Hyundai Motor hires U.S. aerospace expert for UAM vehicle
SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Group said Wednesday it has hired a U.S. aerospace expert as it strives to foster its urban air mobility (UAM) business as a new growth driver.
Hyundai Motor appointed Ben Diachun, former CEO of the California-based aerospace startup Opener, as chief technology officer in the group's UAM division, the company said in a statement.
"His 20 years of experience in building revolutionary aerospace vehicles, as well as sustainable high-growth companies, is critical to our mission to develop the best and most innovative design for our UAM vehicle," Hyundai Motor President Shin Jai-won in charge of the UAM division said in the statement.
Diachun will report to Shin, a former aeronautics expert who worked at NASA in the U.S. and joined Hyundai in September 2019 to lead the UAM division.
Over the course of his career, Diachun helped develop 16 groundbreaking aerospace vehicles, including SpaceShipOne, the first commercial manned spaceship, and BlackFly, an electric personal air vehicle, the statement said.
Hyundai aims to bring its UAM vehicle to the market by 2028. UAM is a key future innovation business that can help overcome urban challenges like traffic congestion by connecting the sky and the ground.
kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
(END)
-
1 
BTS most tweeted about musician in U.S. in 2020
-
2 
BTS earns 2nd 'million point' song on Oricon chart with 'Dynamite'
-
3 
BTS performs 'BE,' surprise Coldplay cover on 'MTV Unplugged'
-
4 
Harvard professor Ramseyer to revise paper on 1923 massacre of Koreans in Japan: Cambridge handbook editor
-
5 
(Yonhap Interview) Jeongmilla: the artist who sings Seoul's blue hill neighborhood in 'CheongPa Sonata'
-
1 
BTS most tweeted about musician in U.S. in 2020
-
2 
U.S. court orders N. Korea to pay US$2.3 bln over 1968 capture of USS Pueblo
-
3 
SHINee says vigor, passion drove new album following military enlistment hiatus
-
4 
(Yonhap Interview) Jeongmilla: the artist who sings Seoul's blue hill neighborhood in 'CheongPa Sonata'
-
5 
BTS performs 'BE,' surprise Coldplay cover on 'MTV Unplugged'
-
1 
Upcoming military exercise with U.S. should be postponed or halted: expert
-
2 
Panel says Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine eligible for youths, 1st shots scheduled for Sat.
-
3 
(LEAD) S. Korea to extend current social distancing measures for 2 weeks: PM
-
4 
12-year-old U.S. resident identified as suspect of terror threat against Incheon airport
-
5 
(2nd LD) S. Korea begins vaccinations amid hopes for herd immunity by Nov.
