Most Popular
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Korea enters full election mode
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Immigrant woman stabbed to death by Korean husband
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Lee Jong-sup resigns as envoy to Australia
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Yellow dust engulfs S. Korea, advisory alert issued
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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S. Korea to boost support for single-parent families
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Court upholds jail term for man who attempted to murder ex-girlfriend
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Kia EV9 wins world car of year
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Korea misses out on global bond index boost
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Ssangyong seeks to diversify export markets
Ssangyong Motor said Sunday that it had mapped out strategies to diversify export targets within five years, while more than half of its export-oriented vehicles are shipped to Russia and Latin America.Currently, Russia accounts for 32 percent of the automaker’s export destinations, followed by South & Central American countries with 26 percent.In coordination with its majority shareholder Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., the company said it planned to push ahead with tapping new markets.“By 2016, when
Nov. 25, 2012
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Carmakers turn to TV drama for killer promotions
Kia Motors’ K7 sedan was once called “Lee Byung-hun’s car” after the Korean Wave heartthrob drove the car in the several chase scenes of the 2009 hit spy thriller “IRIS.”Company officials would not offer the specific sales data on the drama sponsorship. But during the eight months after the drama ended, the K7 topped the nation’s large sedan segment sales, outperforming Hyundai Motor’s steady-seller Grandeur. Unveiling the facelift version of the K7 recently, the carmaker, an affiliate of Hyunda
Nov. 25, 2012
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BMW, Mercedes, Audi widen target market
Germany’s three premium automobile brands are targeting the middle-income bracket and young consumers in Korea, following the outstanding growth in their sales of upper segment sedans.While the small segment import car market has been dominated by cars like the Volkswagen Golf, the MINI series and the Nissan Cube, the three brands ― BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi ― are poised to join the cheaper car sales competition.BMW Group Korea started the war among the big three by recently introducing the se
Nov. 22, 2012
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Fiat faces Brazil challenge as Hyundai threatens profit
Fiat SpA and Volkswagen AG have dominated Brazilian auto sales for years, holding the top two spots. Now, General Motors Co. and Asian rivals are gaining share in a market the European carmakers had been counting on to offset weak demand in their home region.Brazilian auto production capacity will jump 50 percent by 2014 as South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and other carmakers ramp up new factories, according to Brazilian supplier organization Sindipecas. The added potential output, which comes as
Nov. 18, 2012
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Hyundai-Kia’s market share hits new high this year
Hyundai and Kia brands’ global market share posted a record high in the first three quarters this year, a market research firm said Sunday. According to the U.S.-based JD Power, the nation’s top two carmakers, both owned by Hyundai Motor Group, saw their combined market share reach 8.6 percent this year, up 0.1 percent from the same period last year. Hyundai Motor sold about 3.21 million cars to claim 5.3 percent of global car market, while Kia Motors made up 3.3 percent, selling 2.03 million ca
Nov. 18, 2012
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Hyundai Motor seeks hybrid cars’ EU market debut
Hyundai Motor Group is mapping out strategies to export hybrid cars to Europe or roll out the fuel-efficient models at its manufacturing factories in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.Its project to advance to the European market reflects group chairman Chung Mong-koo’s instruction to drastically improve the annual production capacity for hybrid vehicles and diversify export destinations.Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ hybrid models, which use two or more distinct power sources, are currently being
Nov. 18, 2012
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BMW widens its luxury-car sales lead after Oct. gain
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG widened its lead in luxury-car sales last month as demand for the 1- Series and X1 compact models helped it outpace gains by German rivals Audi AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz. BMW-brand deliveries increased 15 percent to 132,823 cars and sport-utility vehicles in October, the Munich-based manufacturer said in a statement. That compares with growth of 14 percent to 123,600 deliveries at Audi and 6 percent to 109,632 vehicles at Mercedes. Even with the debt crisis de
Nov. 11, 2012
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Female leadership gains ground in auto industry
GM Korea, the Korean unit of U.S.-based General Motors, has the largest number of female executives at 17 among carmakers operating here. The figure compares to none for Hyundai Motor and one for its affiliate Kia Motors ― the two companies that claim almost 80 percent of the nation’s car market. “Investing in women is the right thing to do,” said GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha. “We promote them not because they wear skirts, but because of their skills and capabilities.”Over the past 10 years in Kore
Nov. 11, 2012
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BMW narrows Mercedes’ lead in U.S.
