The Korea Herald

BEXCO has high hopes for Busan Motor Show

Apr 18, 2012

CEO Kim says May show will focus on low-emission vehicles The Busan Exhibition & Convention Center is striving to upgrade the Busan Motor Show through this year’s event, which may be the largest ever. The Busan International Motor Show 2012 is projected to mark “58 percent growth” compared to the previous event in 2010, BEXCO president & CEO Kim Soo-ik told a press conference in Seoul on Wednes...
BMW 7 series inquiry upgraded by U.S.

Apr 17, 2012

The BMW logo is displayed on the wheel of a company car. (Bloomberg) U.S. auto-safety regulators upgraded their inquiry into Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s 7 Series cars that may roll away when parked as they probe transmission defects in an electronic access and ignition system. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Tuesday on its website that it’s intensifying an investi...
Lexus sedan to battle BMW 520d, Benz E300

Apr 15, 2012

Toyota-Lexus may overtake Volkswagen, Audi to become Korea’s third-largest car importer Lexus, the premium brand of Toyota Motor, has launched all-out efforts to regain its once-high share in Korea’s import automobile market. Though Lexus was vying for the No. 1 spot in the import car industry with BMW seven or eight years ago, it yielded its position to other competitors in the wake of the rec...
China car sales beat estimates, easing demand concerns

Apr 15, 2012

China’s passenger-car sales rose 4.5 percent in March, beating analyst estimates, as dealerships increased discounts to attract buyers amid record fuel prices. Deliveries of passenger automobiles, including multipurpose and sport-utility vehicles, climbed to 1.4 million units last month, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said today in a statement. Sales were projected to increase...
Renault set to build cars in China

Apr 15, 2012

PARIS (AFP) ― French automaker Renault has signed a preliminary agreement to produce cars in China with domestic partner Dongfeng, a source close to the matter told AFP on Friday. The deal marks “the end of an initial step ahead of an agreement,” the source said, and would provide Renault with its first factory in the world’s biggest car market. Renault, which declined to comment on the informa...
Hyundai Motor strives to become premium brand

Apr 10, 2012

Hyundai Motor will prioritize upgrading its brand image across the globe, shifting from its earlier business focus of expanding market share overseas. On Tuesday, the world’s fifth-largest automaker revealed its ambition to cultivate brand power approaching the level of top global brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz. “Hyundai Motor has been successful in selling many cars. But the performance ...
Car exports hit record high in March

Apr 9, 2012

South Korea’s car exports reached a record high in March, fueled by strong overseas demand for small-sized vehicles and sport utility vehicles, a government report showed Monday. Overseas vehicle shipments surged 18.1 percent on-year to 305,257 units last month, with total domestic production moving up 6.3 percent to 420,759 vehicles, according to the report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy....
Hyundai-Kia to hold job fair for suppliers

Apr 9, 2012

Hyundai Motors and its affiliate Kia Motors are stepping up their efforts to support subcontractors’ recruiting. The two companies said Monday that they will hold a series of job fairs to hire jobseekers for subcontractors, including auto parts manufacturers, between April 25 and May 10. The automotive job fairs will start at the COEX in Samseong-dong in southern Seoul on April 25. The event in...
Rumor resurfaces on GM Korea’s relocation

Apr 8, 2012

Shanghai being mentioned as new Asian production base for GM Observers in the automobile industry are reviving the rumor that GM Korea will relocate its automobile manufacturing base in Incheon to a foreign country. The rumor has resurfaced as the Korean unit of U.S. General Motors has failed to post noteworthy sales performances despite changing the company name from GM Daewoo to GM Korea and ...
Is Italy’s Ducati an object of German desire?

Apr 8, 2012

Sporting the same flaming red racing colours, Ducati motorcycles are sometimes referred to as Ferraris on two wheels. The Italian brand has achieved success on the race track despite competition from much larger manufacturers including the likes of Japan’s Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and Germany’s BMW. For years dominant in the Superbike World Championship, Ducati in 2007 clinched top honours in t...
Honda’s Acura goes hybrid in challenge to BMW, Mercedes

Apr 8, 2012

Honda Motor Co. wants to boost sales of its Acura premium brand with a new “flagship” sedan that uses two electric motors and a V-6 gasoline engine to generate V-8 luxury-car power and small-car fuel economy. The RLX, replacing the current RL sedan, goes on sale early next year, Honda said at the car’s debut Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show. The large hybrid sedan uses a new 3.5...
Toyota increases U.S. auto sales forecast

Apr 8, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp. raised its forecast for 2012 industrywide U.S. sales of cars and light trucks to the low- to mid-14 million unit range from 13.6 million, citing rising consumer confidence. “We’re starting to see improvement in consumer confidence and, combined with rising fuel prices and aging vehicles, the market is starting to move,” Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president for U.S. sales,...
Hyundai, Kia seek sales bounce with new launches

Apr 8, 2012

Hyundai third-generation Santa Fe Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have prepped with new models to take back the market share lost to foreign brands in the first quarter. Hyundai began taking sales orders for the third-generation Santa Fe SUV on March 21, with more than 10,000 ordered already for the mid-April launch. Kia plans to release the K9 premium sedan on May 2, promising...
New Santa Fe makes debut in U.S.

Apr 5, 2012

Hyundai Motor revealed the third-generation Santa Fe during the 2012 New York International Auto Show on Wednesday. The all-new 2013 Santa Fe, a crossover utility vehicle, is designed for drivers and passengers with high expectations for functionality and comfort, Hyundai said in a statement. There are two models for the third-generation Santa Fe ― the two-row, five-passenger “Santa Fe Sport” a...
Import car sales hit record high

Apr 4, 2012

Monthly sales of import automobiles hit an all-time high of 10,648 units in March, while Korean carmakers such as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors suffered lackluster sales at home. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, foreign carmakers saw their combined sales grow by 3.5 percent from a year earlier and 15.8 percent from a month before. The former monthly record ...