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 e...

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 ...

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 perce...

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 ...

The technology will be implemented for the first time in the GV60, Genesis’ first electric SUV based on the automaker’s Electric-Global Modular Platform, its special platform for electric vehicles. The model is planned for launch before year-end. Up to two faces can be registered in Face Connect, with the bio-data encoded to protect from leakage, the automaker said. If the driver wants, the data...

Drivers can ask SKT’s AI assistant “Aria” to control the temperature, send text messages, navigate directions and make music recommendations with only their voice. The system will be applied to all models under Volvo by next year, the auto firm said. For first time purchasers of a Volvo car, the brand will provide free LTE access for five years and a one-year membership to SKT’s music streaming ...

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 ...

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 s...

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

Wireless charging stations for e-scooters will also make their debut. Users of scooter sharing services will no longer have to go to charging stations to plug in their vehicles, but charge them remotely at designated areas. Other services that received a nod by the two institutions include a self-moving delivery robot, a hospital escort service, sharing kitchen service and a startup named Cover...

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 gener...

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 ...