Fiat P