SEOUL • Going to Seoul this weekend? You can make a detour to the biannual Seoul Motor Show, which got rolling yesterday.

The event is the only South Korean one recognised by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, a global alliance of carmakers founded in Paris in 1919.

South Korea's two largest cities - Seoul and Busan - have taken turns to host the show each year.

This year's affair runs through April 7.

Reflecting an industry-wide shift towards green and self-driving cars, carmakers will highlight how driven they are on sustainability and connectivity.

Hyundai, the nation's largest carmaker, has placed fuel-cell EV Nexo and Sonata Hybrid at the vanguard of its green vision.

While displaying the air-purifying capability of the Nexo, the company also touted the hybrid version of the eighth-generation Sonata sedan that deploys a solar roof, the first by a Korean carmaker.

To maximise fuel efficiency, the solar panel on Sonata's roof generates electricity and recharges the battery during daytime driving.

The Sonata hybrid is expected to get about 20 kilometres a litre.

Hyundai's sister company Kia has three concept cars - Mohave Masterpiece, SP Signature and Imagine - to support its ambition to dominate the sport utility vehicle segment.

Foreign brands have parked their models at the show too.

Under the slogan ,"Our Innovation Never Stops", Mercedes-Benz hopes to turn heads with the Vision EQ Silver Arrow, an electric racing car. It pays homage to the W125 Silver Arrow that set a worldwide speed record of 432.7kmh in 1938.

The German brand also presented the new A-Class, CLE and EQC.

Other importers are also lined up bumper to bumper to catch the eye of consumers.

Toyota premiered its fifth-generation RAV4 in South Korea.

British carmaker Jaguar Land Rover unveiled the Velar SVAutobiography Dynamic in a world premiere. It also introduced the new Range Rover Evoke and Jaguar New XE for the first time in Asia.

THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK