Author: Min-jae Kim

South Korea’s electric vehicle market returned to growth last year, driven by government subsidies and strong demand for a handful of popular models, with the China-made Tesla Model Y emerging as the single best-selling vehicle, industry data showed. According to the “2025 Domestic Electric Vehicle Market Final Report” released on Jan. 20 by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), new electric vehicle registrations in South Korea rose 50.1% from a year earlier to 220,177 units. The rebound followed two consecutive years of decline and pushed the EV penetration rate to a record 13.1%, the association said. KAMA attributed the recovery…

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will raise electric vehicle subsidies in 2026 by topping up national incentives with additional local funding, expanding support for private buyers, fleets and commercial vehicles, according to a report by The Korea Times. The city plans to subsidise a total of 22,526 electric vehicles in 2026, an increase of about 18% compared with 2024 levels. Of that total, 22,409 vehicles are earmarked for private purchasers, while 117 units will be allocated to public institutions. Applications for the programme are set to open on Jan. 26 through South Korea’s national zero-emission vehicle portal. Subsidies for electric passenger…

Legacy automakers are increasingly caught between defending near-term profitability and sustaining long-term investment in future mobility, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Group said on Jan. 16, highlighting mounting pressure from tariffs, slowing demand and intensifying competition from Chinese brands. Yang Jin-su, director of mobility industry research at Hyundai Motor Group’s Management Research Institute, said global auto markets are entering a period of entrenched low growth just as development costs for next-generation technologies continue to rise. Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Korea Automotive Journalists Association in Seoul, Yang said the combination could force companies into difficult management trade-offs. See…

General Motors said its luxury brand Cadillac plans to expand its electric vehicle lineup and retail presence in South Korea, following the local launch of the all-electric Escalade IQ late last year. GM Korea, the automaker’s South Korean subsidiary, said the brand is preparing to introduce additional battery-electric models during the current calendar year while also opening new Cadillac showrooms in major urban centers. The expansion is aimed at increasing brand visibility and customer access in a market where demand for premium electric vehicles is growing. See also: Tesla Adjusts South Korea Lineup, Cuts Prices and Streamlines Model 3 Offerings…

Hyundai Motor Company’s all-electric Ioniq 9 has been named World’s Best Large SUV at the 2026 Women’s Worldwide Car of the Year (WWCOTY) Awards, as the manufacturer continues to build momentum in the global electric vehicle market. The flagship SUV was selected by a jury of 84 female automotive journalists from 54 countries, who assessed vehicles on criteria including safety, quality, design, performance, ease of driving, environmental impact and value for money. The Ioniq 9 prevailed against nearly 20 competitors in the large SUV category and will now advance to compete for the overall WWCOTY Supreme Winner title, to be…

Genesis has delayed the launch of its flagship GV90 electric SUV until the second half of 2026, pushing back the arrival of what the automaker has described as its most ambitious and luxurious model to date, according to South Korean media reports. The full-size electric SUV, billed by Genesis as an “ultra-luxe” offering, had originally been slated to enter production at Hyundai Motor Group’s Ulsan plant by the end of last year, with sales expected to begin in early 2026. Hyundai’s product development roadmap released last May had already shifted mass production to June 2026, and a new report by…

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) said they have developed a new materials design approach that could help overcome key performance and cost challenges facing solid-state batteries, a technology widely seen as safer than conventional lithium-ion cells but difficult to commercialise. KAIST said on Jan. 8 that a joint research team led by Seo Dong-hwa of its Department of Materials Science and Engineering, together with researchers from Seoul National University, Yonsei University and Dongguk University, had devised a method to improve solid-state battery performance using low-cost raw materials. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed…

Genesis has disclosed pricing for the GV60 Magma, its first high-performance production model, as the South Korean luxury automaker moves into a more performance-focused segment a decade after becoming an independent brand. The GV60 Magma, which will be sold in a single trim, is priced at 96.57 million won ($72,000) based on an individual consumption tax rate of 3.5%, Genesis said on Jan. 13. The company described the model as its first high-performance vehicle designed to compete with established premium and supercar brands. See also: Genesis Unveils GV60 Magma as First High-Performance Production EV with 478 kW Output https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY4uXgKW-2s Genesis…

Hyundai Mobis and Qualcomm Technologies have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop software-defined vehicle (SDV) and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) solutions, as automakers increasingly shift toward centralized, software-driven vehicle architectures. The agreement brings together Hyundai Mobis’s system integration, sensor fusion and perception capabilities with Qualcomm’s automotive system-on-chip technology. Initial development will focus on solutions built on the Snapdragon Ride Flex platform, with early applications aimed at emerging markets such as India, where demand for ADAS features is expanding across multiple vehicle segments. See also: ZF and Qualcomm Team Up on Turnkey ADAS Platform for Level 3 Automation…

Genesis’s upcoming off-road-oriented luxury SUV has been spotted testing in public for the first time, offering an early look at a vehicle that appears notably more restrained than the concept shown by the brand last year. The model was first previewed in April 2025, when Hyundai Motor Group’s premium brand unveiled the X Gran Equator Concept at the New York International Auto Show. Genesis described the vehicle as its first “adventure vehicle concept,” aimed at bringing a more refined approach to overlanding and off-road travel. The concept featured a distinctive, minimalist design with rugged elements, including auxiliary lamps, a split-opening…

South Korean automaker KGM said it has signed a strategic agreement with battery maker Samsung SDI to jointly develop next-generation battery pack technologies, as the company accelerates its transition toward battery-electric vehicles. KGM, formerly known as SsangYong until its rebranding in 2023, said the partnership will focus on battery packs using Samsung SDI’s 46-millimetre cylindrical cells based on nickel-cobalt-aluminium (NCA) chemistry. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding and are already working on battery packs intended for integration into KGM’s future electric vehicle lineup. See also: Samsung SDI Secures $1.36 Billion LFP Battery Deal for U.S. Energy Storage…

Tesla has made a series of quiet adjustments to its vehicle lineup and pricing in South Korea, streamlining available variants while lowering prices across several models, according to updates on the company’s local website. The changes include a reduction in Model 3 offerings, with the U.S. automaker now selling only the Performance version of the sedan in the South Korean market. The previously available Rear-Wheel Drive and Long Range variants have been removed from the configurator, leaving the higher-performance model as the sole option for buyers. See also: Tesla Delivers First Cybertrucks Outside North America in South Korea Alongside the…