By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter

The Seoul Motor Show 2005, the largest auto event ever held in South Korea, kicked off Thursday with colorful opening ceremonies, featuring various concept cars and new technologies that will lead the auto trend of next decade.

Korean auto manufacturers seek to take advantage of the event to turnaround the sluggish domestic market with various types of promotional events planned for foreign and domestic buyers behind the scenes.


All kinds of different cars are on display at the Seoul Motor Show held at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Ilsan, northwest of Seoul, Thursday. A total of 179 auto-related firms took part in the event, which will run through May 8. / Yonhap

Much attention was paid to new types of large sedans, concept cars and non-gasoline vehicles, where Korean and foreign automakers will lock horns around the world. Hyundai Motor’s Tucson and Click hybrids and Honda’s fuel-cell version of the FCX and the Accord hybrid were among the 10 eco-friendly cars that were designed to cut emissions while in motion.
GM Daewoo’s Statesman and Hyundai Motor’s next-generation Grandeur took center stage of the event in the morning as buyers and visitors expressed keen interest in the technologies they adopted.

In the coming months, the two sedans are expected to represent Korean pride in the field of luxury sedans, which is expected to see sharp growth as Korea’s disposable income expands.

Despite some concern the auto show was overshadowed by Auto Shanghai 2005, which began a week before the Seoul Motor Show, foreign and Korean participants spent months in preparing the show.

Colorful decorations and careful touches were given to each booth to grab the attention of visitors.

The biennial show will be held until May 8 at the gigantic Korea International Exhibition Center in Ilsan on the northwestern outskirts of Seoul, which was built early this year to meet growing demand for international conventions and fashionable events in South Korea.

Organizers said 179 companies from 10 countries, including auto parts manufacturers and tire makers, have set up booths to showcase trends in their respective industries, and to promote their latest products. Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors, the top two Korean car manufacturers, exhibited full lineups of compact cars and sports utility vehicles, showing solid growth in the world markets.

GM Daewoo, Renault Samsung Motors and Ssangyong Motor also showed key products designed to challenge Hyundai and Kia, which control a combined 70 percent of the Korean market.

Proto Motors, a tiny Korean auto firm that uses mainly manual processes by craftsmen and unique systems suitable for low-volume production, instead of automated systems, unveiled its sports coupe Spirra. It plans to release the product in September, targeting auto enthusiasts at home and abroad who have unique tastes and different insights in automobiles.

BMW Group, Audi, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz are among 49 foreign firms that have came in. BMW Group, which will exhibit 22 units, including hydrogen racing car H2R and popular premium sedans, hoped its car designs and unique technologies will raise the bar of the Korean auto industry.

The group’s vice president Klaus Berning, who visited South Korea for the auto event, said he see many good signs surrounding the Korean auto market, and its future will be bright as long as it sticks to current level of efforts.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, which represents Korean automakers, the motor show will draw more than 10,000 buyers from around the world and create some $500 million in economic effect.

It expects contracts worth some $200 million to be made during the auto show, providing important momentum for a rebound of auto sales in the domestic market.

``The theme of this event is `endless surprise in our motor life,’ which symbolizes the dynamic growth of the Korean auto industry,’’ said Nam Choong-woo, chairman of the show’s organizing committee. ``We wanted to compare the achievements we have made to those shared by foreign auto firms and provide a boost for the Korean market. It will also be an important opportunities for Korean carmakers in developing export markets.’’

The Seoul Motor Show is the only auto event in South Korea recognized by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d’Automobiles (OICA), which overseas major auto shows in the world.

Organizers expect the show to draw more than 1 million people from both home and abroad. They plan to develop the event into one of the five largest motor shows in the world within a decade.

jj@koreatimes.co.kr