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Tag: Korea

  • Korean SUV sales soar globally

    Korean SUV sales soar globally

    SUVs have recently grabbed the spotlight in Korea, breaking both local and export sales records. According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA), the number of exported SUVs by five local automakers reached a new record of 1.38 million units in 2018, a 6.7 percent increase from the previous year. In just 17 years, the figure rose by 700 percent – exports recorded merely 196,111 units in 2000.

    Over the same period, overall exports of passenger vehicles declined 3.1 percent to 2.34 million units. The share of SUVs also reached an all-time high.

    Compact SUVs from Korea were most popular in export markets.

    GM Korea’s Chevrolet Trax was shipped the most, at 239,800 units, followed by Hyundai Motor’s Tucson at 228,461 units.

    Small-sized SUVs also performed well, with 202,779 units of Hyundai Motor’s subcompact SUV Kona shipped abroad, a 437 percent rise from the previous year.

    Kia Motors’ Stonic exported 58,989 units, increasing 75.8 percent from 2017.

    Much of the enthusiasm surrounding SUVs in markets abroad was also present in the local market.

    Last year, 519,883 SUVs were sold in Korea, passing the 500,000 unit mark for the first time.

    With a 12.7 percent rise from 2017 sales figures of 461,385 units, SUVs currently take up a 40.1 percent share in the overall passenger car sales figures.

    Meanwhile, passenger car sales, excluding SUVs, dropped 6.9 percent last year from the previous year.

    Hyundai Motor’s mid-sized SUV, the Santa Fe, was the most popular in Korea, selling 107,202 units. This was the first time that an SUV model recorded an annual sales figure over 100,000 units.

    The SUV market is expected to grow this year.

    As compact and small-sized SUVs are poised to lead exports and medium and small-sized SUVs the local market, large-sized SUVs are also being rolled out this year.

    Hyundai Motor’s Palisade, unveiled last November, recorded over 25,000 preorders in just three weeks, hitting 62.5 percent of the automaker’s annual sales target of 40,000 units for the model.

    It will likely take customers around seven months to receive the vehicle if ordered now.

    According to Hyundai Motor, the large-sized SUV is popular among older drivers. Customers in their 40s accounted for 37 percent of orders and those in their 50s made up 26.9 percent.

    “As high-quality amenities and vehicle stability that used to be developed through sedans is now applied to SUVs, there was quite a bit of progress,” said Kim Pil-soo, a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University.

    “This year’s SUV sales and market share will grow as local and foreign SUVs have adopted the advantages of sedans,” added Kim.

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  • Living Coral proves Color of the Year sells well

    Living Coral proves Color of the Year sells well

    After color forecaster Pantone announced its annual Color of the Year in December, Korean companies, spanning cosmetics brands to hiking-gear makers, have rushed into releasing products in the vibrant hue. According to Pantone, the color was chosen for being “animating and life-affirming” able to energize and enliven with a softer edge. The color, which stands somewhere between pink and orange, is also a reminder of the beauty of coral reefs, “a source of sustenance and shelter to sea life” that is only visible in a healthy environment.

    Coral is already a popular color for many cosmetics brands in Korea, and is annually one of spring’s trendiest colors.

    One of the first local collaborators with Pantone is cosmetics brand VDL. Early this month, the company released its “2019 VDL + Pantone Collection,” including a 12-color eye shadow palette, lipstick, primer and cushion packs, all featuring the trendy hue.

    This is the company’s fifth collaboration with Pantone since 2015; every January, VDL releases a lineup of cosmetics featuring the Color of the Year.

    Olive Young, a chain of health and beauty brands, saw a 45-percent sales increase in their coral- and orange-toned cosmetics from Dec. 17 to Jan. 7.

    According to the company, the major reason behind the increase was Pantone’s annual announcement.

    Unlike previous Color of the Year picks – such as Ultra Violet in 2018 and Greenery in 2017 – which are relatively difficult to apply as makeup, Living Coral goes well with many skin tones, while “naturally brightening” one’s face.

    In recent weeks, YouTube has been dominated with hundreds of videos of beauty bloggers applying Living Coral makeup collections.

    Living Coral is also influencing the design and fashion industries.

