Volkswagen Korea will launch its first pure electric sports utility vehicle next month as the first overseas branch of the German carmaker outside of Europe, its CEO said Tuesday. “ID.4, Volkswagen’s first pure electric SUV, will be launched in Korea and we will be the first country in the world for export market outside of Europe,” said Sacha Askidjian, the executive director of Volkswagen Korea at a launching ceremony for the new Tiguan Allspace, a seven-seater family SUV eq

The Maserati Ghibli GT Hybrid is a car that can satisfy those who love the sound of a combustion engine, but want to make a more fuel-efficient choice. The Ghibli GT Hybrid is the first ever electrified Maserati model, with which the luxury brand makes an attempt to keep up with the trends of the automobile industry. Maserati uses a 2.0-liter, four-cylindrical gas turbo engine boosted by a 48-volt battery and offers a maximum torque of 45.9 kilogram-meters. In a 245-kilometer test drive sessi

The housing market in Seoul appears to have entered a period of stagnation not only with the prices of apartments -- the major residential type in the city –dropping, but also the number of transactions falling due to increased interest rates on loans, data showed Monday. According to Zigbang, a local property technology firm, the number of apartment units in Seoul that traded at lower prices than before has surpassed that of apartments that traded at higher prices. Separate data from t

A Lamborghini Aventador, the Italian supercar whose price tag is more than 500 million won ($400,000) here, was recently put up for sale on Danggeun Market -- a popular online flea market platform -- for just 1 million won. The owner claimed that the car was submerged during the heavy rainfall last week in Seoul, and that he cannot start the car any longer -- but the interior remains clean, and other features like air conditioning and lighting still work. “The car will become a luxurio

Samsung SDI said Tuesday it had set up its first research and development center in the US in an effort to secure technological competitiveness in the burgeoning market for electric vehicles. The Boston center, called SDI R&D America, will focus on developing new battery-related technologies in cooperation with local universities and startups that have been actively working on lithium-ion battery technology and other next-generation developments. The new US center follows the establishme

South Korea’s top electric vehicle battery maker LG Energy Solution has elevated its sales target for this year, largely buoyed by an upbeat outlook for the second half. In its second-quarter earnings report in July, the company announced an upgraded growth plan, raising sales target this year to 22 trillion won ($16.8 billion), an almost 10 percent jump from the previous target of 19.2 trillion won. The company offered a rosy outlook for the coming months, citing new car launches by i

Volkswagen’s R-Line Arteon, a sportier version of the flagship sedan, made its debut in South Korea in July. The new Arteon R-Line 4MOTION has been revamped with a bold front bumper that creates a balanced look of the chassis. The car also comes with a 20-inch Nashville Alloy wheel, a black rear tailgate spoiler, and a quad muffler to enhance the design of the sports sedan. Inside the car, black titanium nappa leather applied on the seats not only gives the car a sophisticated look bu

Hyundai Motor Group said Monday it ranked third globally in car sales in the first half of this year -- a first feat for the nation’s largest carmaker. According to its sales data, Hyundai Motor Co., its luxury Genesis brand and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. sold a total of 3.299 million vehicles in global markets in the January-June period. The sales figure is the third largest following Toyota Motor Group’s 5.138 million units and Volkswagen Group’s 4.006 million units.

The first Samsung product that Richard Craig, a 37-year-old American living in Tianjin, China, owned was a 42-inch flat screen TV he bought in 2009 in the US. Ten years later, the longtime iPhone user switched to a Galaxy smartphone, saying “phones made by Samsung were some of the best Android phones available.” For Lim Eun-soo, a 63-year-old Korea-born US resident, a Samsung TV in 2000 was her first electronic device that was made by a company from her home country. “Back th

Insurance companies face costly claims for damage coverage for nearly 7,000 flooded cars -- among which at least 1,900 are from luxury brands -- after heavy rain battered Seoul and Gyeonggi Province this week. According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, 12 automobile damage insurance companies received a total of 6,853 claims for flooded cars as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, The number of claims for flooded imported luxury cars received by the country’s five largest insurance compani

Insurance companies are expected to face costly claims for flooded cars as a result of the heavy rain that has inundated Seoul’s Gangnam area since Monday night. Twelve automobile damage insurance companies received more than 4,791 claims for flooded cars overnight, according to the General Insurance Association of Korea, as of 2 p.m. Tuesday. The estimated damage amounts to 65.86 billion won ($50.42 million) but is expected to increase as torrential rain is forecast to continue through

Avikus, an in-house venture under Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, became the first autonomous navigation software company to sell Level 2 autonomous navigation solutions in the world. Avikus signed order contracts with two South Korean shipping companies, SK Shipping and Sinokor Merchant Marine, to install Hyundai intelligent Navigation Assistant System (HiNAS) 2.0 on a total of 23 large vessels, including container ships and LNG carriers, starting from August 2023, the company said Tuesday. H

Electricity demand could hit an all-time high this week as scorching weather continues and workers return from summer vacations. According to Korea Power Exchange on Monday, the country’s maximum power demand is expected to surpass 90,000 megawatts this week. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had forecast in June that electricity demand would rise to the 91.7-95.7 gigawatt range in the second week of August, up from 91.1 gigawatts last year. The country’s electricity dem

South Korea’s first lunar orbiter Danuri launched into space on Friday morning, and successfully reached the ballistic lunar transfer trajectory, a path that will take it toward the moon, the Ministry of Science and ICT said. The Korea Aerospace Research Institute confirmed from its ground control station that Danuri successfully separated from the projectile and reached the target ballistic lunar transfer orbit, the ministry said. Danuri separated from the SpaceX Falcon rocket at aroun

Two German carmakers are in a tight race to take the top spot in South Korea’s imported car market this year, with BMW chasing its rival Mercedes-Benz closely to dethrone it from its seven-year run in the No. 1 position. According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association on Thursday, BMW sold a total of 5,490 units last month, outpacing Mercedes-Benz which sold 5,456 units in the same period. This was the third month this year after January and June that BMW has sol