Heavy and energy industries conglomerate Doosan Group showcased futuristic technologies ranging from non-carbon energy solutions to autonomous heavy equipment at the CES 2024 in Las Vegas on Monday, a day before its official opening. Doosan Bobcat Vice Chairman Scott Park, Kim Do-won, president and chief strategy officer at Doosan Group, and Doosan Enerbility Vice President Song Yong-jin attended a press conference to share the group's key products and services. Doosan Bobcat, Doosan Group&

Industry Jan. 9, 2024

SK On is poised to supply high-performance nickel, cobalt and manganese (NCM) batteries for Chinese-made electric buses imported to South Korea, industry sources said Monday. The battery manufacturer recently clinched a deal with EM Korea, an electric bus sales company, which will install the batteries in China Hi-Tech Group Corporation’s EFICITY bus models, according to media reports. An SK On official confirmed the deal and said the NCM batteries have energy density levels beyond the ele

Mobility Jan. 8, 2024

A group of 33 US senators on Thursday called on Hyundai Motor Group and 12 other auto manufacturing companies not to interfere with the United Auto Workers’ ongoing efforts to unionize at their US plants. Democrats Gary Peters, Ron Wyden, Dick Durbin and others signed a letter and sent it to top executives at Hyundai Motor Group, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Rivian and others, urging them to remain neutral in union organizing activities. “We are concerned by reporti

Mobility Jan. 5, 2024

Hyundai Motor Company’s smaller sibling Kia’s large-sized full-electric sport utility vehicle, the EV9, won the 2024 North American Utility of the Year award, the company said Friday. The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards was held at the city of Pontiac in Michigan on Thursday. This is the third time Kia has won the top SUV honor, after its midsized SUV Telluride and battery-powered crossover SUV EV6 each won the title in 2020 and 2023, respectively. On

Mobility Jan. 5, 2024

With the yearslong electric vehicle boom showing signs of dying down, hybrid cars using a combination of electric and gasoline power are seeing a boost in sales in Korea. In the January-November period of 2023, Korea sold a record 254,258 hybrid cars, growing 54.7 percent from a year earlier, while EV sales dipped 7.9 percent to 107,453 units, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association. Bestselling hybrid models included Hyundai’s Grandeur and Tucson and Kia&rsqu

Mobility Jan. 4, 2024

With the US government excluding electric vehicles equipped with Chinese batteries for tax credits starting this year, Korea-made electric cars sold in the US officially became ineligible for the hefty tax break. According to the US Department of Energy on Monday, only 19 EV models are available for tax credits of up to $7,500 following the Inflation Reduction Act, a drop from last year’s 43 models. Several US automakers’ electric car and plug-in hybrid models -- Chevrolet, Chrysle

Mobility Jan. 2, 2024

LG Energy Solution said Thursday its US subsidiary has landed 10 power grid supply deals in the fast-growing US energy storage system market since its launch last year. The projects' total energy storage capacity amounts to 10 gigawatt-hours, the firm said. Based in Texas, LG Energy Solution Vertech provides energy storage system integration services ranging from business solutions to installation, maintenance and repair. The venture was set up in February 2022 after the battery manufacture

Industry Dec. 21, 2023

LG Chem said Wednesday it broke ground to build a cathode materials manufacturing plant in the US state of Tennessee that is to be the largest production facility in the all-important electric vehicle market. LG Chem Vice President Shin Hak-cheol, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Stuart McWhorter, commissioner at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, Cho Hyun-dong, South Korean ambassador to the US, and other company executives and government officials participated in the groun

Mobility Dec. 20, 2023

Hyundai Motor Group said Tuesday it has decided to sell its entire shares of its car manufacturing plant in Russia, which has been temporarily shut down because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to a Moscow-based company, ending a decadelong operation. The carmaker’s board of directors approved selling Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia in St. Petersburg, along with a General Motor plant it acquired in 2020 to the Russian automotive service firm Art-Finance. “We have reviewed var

Mobility Dec. 19, 2023

Harim Group’s consortium was named as the preferred bidder for debt-ridden container ship company HMM, leaving concerns about how it would fund the acquisition worth 6.4 trillion won ($4.9 billion), industry sources said Tuesday. Outbidding rival Dongwon Group, the company is expected to take over the 57.9 percent stake owned by controlling shareholders of HMM -- the state-run Korea Development Bank and Korea Ocean Business Corp. The creditors have sought to get the shipper back on track t

Mobility Dec. 19, 2023

South Korea’s car exports climbed 84.2 percent from January to September this year compared to 2019, while imports of electric vehicles and EV batteries from China gradually increased, a report showed Monday. The export volume surged to $50.5 billion in the cited period after the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and global supply glitches, according to the Korea Automotive Technology Institute, or Katech. Compared to last year, exports of battery-powered cars and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles sky

Mobility Dec. 18, 2023

The joint venture between Washington-based Group14 Technologies and SK Materials, a chemical materials unit under Korea’s SK Group, will start the commercial operation of Asia’s first large-scale manufacturing plant for silicon battery materials in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, early next year. “(SK Materials Group14), the joint venture in Sangju, is the Asia’s first electric vehicle-scale silicon anode manufacturing facility that will go online very soon in the next

Mobility Dec. 17, 2023

SES AI Corp., a Boston-based company pioneering in lithium-metal batteries, is strengthening business ties with Hyundai Motor Group in developing the next-generation power source for electric vehicles and Urban Air Mobility. “Of the three production lines in Korea, we are preparing one for developing B-Sample lithium-metal batteries for EVs in Uiwang, near Seoul, with Hyundai Motor Group,” said SES AI Corp. CEO Qichao Hu during an interview with The Korea Herald in Seoul on Wednesday

Mobility Dec. 14, 2023

The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics’ review committee on Wednesday said LK-99, an alleged room-temperature superconductor created by a South Korean research team, has not shown any key features of superconductivity. “There is no ground for saying that LK-99 is a superconductor,” the committee said in a report, stressing that it showed no signs of superconductivity in a series of tests on resistance and magnetic susceptibility in either room- or low temperatur

Technology Dec. 13, 2023

A recent report showed that Germany, the largest European automotive market, is expected to see a drop in electric vehicle sales this year for the first time in seven years, piling pressure on Korean battery makers who have operated core businesses in the all-important region. From January to November, the number of EVs sold in Germany decreased 5 percent on-year to 627,000 units, according to a report from Eugene Investment & Securities. In November alone, the country witnessed a 39 percent

Mobility Dec. 12, 2023