The Korea Herald

Hyundai eyes greater dominance in India market

Feb 5, 2012

Local unit CEO says its strategy focuses on growing premium brand Hyundai Motor Co. has set long-term strategies to go full-throttle in India’s mid-sized and luxury segments to dominate an industry still in its early stages, said Park Han-woo, CEO of Hyundai Motor India. “It is a great opportunity for us that India’s car market is becoming ever more competitive. We’re a strong player in the com...
[Korean auto sales down 1.7% in Jan.]

Feb 1, 2012

Korea’s five automakers led by market leader Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday reported a 1.7 percent drop in January sales due to a slump in domestic demand. The combined sales of the carmakers came to 617,506 vehicles in January, compared with 626,806 units sold a year earlier, according to data released by the companies. Their domestic shipments reached a combined 96,448 units last month, down ...
Avante Hyundai Motor’s best-seller in 2011

Jan 31, 2012

The Avante compact manufactured by Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. was the company’s top-selling car in the global market last year, industry data showed Tuesday. A total of 787,067 units of the Avante, known as the Elantra in the United States, were sold in 2011 in the domestic and overseas markets, accounting for 19 percent of Hyundai Motor’s overall shipments of 4.14 million vehicles,...
U.S. firms bid to retake luxury car market

Jan 29, 2012

U.S. luxury cars manufacturers like Cadillac and Lincoln, respectively run by GM and Ford, are struggling to win back a share of the expanding luxury car market, largely controlled by Japanese and German automakers. These brands, which once embodied the very essence of luxury cars, saw quality decline in the years before the industry crisis, and drivers abandoned them in their droves. Now they ...
Automakers compete with fuel efficient cars

Jan 29, 2012

The five-seater can run at 22.2 kilometers per liter without help from electric motors. Its high efficiency comes solely from Volkswagen’s BlueMotion diesel engine. Chrysler unveiled the diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland and 300 C luxury sedan models. Nissan is moving to introduce its first diesel model, the Infiniti FXd, to Korea for the first time in Asian markets. Ford Motor Korea...
Kia Motors posts record earnings

Jan 27, 2012

Kia Motors Corp. reported record-high earnings last year on the back of its upgraded brand image and robust sales growth in overseas markets. The automaker posted about 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) in net profit in 2011, up 30 percent from a year earlier. Its vehicle sales reached 43.2 trillion won last year, up 20.6 percent from a year before. Its operating profit also jumped 41.6 percent to ...
Hyundai Motor posts record profit in 2011

Jan 26, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker, said Thursday that its 2011 earnings reached a record high on brisk sales in domestic and overseas markets. Net profit reached 8.1 trillion won (US$7.1 billion) last year, up 35.1 percent from 6 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit rose 36.4 percent on-year from 2010 to 8.07 trillion won, with ...
Hyundai Motor beats Toyota in Germany

Jan 25, 2012

Korea’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor Co. became the best-selling Asian car brand in the competitive German market last year, edging out Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp., industry data showed Wednesday. Hyundai Motor sold 86,866 vehicles in Germany in 2011, while Toyota sold 83,204 cars, according to the German international manufacturing group VDIK. The sale of Hyundai Motor jumped 16.9 percent last ye...
Fold-up car of the future unveiled at EU

Jan 25, 2012

BRUSSELS (AFP) - A tiny revolutionary fold-up car designed in Spain's Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before hitting European cities in 2013. The "Hiriko", the Basque word for "urban", is an electric two-seater with no doors whose motor is located in the wheels and which folds up like a child's collapsible buggy, or stroller, for easy parking. Dre...
Hyundai, Kia tops U.S. automobile industry performance scoreboard

Jan 24, 2012

Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. topped last year’s U.S. auto market performance scoreboard, a report by a consumer data provider showed Tuesday. U.S.-based TrueCar.com said Hyundai and Kia ranked No. 1 in its 2011 Annual Performance Scoreboard that checks such areas as sales growth, market share and customer brand loyalty. It said the two carmakers, which are the flagship compani...
Kia recalls 145,000 vehicles

Jan 24, 2012

Kia Motors America said it would recall model year 2006-2008 Optimas and model year 2007-2008 Rondos due to faulty air bag release systems, regulators said. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Optima vehicles manufactured from Sept. 29, 2005, through Jan. 29, 2008, are involved in the recall. The Rondo vehicles being recalled have manufacturing dates from Sept. 13, 2006, thro...
Korando C wins Dutch motor race

Jan 20, 2012

Ssangyong Motor Co. said Friday its flagship sports utility vehicle, the Korando C, has won the ScanCovery Trial 2012 held in the Netherlands, demonstrating its high driving performance. The team Voorthuizen, arranged by Ssangyong Motor’s official Dutch dealer Ssangyong Benelux, finished first to beat some 60 rival teams, which drove popular models by companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Volvo, t...
Hyundai Motor names vice chairman for labor

Jan 19, 2012

Hyundai Motor’s manufacturing factory manager Kim Eok-jo has been promoted to the post of vice chairman in charge of the company’s labor sector. Since January 2011, Kim has worked for Hyundai Motor as a president and the chief of the carmaker’s Ulsan plant. Before that, he played a significant role in boosting the automaker’s overseas sales as head of Hyundai Motor’s Czech Republic corporation....
Hyundai releases i40 Saloon

Jan 17, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co., Korea’s leading automaker, said Tuesday it released the latest version of its i40 in the local market to meet customer demand for a mid-size sedan. The i40 Saloon, 4.740 meters long and 1.815 meters wide, features the smoothly sculpted exterior seen on recent Hyundai vehicles. It comes with a 2.0-liter GDi gasoline engine with a maximum 178 horsepower and has an average fuel ...
Chung foundation to support 13,000 college students

Jan 17, 2012

The Chung Mong-koo Foundation will provide 13,000 college students from underprivileged households with financial support, Hyundai Motor said Tuesday. The foundation, set up by Hyundai Motor chairman Chung, plans to issue tuition fee loans with low or zero percent interest rates. “Over the next two years, about 13,000 college students will enjoy the educational support. Lending rates range betw...