    Korean furniture brand Modern House teamed up with Pantone to develop a special series of home goods, ranging from kitchen items and bathroom utensils to home decorations and tumblers in the beginning of the year.

    Casual wear brand Uniqlo Korea set this year’s fashion key word as “24/7 Relax & Comfort” and revealed a series of spring clothing featuring vibrant colors, including Pantone’s Living Coral.

    Sportswear brand MLB has also released a collection of hoodies, puffer jackets, beanies and pants in different shades of coral.

    “Coral [is a very popular] color in various categories – from lipsticks to blush and eye shadows,” Olive Young said in a statement on Jan. 8.

    “The sales of coral-colored products have been increasing since the beginning of the year. ”

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  • Seoul, SKT to add 5G to transport system

    Seoul, SKT to add 5G to transport system

    Sensors on roads will be able to alert cars when people are jaywalking and bus stops will tell buses to slow down in crowded areas when Seoul’s 5G infrastructure is ready, the city’s government and SK Telecom said in a joint statement Thursday. The Seoul Metropolitan Government and SK Telecom have teamed up on an initiative called the Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System, an upgrade of the current transportation system in Seoul. The pilot program will run until the end of 2020 with a budget of roughly 25.4 billion won ($22.6 million).

    Seoul already has a digitized public transportation system with signboards at bus stops telling passengers when the next bus is coming and whether it is crowded, and T-Money cards that enable people to transfer between various means of public transportation with little additional cost. The city aims to use 5G to make that transport system even safer.

    SK Telecom will supply 2,000 5G devices for buses, taxis and traffic signal controllers so they can connect with the 5G network. The mobile carrier said the devices will be co-developed with Samsung Electronics.

    Buses and taxis installed with 5G will constantly share data with bus stops, traffic lights and other traffic infrastructure. SK Telecom and the Seoul government will look for dangerous situations by analyzing the shared data to prevent accidents. As SK Telecom operates the country’s largest navigation app – T Map – the carrier said it will send out warnings through the app to reach the largest number of drivers possible.

    SK Telecom said there are about 30 safety services the 5G-based transportation system can offer.

    Roads installed with 5G sensors can detect jaywalkers, the mobile carrier said. While cars may have difficulty spotting people in the dark or during bad weather, 5G-connected sensors will alert nearby cars and prevent accidents. In 2017, 9,590 accidents were caused by jaywalkers, the largest cause of road accidents for pedestrians, according to data from the Korea Road Traffic Authority.

    The country’s largest telecom company also said 5G connectivity between cars can prevent secondary accidents by sending warning messages to following cars when an accidents occur in areas with poor visibility, such as around a corner or a bend in the road.

    As well as partnering on safety services, Seoul and SK Telecom are also preparing to jointly establish an autonomous driving test-bed in Sangam-dong, western Seoul, by the first half of this year. A self-driving vehicle will run back and forth between Digital Media City Station and buildings in the area. The SK Telecom-operated autonomous vehicle will begin running in the area from June at the earliest.

    “The Cooperative-Intelligent Transport System project is a futuristic business that combines state-of-the-art digital technologies, like 5G, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud,” said Ryu Young-sang, an executive vice president of SK Telecom. “We hope to offer a range of traffic safety data to Seoul citizens using 5G and reduce traffic accidents.”

  • Coffee exports jump for Korean firm

    Coffee exports jump for Korean firm

    Namyang Dairy Products said Friday its coffee exports jumped more than 20 percent in 2018 on market diversification and the rising popularity of Korean pop culture abroad. Overseas shipments of its freeze-dried coffee and instant coffee products totaled 36 billion won ($32 million) last year, compared with 28 billion won a year earlier.

    Exports of freeze-dried coffee totaled 2,000 tons last year, compared with 1,500 tons a year earlier. The value rose to 30 billion won from 23 billion won. The company also exported 50 million instant coffee mixes, up from 40 million the previous year.

    A company official attributed the export jump to its development of premium products as well as the overseas popularity of Korean pop culture.

    Namyang Dairy Products said it will ramp up efforts to diversify its export markets to Europe. Last year, Korea’s overall exports of coffee products came to 75,100 tons, up slightly from 75,000 tons a year earlier.

    Meanwhile, Korea’s exports of milk powder surged to 32.5 billion won last year from 26 billion won a year earlier.

