Hyundai Motor’s high performance vehicle i30 N set a new monthly sales record in Europe last month, the company said Sunday.The carmaker sold a total of 907 units in September, further raising the sales performance of the vehicle, which debuted last year. The figure takes the total for this year to 4,678, surpassing its annual goal of 2,800.  i30 Fastback N (Hyundai Motor)Of all i30 vehicles sold in Europe, 15 percent were the high performance version of the hatchback, it added. The company is e

Mobility Oct. 21, 2018

Renault Samsung, the South Korean branch of the French carmaker, has launched a membership-based mobile application for easier vehicle management, the company said Sunday.Named “My Renault Samsung,” the app offers online reservation and maintenance tracking systems as well as information on customer service and various promotional events held by the carmaker. In the near future, the company plans to adopt a mobile-payment system in connection with the app for vehicles that undergo maintenance se

Mobility Oct. 21, 2018

Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors are reviewing a request from the US Senate to testify over engine fires in its vehicles, officials in Seoul said Thursday, quoting statements from their US branches. “Hyundai received the request to appear from the Senate Commerce Science & Transportation Committee and is currently reviewing it,” the company said.“Hyundai actively monitors and evaluates potential safety concerns, including non-collision fires, with all of its vehicles and acts swiftly to reca

Mobility Oct. 18, 2018

The head of South Korean energy-to-retail giant GS Group urged CEOs of affiliates to seek ways to make inroad into the Southeast Asian market by taking Thailand as a strategic base, the company said Thursday.At a meeting with GS CEOs held in Bangkok, Chairman Huh Chang-soo stressed the importance of the market, citing the fast economic growth and increasing demand to build infrastructure.  GS Group Chairman Huh Chang-soo (right) tries a product exported by South Korean company 9tails at a studio

Industry Oct. 18, 2018

Hyundai Motor has signed a memorandum with French energy firms to expand the sale of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the company said Wednesday.Under the agreement, the South Korean carmaker will partner with Air Liquide SA and Engie to promote the use of FCEVs and hydrogen refilling stations across France.The agreement came after Hyundai announced a plan to export 5,000 FCEVs to France by 2025.Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng (left), Engie President for hydrogen business Michele Azalbert (c

Mobility Oct. 17, 2018

In a market segment dominated by domestic brand Hyundai and German luxury cars, Volkswagen is seeking a greater presence in the highly competitive sector by introducing its flagship model Arteon, the company’s Seoul branch said Wednesday. Volkswagen’s premium sedan Arteon (Volkswagen Korea)Arteon is a four-door coupe that combines design elements of classic sports car and fastback models. The premium model opens a new chapter in Volkswagen’s design history and is expected to be an exclusive prod

Mobility Oct. 17, 2018

The ASEAN countries, including Singapore, can be a neutral platform upon which to build entrepreneurship in North Korea and facilitate inter-Korean economic ties in a stable and consistent manner, the head of Choson Exchange said Tuesday.Speaking at The Korea Herald Biz Forum in Seoul, Geoffrey See, founder and CEO of the organization, said he hopes that Singapore and ASEAN can play a role in bringing about the gradual integration of both Koreas’ economies and with North Korea’s transition to a

Industry Oct. 16, 2018

The Korea Herald is publishing a series of articles on South Korea’s latest measures to support the hydrogen economy, the market drive for hydrogen-powered vehicles and the hurdles that stand in the way. This is the sixth installment. -- Ed.More than seven years have passed since Japan suffered from a devastating earthquake and tsunami that caused meltdowns at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima. The disaster that claimed hundreds of lives and contaminated the air and water also served as a grave

Industry Oct. 10, 2018

NOSOVICE, Czech Republic -- Located in the industrial zone of Nosovice, a four-hour train ride from the Czech capital of Prague, Hyundai Motor’s plant is where the carmaker’s popular hatchback and sports utility vehicle series are born. On a 2 square-kilometer plot, the plant has full auto manufacturing capabilities, and is partly operated by robots. Considering the massive size of the plant, there are not many workers around. Instead robot arms move endlessly to weld steel components.  Workers

Mobility Oct. 9, 2018

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Of the many auto mechanical devices -- mostly cold and heavy metal -- ever invented in human history, perhaps nothing has made people's hearts beat more than cars. Millions around the world go wild watching various flavors of motorsports competitions from Formula One to World Rally Championship, which tests both human limits and the high-performance capabilities of the cars. Marking a meteoric rise, Hyundai Motor’s racing team has been sweeping up championship titles in rec

Mobility Oct. 7, 2018

PARIS -- South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor has focused on developing high-performance cars in recent years, in an attempt to diminish its not-so-positive image of being a fast follower. And the strategy is working quite well, especially in Europe, the home of luxury carmakers more than a century old. Sales of Hyundai’s first car under its high-performance brand N have exceeded market expectations. The carmaker has sold 3,777 units of the i30N between January and August this year, 35 percent

Mobility Oct. 5, 2018

Western cosmetics giants have dominated the beauty industry for a long time, but Korean brands are increasingly setting new standards of beauty, driven by the worldwide popularity of K-pop. A growing number of people, regardless of gender and age, are investing time and money on beauty products from Korea’s cosmetic shops. This includes a large portion of foreigners searching for K-beauty -- a new norm referring to a wide range of skin care and makeup products that originate from Korea, and the

Industry Oct. 4, 2018

PARIS -- Still considered young brands, South Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia are expected to sell more than 1 million vehicles in Europe this year, 41 years after they entered the continent home to car manufacturers aged more than 100 years old. In the January-August period, the two carmakers under Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 715,050 passenger vehicles in Europe, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. Hyundai saw a steep growth in sales in the same period, sell

Mobility Oct. 3, 2018

PARIS -- With the French capital raising the curtain on new cars targeting customers in Europe, Korean carmakers are gearing up to accelerate sales growth in the region with cars designed to be both dynamic and energy efficient.At the Paris Motor Show, which celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors unveiled new cars exclusively designed to target the audience here.Kia introduced the ProCeed, a five-door wagon developed to continue the success of

Mobility Oct. 2, 2018

Reflecting growing interest in battery-only cars, the Paris Motor Show, the largest auto festival in the second half of the year, kicks off Tuesday, featuring a variety of green cars ready for market debuts.From sport utility vehicles to compact cars, the show will present a series of world premieres, but the size of the show is likely to be smaller than previous editions, with a group of carmakers skipping the event.It is considered one of the five major auto shows in the world, but it has been

Mobility Sept. 30, 2018