GM Korea reaches first auto wage deal of the year

GM Korea became the first automaker to reach a tentative wage agreement this year, easing immediate strike concerns as labor disputes intensify across South Korea's auto industry. The company said Thursday that management and its labor union reached a tentative wage and collective bargaining agreement Wednesday after 17 rounds of negotiations. The proposed deal includes a monthly base salary increase of 92,000 won ($63) and a 15 million won performance bonus. GM Korea also pledged to make every

2026-07-23 14:14:56:00

BMW eyes Korea's luxury buyers with Alpina

BMW Group has launched BMW Alpina, its first new brand in 25 years, positioning the ultra-luxury marque to challenge Mercedes-Maybach in South Korea's fast-growing high-end car market. Underscoring the importance of the Korean market, BMW held Asia's first Alpina community event in Seoul on Tuesday, attended by Oliver Veillechner, vice president and head of BMW Alpina, and Maximilian Missoni, vice president and head of BMW Alpina and luxury class design. Alpina was a long-standing engineering pa

2026-07-22 14:12:00:00

Chinese EV makers turn Korea into global test bed

Chinese EV makers are turning South Korea into their next battleground, using cut-rate pricing and advanced software to challenge Hyundai Motor Group on its home turf. With BYD and Zeekr already gaining traction, XPeng, NIO and other brands are lining up to enter a market increasingly seen as a test bed for global expansion. According to industry sources on Monday, XPeng is recruiting a head of Korean operations, officially signaling its entry to Korea. After establishing XPeng Motors Korea on J

2026-07-20 14:50:04:00

LG, GM joint venture begins US production of ESS LFP batteries

LG Energy Solution has started mass production of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells at its US joint venture plant with General Motors, accelerating its push into the fast-growing North American energy storage systems market. According to the joint venture Ultium Cells on Tuesday, the commercial rollout comes about four months after the company announced plans to invest roughly $70 million to convert part of its Tennessee plant’s production lines to manufacturing LFP batteries for ESS. T

2026-07-08 16:39:22:00

Hyundai records fastest growth among global top 10 EV makers

Hyundai Motor Group posted the fastest growth among the world's top 10 electric vehicle makers in the first five months of the year, even as Chinese automakers continued to dominate the global market despite weakening demand at home. According to market tracker SNE Research on Tuesday, Hyundai ranked seventh globally in terms of sales with 303,000 EV deliveries between January and May, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier. The increase far outpaced the global EV market's 3.5 percent growth over t

2026-07-07 14:57:32:00

LG Energy Solution returns to profit as ESS demand grows

LG Energy Solution has returned to profit in the second quarter of this year as rising battery energy storage systems shipments, supported by its expanding production capacity in North America, offset a prolonged downturn in the electric vehicle market. According to the company’s preliminary earnings report on Tuesday, revenue rose 24.8 percent year-on-year to 7.56 trillion won ($5 billion), while operating profit declined 77 percent from a year earlier but rebounded to a profit after posting a

2026-07-07 14:33:17:00

AI's energy crunch exposes China's battery edge

The global race for artificial intelligence is running into an unexpected bottleneck: electricity. As AI data centers drive a surge in demand for energy storage systems, the US is confronting an uncomfortable reality. Powering its AI ambitions increasingly depends on lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries — a technology overwhelmingly dominated by China. Despite Washington's efforts to reduce reliance on Chinese supply chains, Beijing retains a commanding lead in LFP batteries, which have bec

2026-07-06 15:12:42:00

Atlas takes the World Cup stage

The development model of Hyundai Motor Group's Atlas humanoid robot delivers the FIFA World Cup match ball before the Round of 16 match between Brazil and Norway in New Jersey on Monday, marking the robot's first live public appearance as part of Hyundai's "Next Starts Now" campaign. (Hyundai Motor Group)

2026-07-06 14:29:04:00

Hanwha, Hyundai unveil W97tr investment plan for southeastern Korea

Major Korean conglomerates unveiled a combined 312 trillion won ($204 billion) in investment plans for the Yeongnam region in southeastern Korea on Friday, as the country pushes to build regional bases for AI-powered industries. Hanwha Group and Hyundai Motor Group announced a combined 97 trillion won over the next decade, targeting aerospace, defense, future mobility and advanced manufacturing. Samsung Group followed with a 60 trillion won plan for AI transformation, robotics, batteries and shi

2026-07-03 17:40:02:00

KITA visits Washington to urge better investment conditions in US

A delegation led by the Korea International Trade Association visited Washington this week for talks with US government and trade officials, seeking improved investment conditions for Korean companies operating in the US. KITA said Friday that the delegation, led by Executive Vice Chairman Lee In-ho and joined by major industry groups, including the Korea Offshore & Shipbuilding Association and the Korea Iron & Steel Association, conducted a high-level outreach mission in Washington from Monday

2026-07-03 14:58:01:00