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  • Hyundai takes top honors at Nactoys

    Hyundai takes top honors at Nactoys

    Hyundai Motor Group took home the top prizes in two of three categories at the 2019 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards (Nactoy), the company said last Tuesday. It is the first time a Korean carmaker has won in two categories at the annual awards. Hyundai Motor’s Kona and Kona Electric crossover utility vehicle won in the utility category, while the G70 sedan sold under the carmaker’s Genesis brand won in the car category.

    A jury consisting of journalists and analysts based in the United States and Canada voted for the winners of each category, choosing between three finalists. This year, 54 journalists from print, online and broadcast media participated in the assessment.

    The award organizer said in a press release that jurors voted on the finalists based on segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

    Hyundai’s Kona competed with Honda’s Acura RDX and the Jaguar I-Pace.

    “The Kona Electric is the first mass-market electric car that truly works for the mass market,” said Jamie Page Deaton, executive editor at U.S. News & World Report Best Cars. “A livable EV range, affordable price and practical cabin combine with lively driving dynamics to make the Kona EV a true pleasure.”

    The G70 competed with the Honda Insight and Volvo S60. The Genesis-brand was evaluated to exceed luxury segment mainstays like the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class in driver engagement and value for the dollar.

    The last Hyundai car to win top honors at the awards was the Avante sedan, sold as the Elantra in North America, in 2012.

    Previously the award only had two categories – car and truck – however, utility vehicles earned an independent category from 2017, considering the rising popularity of the segment.

    A Hyundai spokesperson said it will market the Kona and G70 more actively in the North American market with boosted presence from the awards.

    The winners were announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday. Hyundai also introduced its Veloster N TCR high-performance racing car at the show, while Kia Motors premiered its Telluride SUV. The SUV will only be sold in the North American market.

  • Nissan Korea fined 900 million won for inflating mileage figures

    Nissan Korea fined 900 million won for inflating mileage figures

    Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Wednesday that it has fined Nissan Korea 900 million won ($802,100) for inflating gas mileage figures for its Infiniti Q50 2.2d sedans. The Japanese car’s fuel efficiency reaches 14.6 kilometers per liter (34.3 miles per gallon), but the local unit of the Japanese carmaker overstated the fuel efficiency as 15.1 kilometers per liter in its stickers, catalogues and magazines between February and November 2014, according to the Fair Trade Commission.

    Nissan Korea sold 2,040 Infiniti Q50 2.2d sedans valued at 68.68 billion won during the cited period.

    “There are concerns that Nissan Korea’s advertising could hurt fair trade by distorting consumers’ reasonable choice, considering that fuel efficiency is a priority factor when they buy vehicles,” the commission said.

    Repeated calls to Nissan Korea seeking comment went unanswered.

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  • SK Telecom announces plan to take on KakaoTalk

    SK Telecom announces plan to take on KakaoTalk

    SK Telecom introduced a new messaging service on Tuesday in an attempt to compete with Korea’s dominant chat app, KakaoTalk. The new service will look a lot like Apple’s iMessage. Users won’t have to download a separate app. It is offered to SK Telecom subscribers only. Messages will be sent on data networks. Group chat and check whether your message has been read will also be offered.

    Later in the year, SK Telecom promises more features so that users can share mobile gift coupons and transfer money. These are all services already offered by KakaoTalk.

    SK Telecom is trying to make its service competitive by offering freebies. Transfers of picture or video files of less than five megabytes will be free from data charges. It is also running promotions through June that will allow sharing of files up to 100 megabytes for free.

    The carrier is also preparing to launch a dedicated message service targeting business customers within the first half of this year.

    That service is based on Rich Communication Services (RCS), a communication protocol developed by the Global System for Mobile Communication Association better known as GSMA, to replace SMS messages.

    The telecom said it is planning on making the message service compatible for customers of different carriers in Korea.

    In December, KT introduced a message service dubbed Chatting based on the same RCS specifications. Basic features are identical for the two services, but they differ in some features depending on what telecom a person uses.

    Last year, KT promoted a chatting bot service on the new message service. Simple inquiries about the company’s products and services could be handled by the chat bot. In the future, it is planning to linking shopping services to the chat bot.

    Luring customers away from KakaoTalk will not be easy. Chat app users are resistant to change because all their friends use the same app.

