China’s largest battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. (CATL) has decided to build a battery production base in Germany, officially declaring its advance into Europe. It means that South Korean battery producers such as LG Chem and Samsung SDI, which have considered Europe as the main ma
Genesis, Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor have topped the 2018 J.D. Power Initial Quality Study (IQS), proving that Hyundai Motor Group, which controls the three brands, has reached the world’s highest level in terms of vehicle quality.Genesis scored 68 points to come in first in both the category of th
Mando will supply parts to Byton, China's new electric car brand, beginning at the end of next year. This move was made based on a strategy to make a foray into the world electric car market using China, which has huge growth potential, as a springboard."We recently signed a contract to supply e
Bavarian Motors, an authorized BMW dealer in Korea, opened the world’s largest integrated center for BMW customers in Songdo, Incheon, on May 10.The cultural complex features a multipurpose hall for exhibitions, lectures and concerts, as well as a customer service center and exhibition rooms for new
LG Electronics has acquired Austrian automotive lighting company ZKW for 1.44 trillion won, the largest investment ever made by the LG Group for an M&A deal.LG Electronics announced on April 26 that the company decided in a board meeting to sign a contract to hold a 70% stake in ZKW for 770 million
In the first quarter of this year, sales of imported cars in the Korean market grew 22.6% from a year earlier. While the market share of automakers in Korea has been shrinking due to a plunge in GM sales in Korea, import cars are stepping up its sales efforts in the Korean market.According to the Ko
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong announced on March 26 that the U.S. government’s additional 25% tariff will not be applied to 2.68 million tons of South Korean steel, which is equivalent to 74% of the steel South Korea exported to the U.S. last year. Earlier, American steel companies dema
Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, embarked on a business trip to Europe. Last month, he was released in a review by an appellate court for a probation, and then chose an overseas business trip as his first official move after his release.Samsung Electronics said on March 25, "Vice
Mercedes-Benz will roll out cars loaded with OLED panels of LG Display starting in 2020. LG Display OLEDs will be widely installed in Mercedes-Benz cars from dashboards to and rear-seat monitors. LG Display is known to supply automotive OLEDs to Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors in addition to M
Samsung has ranked 26th in a global company reputation survey, moving up a whopping 44 notches from last year. Apple plunged to 58th in the aftermath of “battery gate.”According to the 2018 Global RepTrak 100, an annual study of global leading corporate reputation in 15 countries published by the Re
BMW will provide a digital key service starting in July, targeting BMW owners with Samsung smartphones. This move is garnering much attention as Samsung Electronics and BMW have been cooperating with each other for more than 10 years.BMW recently announced that it will provide the digital key servic
Major Korean companies such as LG, Samsung, and SK are accelerating their moves such as their investments in the business of electronic devices for future cars.According to industry sources on March 12, LG Chem is preparing to build a battery plant at its Michigan plant in response to GM's move to e
There is no recession in the South Korean imported car industry. Imported cars priced at more than 100 million won (US$93,703) accounted for over 10 percent of the total imported car sales for the first time in eight years after 10.71 percent in 2009. According to the Korea Automobile Importers & D
Hyundai Motor will set up a new high-performance business unit and launch high-performance cars and racing cars business in earnest. To this end, the automaker brought in an executive who was responsible for BMW's high-performance car segment.Hyundai Motor announced on March 1 that the automaker new
Last month, Mercedes-Benz jumped to fifth place in sales by overtaking Renault Samsung for the first time in the Korean automobile market. Therefore, in January, the monthly sales volume of a Korean car manufacturer was eclipsed by that of a foreign automaker for the first time since a strike of uni
LG Chem Ltd. and Samsung SDI Co. showed the steepest growth among global companies in 2017, making the top five electric vehicle (EV) battery producer list in the world.According to market research firm SNE Research on Feb. 5, LG Chem and Samsung SDI ranked fourth and fifth in the world in terms of
Google and Apple have focused on the development of connected car platforms for no less than four years. However, automakers are currently rather passive in adopting their platforms, using the platforms of both at the same time or that of either Apple or Google only in a small number of their cars.A
An institutional base will be established for Korean exporters to cope with the “green trade barrier” as early as this year. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on December 27, the South Korean government is planning to initiate a pilot project within this year with regard to the
LG Electronics said on December 27 that the company will jointly develop its autonomous navigation solutions with HERE Technologies, a German digital map maker with ultra-precise map production technology in centimeters. HERE was a member of Nokia but in 2015 three world-class German carmakers -- BM
As artificial intelligence (AI) has become the talk of the town in various industries including information and communications technology (ICT), global companies have aggressively competed to secure the leadership in the technology this year.According to related industry sources on December 26, Goog