Stellantis’ Free2move expands car-sharing and subscriptions in U.S.

Free2move, the mobility service brand under automaker Stellantis, plans to expand its car sharing, rental and subscription services in the U.S. in 2023, with the ultimate goal of adding 200 new mobility markets globally by 2030, the company said at CES. Early this year, Free2move will launch all three services in Dallas and Pasadena. Currently,… Continue reading Stellantis’ Free2move expands car-sharing and subscriptions in U.S.

Toyota stumbled as Hyundai was stealing the successful Prius playbook

Toyota has been taking a beating in the press these days. The new Prius, arguably the company’s standard bearer, has been damned with faint praise. One review called it “the best CD player in a download world.” Beyond that, the company has been called out for lobbying against California’s right to set emissions standards and… Continue reading Toyota stumbled as Hyundai was stealing the successful Prius playbook

Alexa, find me an EV charging station

Amazon’s conversational voice assistant, Alexa, has made its way into many electric vehicles in recent years. Now, along with ordering Alexa to ‘play Despacito’ or ‘call Mom,’ EV drivers in the U.S. with Alexa-enabled cars will be able to ask Alexa to find the nearest public charging spot. Charging network EVgo will be the first… Continue reading Alexa, find me an EV charging station

BMW unveils Dee prototype, “the next level of human-machine interaction”

BMW revealed a prototype for the i Vision Dee concept car during the automaker’s keynote at CES on Wednesday evening. The four-door sedan came out on stage in a crisp white, but later morphed into a variety of colors and patterns to show off Dee’s E-Ink technology, which will allow car owners to configure the… Continue reading BMW unveils Dee prototype, “the next level of human-machine interaction”

BMW reimagines the head-up display

At CES, BMW today unveiled its new i Vision Dee concept car, an E Ink-clad four-door sedan that can shift colors on demand. Why ‘Dee,’ you surely ask? It stands for Digital Emotional Experience. We’ll leave it at that, but what matters here is that it’s BMW’s platform for showing off its new head-up display,… Continue reading BMW reimagines the head-up display

Sony and Honda reveal Afeela, their joint EV brand, at CES

Nearly a year after Sony and Honda shared plans to jointly make and sell electric vehicles, the two companies revealed a prototype under the brand name Afeela. The four-door sedan was driven onstage at CES Wednesday as Kenichiro Yoshida, the CEO of Sony, talked through the company’s mobility philosophy, which prioritizes building vehicles that have… Continue reading Sony and Honda reveal Afeela, their joint EV brand, at CES

ZF and Beep to launch ‘several thousand’ autonomous shuttles in the US

Automotive supplier ZF is partnering with autonomous shuttle operator Beep to deliver “several thousand shuttles” to customers over the coming years, ZF said at CES in Las Vegas. Beep, which describes itself as an autonomous mobility-as-a-service company, will implement ZF’s next-generation, Level 4 autonomous shuttle, which the company also launched at CES today. Level 4… Continue reading ZF and Beep to launch ‘several thousand’ autonomous shuttles in the US

What Luminar’s acquisition of startup Civil Maps means for its lidar future

As lidar company Luminar pushed ahead to meet its goals for 2022 — milestones that included locking in new commercial contracts with unnamed automakers and shipping production-ready sensors to SAIC — it also snapped up a small HD mapping startup called Civil Maps. The acquisition, which was disclosed Wednesday during Luminar founder and CEO Austin… Continue reading What Luminar’s acquisition of startup Civil Maps means for its lidar future

Harman’s driver monitoring system can measure your heart rate

Harman, a Samsung subsidiary that specializes in connected car technology and other IoT solutions, revealed at CES a suite of automotive features geared towards enhancing the health and safety of drivers and passengers, including an advanced driver monitoring system (DMS) that can measure a driver’s heart and breath rate. Harman initially launched its DMS, called… Continue reading Harman’s driver monitoring system can measure your heart rate

Goodyear, Gatik say tire tech is key to bringing AVs to winter climates

Cars become an extension of the body when humans drive; we can feel the lack of grip in our car’s tires when driving over icy or wet roads. Autonomous vehicles don’t exactly have the same sensory abilities, which is one of the reasons why most AV testing and deployment happens in sunny climates. Gatik, an… Continue reading Goodyear, Gatik say tire tech is key to bringing AVs to winter climates