    In the initial stage, SK Telecom’s chat service will only be offered to owners of Samsung Electronics’ flagship smartphones Galaxy Note9, S9, S9+. By February, Galaxy Note8, S8, S8+ users will also get in through an update.

    The upcoming Galaxy S10 smartphone will come with the RCS-based message app pre-installed.

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  • Imports of commercial vehicles fell last month in Korea

    Imports of commercial vehicles fell last month in Korea

    Sales of imported commercial vehicles plunged 38 percent last month from a year earlier amid slower economic growth, a local automobile association said Tuesday. The number of newly-registered imported commercial vehicles fell to 283 units in December from 390 a year ago, the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said in a statement.

    “The construction industry faces a slowdown as the government pushes for regeneration projects in residential areas instead of building new apartments or homes. This is driving down demand for commercial vehicles,” a spokeswoman for Volvo Trucks Korea said.

    Imported commercial vehicles are widely viewed as being more upmarket than domestically produced rivals and offer more choices for users.

    For the whole of 2018, the number of imported commercial vehicles sold in Korea declined 1.6 percent to 4,394 units from 4,464 a year earlier, the statement said.

    Major imported commercial vehicle brands are MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo Trucks, Scania and Iveco.

    There are three kinds of trucks. Two of them are regarded as commercial vehicles, but the third, referred to as a dump truck, is classified as construction equipment.

    KAIDA began to compile sales data for imported commercial vehicles in January 2017.

  • Shilla Vietnam to open hotel at Da Nang

    Shilla Vietnam to open hotel at Da Nang

    Hotel Shilla announced Tuesday that it will actively begin expanding its brand abroad this year, the first new location being a resort in Da Nang, Vietnam. “Starting with Da Nang, we hope to expand our brand to more than 10 overseas locations in Southeast Asia, United States and China,” the hotel company said in a statement. Hotel Shilla is Samsung’s hotel and duty-free business arm. The 46-year-old company currently operates The Shilla Seoul and The Shilla Jeju.

    It also runs 11 business hotels under its Shilla Stay name.

    The company said that it will expand overseas through hotel management agreements with local companies, a common structuring for hotel chains. This means the local partner will own the hotel building while Shilla will operate the business. For Shilla, this minimizes investment risks.

    Shilla’s new Da Nang hotel – slated to open this year under the brand-new Shilla Monogram name – will be a nine-floor building with 300 rooms. The hotel will be located on Non Nuoc Beach in Da Nang, a popular destination for Korean tourists.

    The hotel, still under construction, will feature an outdoor pool, restaurants and bars. Every room will be equipped with a balcony.

    Hotel Shilla also announced that it is preparing to open a 200-room premium business hotel in San Jose in Silicon Valley, California, under its Shilla Stay brand by 2021.

    “We hope to continue raising more revenues abroad by expanding our overseas hotel business,” said a Hotel Shilla spokesperson.

    Some 20 percent of the company’s total revenues today, or 1 trillion won ($892.5 million), come from abroad. Hotel Shilla operates several duty-free stores in domestic and foreign airports, including locations at three of Asia’s busiest airports: Singapore’s Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and Incheon International Airport.

    Hotel Shilla has been operating Jinji Lake Shilla Hotel in Suzhou, China, since 2006. It was the first overseas hotel managed by the company.

    Following Tuesday’s announcement, Hotel Shilla’s stock prices closed at 76,100 won on Tuesday, 1.33 percent higher than Monday.

    As for upcoming domestic projects, Hotel Shilla is planning to open a hotel themed after hanok, or traditional Korean houses, by 2023 in central Seoul.

    If the company receives approval to build the new hotel from domestic land authorities, it will become the first to operate such a hotel in Seoul.

  • Toyota fined W817 million for false advertising

    Toyota fined W817 million for false advertising

    Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Tuesday that it has fined Toyota Motor Korea 817 million won ($729,000) for deceptive advertising of its RAV4 sport utility vehicle (SUV). Toyota Motor Korea advertised that its RAV4 obtained a top safety pick in five test categories, including the driver’s side small overlap front and roof strength, from the U.S. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in 2015.

