Automotive

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  Government-led team launched to commercialize level 4 self-driving vehicles in 2027 SEOUL -- South Korea launched a government-led project team to commercialize convergent level 4 self-driving vehicles in 2027 with an injection of 1.09 trillion won ($962 million). Level 4 autonomous vehicles have cockpits, allowing drivers to take over control if needed. The most promising direction of level 4 is a robotaxi. The team was inaugurated on March 24 in a ceremony attended by officials from four government bodies -- the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Minis 2021-03-24
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  LPG suppliers agree to renovate charging stations in urban areas for fuel cell vehicles SEOUL -- South Korea's two major suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas will renovate charging stations in urban areas to install facilities for charging fuel cell vehicles, responding to a government campaign to accelerate the establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem. SK Gas and E1 signed a business agreement with the Environment Ministry on March 23 to establish complex charging stations for hydrogen and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in Seoul and adjacent areas. LPG fuel had been a 2021-03-24
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  Hyundai auto group forges partnership with Singapore's Singtel SEOUL -- South Korea's Hyundai auto group partnered with Singtel, a Singapore telecom group, to cooperate in supporting smart manufacturing and connectivity for electric vehicle battery subscription services. They would develop and pilot a 5G-enabled smart factory use case for an intelligent manufacturing platform and potentially scale it up for deployment across Hyundai’s plants. Hyundai said its expertise in developing innovative automotive and manufacturing solutions 2021-03-23
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  Gangwon province unveils project to develop drones based on liquefied hydrogen SEOUL -- Gangwon, a mountainous, forested province bordering North Korea, has joined a government campaign to establish a hydrogen ecosystem in South Korea by unveiling a project to develop unmanned drones for special purposes based on liquefied hydrogen. The province aims to produce a drone taxi prototype for flying tests in 2022. The province signed a business agreement on March 22 with Gangwon Technopark, a state agency in charge of technology development, and TIE (this is engine 2021-03-23
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  Hyundai Mobis partners with Britain's Meridian to unveil premium car sound system SEOUL -- Hyundai Mobis, the parts-making wing of South Korea's Hyundai auto group, unveiled a premium sound system through a partnership with Meridian Audio, a British high-performance audio component and system manufacturer, with their sights set on the global automotive market. The premium sound system was the result of joint development for two years, Hyundai Mobis said in a statement on March 21, adding it has played a pivotal role in designing speakers and amplifiers. The s 2021-03-22