Global automotive companies are starting to heavily invest in autonomous driving, customized infotainment systems and sensor technology to improve driver assistance features. And it has become critical to secure talents for relevant technology development. Startup Autobahn, a Mercedes-Benz-backed open innovation platform for startups founded in 2016 under the German automotive group Daimler, sees that the automotive industry is now going through a “war of startup talents.”&ldquo

Lotte Food said Monday that it had launched a new brand of baby formula called Nubone in Vietnam and clinched a sales contract with Viet Australia for distribution there. Nubone is an export-only product aimed at children age 6 and under and will be sold exclusively in Vietnam.  The product has been manufactured through Lotte’s Syn-Biotics system, which adds both pro-biotics and pre-biotics to aid the baby’s digestion and growth, the company said.The products will be export

Kia Motor has unveiled its redone upper-midsized sedan K7 Premier, offering five different engine options, and began sales in Korea on Monday, according to officials.The latest version is the first face-lifted version since the launch of the K7 model in 2016. According to the automaker, the K7 Premier comes with five different engine options to satisfy diversified consumer needs: new G2.5 GDi, 3.0 gasoline, 2.4 hybrid, 2.2 diesel and 3.0 liquefied petroleum injected engines. Kia Motors&rsqu

US air carrier Delta Air Lines announced Thursday that it has acquired 4.3 percent of the shares of Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Korea’s largest air carrier Korean Air, in an apparent move to defend its joint venture and the ownership family’s management. Delta Air Lines said its indirect investment in the Korean air carrier demonstrates its commitment to the success of their joint venture and to customer benefits. It said it also aims to increase its equity stake to

Kia Motors entered the Indian market on Thursday with the unveiling of its compact sport utility vehicle Seltos. “Seltos is Kia Motors’ new global model, and we are very delighted to introduce Seltos for the first time here in India, a rising market for the automotive industry,” said Kia Motors President Park Han-woo during a ceremony at Gurgaon’s A Dot Convention Center in India on Thursday.  According to the automaker, Seltos stands out with its full light-emi

Hyundai Glovis, a supply chain management and logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group, said Thursday it has established a subsidiary company for cargo transportation business in the United States.The company, Global Expedited Transportation, has been set up as a subsidiary of Hyundai Glovis America. It will directly operate cargo transportation between the West Coast and East Coast. The operations were managed on a consignment basis until now.  Hyundai Glovis said GET will find new partners an

For 29-year-old office worker surnamed Jang, buying a dress from a popular Instagram influencer who has some 4,000 followers was a money-losing proposition and regretful shopping experience. “Although the dress was not from a famous brand, it was around 200,000 won ($170). The seller said the dress is tailor-made, advertising it as a now-or-never deal to own a perfect-fit dress made with high-quality fabric,” said Jang. But when she received the product, the dress was diffe

South Korean flagship carrier Korean Air said Wednesday it has clinched a deal with Boeing to acquire 30 Boeing 787 aircraft at the Paris Air Show in an effort to modernize its aircraft.Korean Air has agreed to buy 20 new wide-body B787-10s and to lease 10 additional B787-9s, the company said in a statement. The deal approximately costs 11.5 trillion won ($9.7 billion), based on the price list. This marks the first large-scale purchase deal made by the new chief Cho Won-tae, who took office

Amid rebounding sedan sales in the South Korean market, Nissan Korea said it will launch a sixth-generation model of its bestselling midsized sedan, the Altima, here in July. According to the carmaker, the most distinctive aspect of the fully transformed Altima is its design.  With a sportier, more dynamic exterior design, Nissan said it had equipped the latest Altima with its award-winning Nissan Vmotion 2.0 design. In 2017, the Nissan Vmotion 2.0 was recognized as the best concept ca

Just days after a dramatic consensus with its labor union ended a year of confrontation and strikes, Renault Samsung unveiled a facelifted version of the QM6, the automaker’s most popular midsized sport utility vehicle, in Seoul on Tuesday.The QM6 is the automaker’s most trusted model, accounting for 61.2 percent of the country’s midsized gasoline SUV sales from September of 2017 to April this year, selling 41,191 vehicles.With the upgraded model, which is also the country&rsqu

McDonald’s Korea said Monday that it is recruiting 120 administrative managers who will work at its some 420 restaurants nationwide.According to the fast-food chain, applicants will go through the document screening, interview and practical assessment in a restaurant environment. Successful candidates will take training course as trainees and will be dispatched to stores from August. The new managers will be given opportunities for promotion to general manager of the store or regional

Chung Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor Group executive vice chairman, called for world leaders to take action for the hydrogen-focused energy transition during the Group of 20 meeting of environment and energy ministers Saturday. Chung, who co-chairs the Hydrogen Council, was invited to exchange views on the global energy paradigm and to analyze the role and possibilities of hydrogen energy, Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday. The council comprising some 60 companies is a global CEO-level initiative for

Following the change in its name last month to Hankook Tire & Technology, the firm said Sunday it plans to lead the global original equipment tire market by beefing up its research and development on innovative technology. In May, the company was renamed from Hankook Tire as part of its holding company Hankook Technology Group’s rebranding to redefine its focus. The group said it included the word “technology” to reflect its long-term mission to achieve innovation

Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors said Thursday that they are investing in US self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation to develop and further enhance the autonomous vehicle platform. The investment is part of the automakers’ plan to become a game changer in the global autonomous driving ecosystem and to launch an autonomous vehicle at an early stage, Hyundai Motor Group said, without disclosing the size of the investment. The two companies will strengthen c

The Korea Corporate Governance Improvement Fund, the second-largest stakeholder in the country’s flagship carrier, Korean Air, has publicly denounced the return of the late Chairman Cho Yang-ho’s younger daughter to a management role in light of the damage she has inflicted on the corporate image and the value of the company’s shares.The KCGI, which holds a nearly 16 percent stake in the air carrier, released a statement Wednesday saying Hanjin Group’s decision to reinsta