A mobile terminal and a method for controlling an application for a vehicle are provided. The mobile terminal includes an acceleration sensor configured to detect a motion of the mobile terminal, a magnetic sensor configured to detect a magnetic field, a first control unit configured to determine whether the detected motion and the detected magnetic field correspond to a pre-defined condition of entering a vehicle, and output a signal according to the determination, and a second control unit configured to execute the vehicle application based on the signal received from the first control unit.