TURIN (AFP) -- Tesla boss Elon Musk on Friday said that a global semiconductor shortage hitting car firms especially hard would be overcome soon. The chip drought is "short term, I think," the billionaire said in an appearance by video at Italian Tech Week in Turin. "There are a lot of chip fabrication plants that are being built," Musk told the audience of startups, investment funds and tech entrepreneurs. "I think we will have good capacity for providing chips by ne

Hyundai’s creativity incubator chief says design goes beyond a product’s aesthetics

A growing number of people in South Korea are planning to travel to Saipan via a travel bubble amid rising vaccination rates and extended benefits offered for travelers. According to Asiana Airlines on Thursday, over 1,000 bookings have been made for flights to Saipan scheduled throughout the rest of the year. An Asiana flight to Sapian last Saturday, just ahead of the Chuseok holiday, had 150 passengers on board, accounting for 85 percent of bookings. With more than 9 in 10 people on board

Eastar Jet Co., a debt-ridden South Korean budget carrier, said Friday it has submitted restructuring plans to a bankruptcy court to finalize an acquisition deal with a local property developer, aiming to resume flights next year. Eastar Jet submitted its debt repayment and other rehabilitation plans to the Seoul Bankruptcy Court, three months after Sung Jung Co. signed a deal to buy an 80 percent stake in the low-cost carrier for 108.7 billion won ($97 million). Eastar is required to first

Hyundai Motor Group has begun test operating a robot to inspect safety at its automotive plant, in collaboration with robotics startup Boston Dynamics, the group said Friday. Hyundai Motor Group, which operates two leading automotive companies Hyundai Motor and Kia, said it has deployed Spot, Boston Dynamics’ quadruped robot, to inspect safety at Kia AutoLand Gwangmyeong, Kia’s automotive plant facility in Gyeonggi Province. It is the first joint project between Hyundai and Bosto

Genesis will implement face recognition technology on its GV60, the brand’s first electric sport utility vehicle planned, Hyundai Motor, the firm behind the automobile brand, said Thursday. According to the automaker, the new technology dubbed Face Connect will allow drivers to control a car -- opening the door and starting the car -- using their biometric data instead of a smart key. This would allow the driver to close the car with the smart key inside, or not need to carry keys at a

Volvo Korea unveiled the latest face-lifted version of its flagship sport utility vehicle XC60, equipped with a new smart car system developed in partnership with South Korean mobile carrier, SKT. “Cars no longer only have the function of transportation. It’s a means of one’s lifestyle experience. We hope (the new XC60) becomes a trendsetter in this new wave of change,” said Lee Yoon-mo, CEO of Volvo Cars Korea, during an online meeting with the press on Tuesday. The

World’s sixth AMG Brand Center opens in Seoul to present Mercedes’ high-performance cars

Consumer appetite for expensive imported cars is bigger than ever in South Korea. According to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association on Monday, total sales of imported cars with a retail price exceeding 100 million won ($85,156) as of August jumped 65.5 percent on-year. The total number of vehicles in that price range sold in the first eight months of the year was 45,042. This exceeds the total number of high-end imported cars sold in all of 2020, when sales

The ways to buy a car are expanding into the non-face-to-face realms of home shopping TV networks and dedicated websites, taking the hassle out of having to visit a dealership for a new set of wheels. Renault Samsung Motors said Sunday it is launching the Master van on GS Retail’s home shopping channel GS My Shop after it saw successful sales of its electric vehicle Zoe in July. The automaker said they decided to expand the sales route to home shopping programs for the 15-person van am

Two sides deadlocked over how to calculate 10 percent market share cap

Hyundai Motor’s plans to develop a remote charging system for battery-powered electric vehicles has been given a go-ahead from the Korean government, it was announced Thursday. The wireless EV charging system is among the 10 pilot projects granted a regulatory sandbox, according to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and the sandbox support center at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The regulatory sandbox measure, introduced in 2019, seeks to foster new business

Local electric bus manufacturer has what it takes to make cash-strapped automaker a global EV brand, Kang Young-kwon says

BMW Group Korea will upgrade and relaunch its two after service mobile apps, as the carmaker bids to turn all aftersale services digital. The new BMW Plus and Mini Plus will be key platforms for the company’s digital and contactless after-sales service business, it said. 　 With the upgrade, an expanded number of services can be reserved in real time, explained the carmaker, which includes general maintenance, parts replacements and recall services. Customers can also select a service ad

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- Urban air mobility is the ultimate solution to the side effects of hyperurbanization, and businesses and governments alike should work together to open up the skyway, a Hyundai Motor executive in charge of the UAM business said Wednesday. “Urbanization is rapidly progressing around the world, and the serious traffic congestions around the world is becoming real problems of economic and human losses,” Shin Jai-won, chief of the automaker’s Urban Air M