    In 2016, the RAV4 earned the Top Safety Pick Plus rating from the independent nonprofit organization that aims to reduce deaths, injuries and property damage from motor vehicle crashes, according to the Fair Trade Commission.

    The commission said that RAV4 models sold in the United States in 2015 and 2016 were equipped with a bracket, or shock absorber, that allowed it to get the top rating.

    The same SUV model sold in Korea during the same period was not equipped with the bracket, but Toyota Motor Korea advertised the RAV4’s earning the Top Safety Pick rating from the IIHS.

    “Toyota Motor Korea concealed and omitted that there was a difference between RAV4 models sold in the United States and Korea,” the commission said.

    It said the advertisement could mislead Korean consumers into believing that RAV4 models sold in Korea had all the safety features covered by the Top Safety Pick rating.

    Toyota Motor Korea said it cannot give an immediate comment on the issue and that it is reviewing the commission’s decision.

    Toyota is the second foreign automaker to be fined this year. BMW Korea was fined 14.5 billion won last week for manipulating documents on emissions.

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  • Shilla Duty Free recruits Asia’s top social media influencers to pitch K-beauty

    Shilla Duty Free recruits Asia’s top social media influencers to pitch K-beauty

    South Korean Hotel Shilla has recruited five social media influencers across Asian countries to hype K-beauty products through Shilla Duty Free stores. The company said that it will work with top influencers from China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand on its “Beauty&You” project to guide customers on how to shop at travel retail online stores via social media platforms.

    Social media influencers with access to a large audience can endorse opinions about products and services, which eventually leads to promote sales.

    Those influencers who have partnered up with Shilla Duty Free reportedly have more than 1.7 million followers worldwide in total. They will work with the travel retailer to guide customers on how to use Shilla Duty Free online store as well as show the latest makeup trends using Korean cosmetics products via their social media channels.

    The company expects its partnership with the top influencers to bolster its brand awareness across the world on top of expanding its share in online travel retail market.

    Currently, its online duty-free shop is available in four languages – Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English. It also has offline outlets overseas in international airports of Singapore, Hong Kong, and Macao as well as downtown Tokyo and Phuket.

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  • London National Gallery opened first Delicious Art cafe in South Korea

    London National Gallery opened first Delicious Art cafe in South Korea

    The National Gallery Company has launched its first overseas cafe in Seoul. The cafe, “Delicious Art”, has opened at Lotte World Mall, designed with features to reflect London’s National Gallery building, along with replicas of famous artworks.

    “This is a very exciting project opening the first Delicious Art international cafe in South Korea,” said The National Gallery Company’s buying and merchandising director Judith Mather.

    “This is great for the global reach of the Delicious Art brand and the National Gallery, London. I am looking forward to opening other cafes in the region in 2019.”

    A second Delicious Art Cafe is expected to open in February at the L7 Hotel Myeongdong.

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  • Incheon Airport breaks record with 2018 sales

    Incheon Airport breaks record with 2018 sales

    Incheon International Airport announced record annual sales of US$2.4 billion for 2018, beating the previous record set in 2017. The performance ranks Incheon as the world’s number one airport for duty free sales in 2018, ahead of Dubai International. The latter’s anchor retailer, Dubai Duty Free, posted 2018 sales of US$2.015 billion. Sales rose 14.8% year-on-year, driven by the successful opening of Terminal 2 in 2018 and increased passenger traffic from the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. Departing passenger traffic rose 9.9% in the year, Incheon International Airport Corporation told The Moodie Davitt Report. A total of 67.7 million passengers used the airport in 2018, including 33.9 million arriving and 33.8 million departing.

    Cosmetics & perfumes continued as the leading product category with a 40% share of the mix and US$953 million in sales. Liquor and tobacco combined took second place with US$540 million (23%).

    Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) said that the 2019 introduction of arrivals duty free shopping will boost the shopping offer.

    “With the introduction of the first arrival duty free in Korea, Incheon Airport will strengthen its competitiveness as the leading airport of the industry, satisfying customers through an advanced shopping environment,” IAAC commented.

    IIAC noted the retail performance of T2, which opened in January 2018. The terminal boasts outstanding beauty, liquor and tobacco flagship stores that feature exceptional design and digital and experiential components, the corporation said. Luxury boutiques such as Chanel and Valentino also played a role in the record-breaking performance.