BMW’s U.S. sales rose 21 percent in October, narrowing the lead of Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz in luxury-auto deliveries this year. Sales for BMW climbed to 26,451 vehicles last month, boosted by a 26 percent gain for its 3-Series. Mercedes yesterday reported a 5.9 percent increase from a year earlier to 23,978, helped by updated versions of the C-Class small sedan. Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus rose 9.7 percent to 19,850.The October results trimmed Mercedes’s lead to 2,748 vehicles, from 5,221 at t
Nov. 4, 2012
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Renault Samsung Motors eyes leap with new midsized sedan SM5
Renault Samsung Motors’s flagship mid-size sedan, the SM5, was introduced in 1998 and has been one of the best-selling models in the segment here. On Friday, the Korean unit of the France-based Renault Group unveiled the New SM5 Platinum, a facelift for the third generation 2010 model. The new SM5 has fresh styling with a new chrome grille and a more voluminous bumper. The overall exterior represents the steady-seller car’s futuristic and dynamic makeover. Especially, the newly-equipped LED head
Nov. 4, 2012
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VW threatens to end GM’s 8-year China lead
After trailing General Motors Co. in China for eight years, Volkswagen AG edged ahead in the third quarter, putting it one step closer to its goal of becoming the world’s biggest automaker. VW’s deliveries in the country jumped 21 percent last quarter, almost triple GM’s growth, to 704,991 vehicles, according to figures the company reported.That beat the 664,765 that GM reported earlier this month. At stake is supremacy in the world’s biggest auto market, which analysts say will likely exceed th
Nov. 4, 2012
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FTAs boost import vehicle sales: KAMA
Korea’s import car industry’s sales growth is rapidly rising mainly thanks to the nation’s free trade agreements with the United States and the European Union, according to a local car industry lobby group.In its report last week, the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said that import brands saw their vehicle sales increase by 15.5 percent for the first three quarters of 2012 on a year-on-year basis.Their brisk performance was “on the back of the Korea-EU FTA and the Korea-U.S. FTA,” t
Nov. 4, 2012
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EPA finds Hyundai, Kia overstated gas mileage
Hyundai and Kia, Korea's two biggest automakers, overstated the gas mileage on 900,000 vehicles sold in the past three years, a discovery that could bring sanctions from the U.S. government and millions of dollars in reimbursements to car owners.The inflated mileage was uncovered in an audit of test results by the Environmental Protection Agency, which ordered the Korean automakers to replace fuel economy stickers on the affected cars. The new window stickers will have figures that are one-to-si
Nov. 3, 2012
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Hyundai Motor rating raised by Moody’s on profitability
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., had their credit ratings upgraded one level by Moody’s Investors Service, citing the carmakers’ profitability and global reach.Ratings on the senior unsecured bonds of the two Seoul- based automakers were raised to Baa1, the third-lowest investment grade, from “Baa2,” Moody’s said in a statement Tuesday. The outlook for the rating, which affects about $2.1 billion in debt, is stable, Moody’s said.The higher c
Oct. 30, 2012
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Current account surplus widens in September
South Korea’s current account surplus widened in September from the previous month as exports expanded at a faster rate than imports, the central bank said Tuesday.The current account surplus reached $6.07 billion in September, up from a revised $2.5 billion in the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea. The current account is the broadest measure of cross-border trade.The September figure marked the largest surplus since a record high of $6.14 billion in July.The September surplus marke
Oct. 30, 2012
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Samsung SDI sees Q3 net grow more than 10-fold
Samsung SDI Co., the world’s top maker of plasma display panels and renewable batteries, said Tuesday its net profit jumped more than 10-fold in the third quarter from a year earlier thanks to solid battery sales and a one-off profit.Net profit came to 1.2 trillion won ($1.1 billion) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 100 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.Sales increased 3.8 percent on-year to 1.5 trillion won in the cited period, while o
Oct. 30, 2012
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Toyota extends global lead over GM on quarterly gain
Toyota Motor Corp.’s worldwide sales grew 18 percent last quarter on U.S. demand for Camry sedans and Prius hybrids and helped Asia’s largest automaker expand its lead over General Motors Co., the global volume leader in 2011. Toyota delivered 2.43 million cars and trucks in the quarter that ended Sept. 30, including subsidiaries Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co., up from 2.06 million a year ago, according to figures provided by Yurika Motoyoshi, a company spokeswoman, yesterday. Its sales
Oct. 28, 2012
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BMW 1 Series unrivaled in premium compact class
BMW’s 1 Series, launched back in 2004, has been leading the global market for premium compact vehicles. The first generation, ranging from hatchback styles to coupes and convertibles, has sold more than 1.5 million units globally. BMW Korea, the Korean unit of the German luxury carmaker, recently announced the arrival of the second generation 1 Series here. According to the carmaker, the new offering from BMW combines improved power and efficiency and also boasts an unrivalled amount of space, o
Oct. 28, 2012
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Strikes dent Hyundai Motor's 3Q profit
Hyundai Motor Co. suffered a fall in third quarter profit versus the previous quarter after strikes dented vehicle production.South Korea's largest automaker said Thursday net profit fell 15 percent from the April-June quarter to 2.16 trillion won ($1.96 billion). It was Hyundai's first sequential drop in quarterly profit in a year. The result, which matched forecasts, was still a 13 percent rise over a year earlier. Its operating profit fell 18 percent from the second quarter to 2.05 trillion
Oct. 25, 2012
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Hyundai eyes million-car production in China
BEIJING ― Following territorial disputes between Beijing and Tokyo, the dramatic fall-off in demand for Japanese vehicles has been an unexpected boon for Korea’s Hyundai in the all-important Chinese market. In September, when Toyota Motor Corp. saw its Chinese sales almost halve from a year ago, Hyundai Motor’s sales in China increased by 15 percent to post record sales. Some industry watchers warn the Toyota-led sales slump could drag down the Chinese car market overall. But Hyundai seems more
Oct. 23, 2012