The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at seongjin.kang@kbfg.com. -- Ed. OP beat even after removing one-off gains; guidance fell short of expectations— Hanon Systems 4Q20 OP beat the market consensus and our estimate. 2021 company guidance fell short of expectations, but we fo
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at johnsoh@shinhan.com and chank@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. Battery business to benefit from all-out EV push by US automakersTesla, seeing explosive sales of EVs produced at its Gigafactory in China, has doubled its sale
Hyundai Motor Group is planning to unveil its digital key for iPhone users within this year. Its digital key is currently limited to Samsung and LG Android smartphones.The group recently obtained an API for digital key realization from Apple. The API is a computer command system for OS-app connectio
Apple’s reported proposal for cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group to develop the so-called "Apple Car," a self-driving electric vehicle (EV), is drawing keen attention from automobile industry watchers.Hyundai Motor is an attractive partner for Apple. It is set to launch new electric vehicle models
Japanese automakers’ market share in South Korea dropped to 1.1 percent last year. This is because of their declining attractiveness as well as the boycott of Japanese products that started in 2019.According to the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association, Lexus, Toyota, Honda, Nissan a
Imported car sales in Korea totaled 274,859 units in 2020, exceeding the previous record high of 260,705 units set in 2018, the Korea Automobile Importers Association (KAIDA) said on Jan. 6.The number of newly registered imported cars in 2020 rose 12.3 percent on year. Imported cars sold 31,419 unit
The age group that purchased the largest number of imported cars last year was found to be those in their 30s.Of the 243,440 imported cars sold in Korea until November 2020, a total of 154,501 vehicles were purchased by individuals, according to data released by the Korea Automobile Importers Associ
ZKW, a premium headlamp maker in Austria under the control of LG Electronics, has recently attracted an investment of 150 million euros from the European Investment Bank (EIB).The company raised the funds to finance R&D activities and expand its production lines in Slovakia.In 2019, ZKW registered a
While imported electric vehicle sales have quadrupled in Korea in 2020 from 2019, new electric vehicle models from Korean and foreign car brands are expected to flood the Korean market in 2021.According to statistics from the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association and the CarIsYou D
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of imported cars jumped 13.4 percent from a year ago in the January-November period of 2020.If this trend holds, imported car sales are expected to hit a record high in 2020. The best-selling imported car brand of 2020 was Mercedes-Benz, and the share of German c
The authors are analysts of Shinhan Investment Corp. They can be reached at johnsoh@shinhan.com and chank@shinhan.com, respectively. -- Ed. 4Q20 OP to grow 26% QoQ to KRW337bnSamsung SDI is expected to post operating profit of KRW337bn (+26.0% QoQ, +1,564.4% YoY) on sales of KRW3.61tr (+16.9% QoQ, +
Following Hyundai Motor, BMW and Ford, General Motors (GM) has also decided to recall its electric vehicles as fires took place in some of them. Although the cause of the fires has not been determined yet, the recall is unsettling to Korean battery manufacturers.GM has decided to recall 68,677 units
Hyundai Motor America (HMA) is planning to expand its green car lineup from seven to 10 models by 2022. The 10 are divided into four hybrid electric vehicles, two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, three battery electric vehicles and one fuel cell electric vehicle.The idea is to better respond to the
Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. sold a total of 350,000 green cars in 2019, ranking fourth in the world. Global sales of eco-friendly vehicles totaled 5.27 million units, according to a report from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).Global sales of electric vehicles, includ
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of imported cars continue to rise, fueled by new model launch effects.The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) announced on Nov. 4 that 24,257 imported cars were newly registered in October, up 9.8 percent from 22,101 in the same month
South Korea was ranked fifth in passenger car production in 1999 after Japan, the United States, Germany and France. It jumped to fourth place in 2009 and, a decade later, it moved back to fifth place in 2019.China topped the list in 2009, followed by Japan and Germany. In 1999, China even did not m
The driving assistance system of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors matched that of Mercedes-Benz in performance and eclipsed that of BMW, a survey has found. In the same survey, GM topped the list, followed by Tesla.U.S. consumer media outlet Consumer Reports tested 17 automakers' driving assista
Kia Motors Corp. has appointed Kang Won-kyu as vice president and head of the Kia Design Innovation Group. Starting in his new role in November, Kang will be based at the brand’s design headquarters, Kia Design Center in Namyang, Korea and will report to Karim Habib, senior vice president and head o
The author is an analyst of NH Investment & Securities. He can be reached at j.ko@nhqv.com. -- Ed. We view the recent EV recall issue as simply a measure to reinforce the safety of rechargeable batteries and EVs, not as an issue weakening the EV strategies of affected carmakers. We foresee no hit to
The author is an analyst of KB Securities. He can be reached at joonsop.analyst@kbfg.com. -- Ed. Consideration of splitting off mobility segment— SK Telecom announced that it is considering splitting off its mobility segment, which operates T Map. The resulting entity, T Map Mobility, would seek inv