    T1 performance was boosted by the addition of new retailers, Shinsegae Duty Free and Grand Duty Free. Both had minimised store closure periods during their respective handovers, IIAC said.

    Despite the collapse in Chinese tourism to South Korea from March 2017 driven by the THAAD row with China, duty free sales have maintained their upward curve throughout the ensuing period. Even in 2017, the nadir of the crisis, Incheon posted a 4.1% rise in duty free sales (admittedly well behind a 7.6% passenger increase).

    While Chinese tourism numbers are still well short of 2016 levels (-41.6% for the first 11 months of 2018), spending by daigou traders spurred the Korean duty free market to new heights last year. Incheon, while having a more balanced passenger spending profile than the overwhelmingly Chinese-dominated downtown stores, still benefited from that trend.

    What happens in 2019 following China’s introduction this month of a new e-commerce designed to crack down on daigou imports? That’s the question on everyone’s lips in Korean (and Asian) travel retail. Incheon International Airport Corporation will hope that a combination of a steady recovery in traditional Chinese tourism, daigou ingenuity in getting around the rules, and strong Japanese and Korean business will maintain the upward trajectory. The imminent introduction of the country’s first arrivals shops will help too.

    Higher sales in 2018 did not, of course, equate to higher profitability for the country’s duty free retailers, hurt by the high costs of attracting daigou shoppers. For Incheon International Airport, however, safely wrapped up in the safe haven of steep minimum annual guarantees, 2018 will go down as a stellar year.

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  • Shinsegae to sell Yunjac cosmetics at duty free

    Shinsegae to sell Yunjac cosmetics at duty free

    South Korean retail giant Shinsegae is launching an independent Yunjac cosmetics store at its Myeongdong duty free outlet. The cosmetics shop, which will open on February 2, retails Asian herb-based skincare products. Launched in October last year, it is Shinsegae’s first in-house cosmetics brand, targeting Chinese millennials. A statement from the company said the opening is ahead of schedule thanks to unexpectedly high demand, with sales exceeding last year’s expectations by a factor of four.

    Three Shinsegae Department Store branches currently host a Yunjac outlet, with more stores planned to open within Korea and abroad shortly. It is targeting sales of KRW100 billion (US$89 million) by next year.

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  • Jaguar’s first electric car roars into Korea

    Jaguar’s first electric car roars into Korea

    Luxury carmaker Jaguar introduced the I-Pace, its first electric vehicle (EV), to the Korean market Monday at the Paradise City hotel in Incheon, joining a growing number of EV automakers in the country. The luxury brand’s all-electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) sports an electric powertrain that produces up to 400 horsepower and a 333-kilometer (207-mile) driving range.

    “The I-Pace is a high-performance electric car that has battery and electric motor technology developed from our experience in electric motor sports Formula E,” said Baek Jung-hyun, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Korea. “Jaguar will lead the future of premium electric cars through the I-Pace.”

    The vehicle, originally unveiled in the global market early last year, was delayed for launch in Korea due to the certification process, according to Jaguar Land Rover Korea.

    The automaker has prepared charging infrastructure for the product’s launch, installing 52 charging stations in 26 of its showrooms. The company has also installed 52 chargers and 26 fast-charging stations in its service centers.

    The fast-charging stations can charge vehicles to up to 80 percent in just 40 minutes.

    For maintenance, the carmaker promised to establish 10 new service centers so that there will be a total of 37 by the end of this year.

    Jaguar Land Rover Korea is also promising an eight-year or 160,000-kilometer warranty for its battery system and will install home-charging systems for free for those customers who receive their vehicles by March 31 this year.

    The luxury brand’s all-electric car enters the budding local EV market that has seen rapid growth over recent years.

    A total of 21,375 EVs were sold between January and September last year, up from 13,826 sold in 2017. The Ministry of Environment plans to have 350,000 EVs and 10,000 fast-charging stations in the country by 2022.

    Jaguar’s newest offering joins the short list of electric SUVs in Korea, which include Tesla’s Model X and Hyundai Motor’s subcompact SUV Kona EV, both released last year in the local market.

    The I-Pace will be sold from Jan. 23 with a starting price of 110.4 million won ($98,300) that climbs to 128 million won for its highest trim, the EV400 First Edition.

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