Category: News Site

Mao Zedong’s Red Flag car gets driverless makeover

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s iconic Red Flag, the vehicle of choice of former revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, is going hands-free. Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc said on Thursday it would launch a fully autonomous passenger car next year in a partnership with Hongqi, or Red Flag, the car brand long favored by China’s political elite.… Continue reading Mao Zedong’s Red Flag car gets driverless makeover

Hyundai, Yield Capital launch $100m hydrogen energy-focused VC

November 1, 2018 South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company has teamed up with Beijing-Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute (BTIRDI), a Chinese engineering institute, to jointly raise around $100 million for a fund that invests in hydrogen energy startups. Hyundai Motor and Yield Capital, an investment unit under BTIRDI, will manage Hydrogen Energy Industry Fund, which will support… Continue reading Hyundai, Yield Capital launch $100m hydrogen energy-focused VC

China’s Youon expands into Europe as other bike startups backpedal worldwide

A little known Chinese bike company is riding into Europe as its peer Ofo has applied the brakes to its global expansion strategy in recent months. Youon, which gets by manufacturing public bikes for city governments across China, has formed a joint venture with UK-based bike-sharing startup Cycle.land, it says in a statement. The deal… Continue reading China’s Youon expands into Europe as other bike startups backpedal worldwide

GM looks to cut costs by offering buyouts to 18,000 employees

General Motors has offered voluntary buyouts to 18,000 salaried employees in North America who have at least 12 years of experience, as the automaker looks to cut costs all while investing in its electric and autonomous future. The company has described this as a proactive measure aimed at preparing for coming headwinds such as  slow… Continue reading GM looks to cut costs by offering buyouts to 18,000 employees

Elon Musk Says First High-Speed Boring Tunnel Will Open In December

Elon Musk has just revealed that his highly anticipated Boring Company tunnel will be officially open on December 10. The Tesla CEO took to Twitter on Sunday to tell the world that the high-speed subway concept is “almost done.” According to the Los Angeles Times, Musk’s Boring Co. tunnel beneath the city of Hawthorne will be revealed on the evening of December 10 — opening for free rides to the public on December 11.

Elon Musk first revealed his idea for a tunnel underneath the infamous Los Angeles traffic in December of 2016.

“Traffic is driving me nuts. Am going to build a tunnel boring machine and just start digging…” he tweeted. “It shall be called ‘The Boring Company.'”

The internet immediately went into full speculation mode, wondering if Musk was joking — just musing — or whether he really did have a plan to launch a “boring” company.

Shortly after his original tweets, Musk expanded on his idea, giving the new company a motto.

“Boring, it’s what we do,” he announced.

He then tweeted that he was serious about the idea.

“I am actually going to do this,” he said on December 17, 2016.

By February of 2017, the Boring Company had begun digging a trench in the SpaceX property in Hawthorne, California. By March of that year, the company had started using a tunnel boring machine named Godot to dig in earnest. The 2-mile tunnel extends from Hawthorne along the 405 freeway and ends in Westwood, California.

The cities of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Chicago, and Washington D.C. jumped on the tunnel bandwagon — agreeing to issue permits for an underground system within their respective city limits. The company now runs three different boring machines, all working to bring the concept to life.

The Hawthorne tunnel will be the first tunnel to be operational, which the company has dubbed a test tunnel to demonstrate the system. The subway infrastructure shuttles people underground at 150 miles per hour on an electric platform. Riders can either sit in a vehicle carrying up to 16 passengers, or an individual can drive a car onto a platform — which is called a “skate.”

Cars and riders are moved from the surface to the underground tunnel via an elevator, and the company has suggested that cities could either employ a series of shafts into the public transportation infrastructure to move people, or individuals could have access tunnels built into their homes, parking garages or home garages.

Lucky individuals will be able to test out the system in December.

UPDATE 3-VW and Ford in talks on self-driving and electric vehicles -source

FRANKFURT/DETROIT (Reuters) – Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Ford Motor Co are in “exploratory talks” to jointly develop self-driving and electric vehicles in a far-reaching strategic alliance meant to save the companies billions of dollars, according to a person familiar with the matter. FILE PHOTO: A car with the Volkswagen VW logo badge is seen on… Continue reading UPDATE 3-VW and Ford in talks on self-driving and electric vehicles -source

Lime recalls some scooters due to fire concerns

Lime, the electric scooter and bike-share startup, has pulled some of its scooters from the streets of Los Angeles, San Diego and Lake Tahoe. That’s because of two hardware challenges the company has experienced, Lime wrote in a blog post last night. In August, Lime says it became aware of a potential issue with some… Continue reading Lime recalls some scooters due to fire concerns

Lime Recalled Thousands of Scooters Because They Were Catching Fire

Fire Sale What’s worse than inconsiderate teens leaving electric scooters on the sidewalk? Electric scooters on the sidewalk that catch fire. The Washington Post caught wind of evidence that some of Lime’s electric scooters had bursting into flames. In response to questions from the newspaper, Lime admitted it had pulled thousands of its scooters off the streets… Continue reading Lime Recalled Thousands of Scooters Because They Were Catching Fire

GM CEO Barra says the automaker is watching China trade ‘very carefully’

General Motors Chairman & CEO Mary Barra (L) and President of General Motors China Matt Tsien attend a press conference in Shanghai, China September 15, 2017.

General Motors is keeping a close eye on China, CEO Mary Barra said Wednesday.

GM said its luxury brand Cadillac had record sales in China despite an ongoing trade war that's raised prices on steel and aluminum as well as on the vehicles themselves.

“We're watching it carefully and we're very hopeful that both sides will have dialogue and get to the table to work through some very important issues that both China and the United States have as it relates to trade,” Barra told analysts on a conference call Wednesday discussing GM's third-quarter earnings. “When we look at our positioning, we have many levers that we can pull to continue to have strong performance in China.”

While Ford and other automakers have reported trouble in China for the third quarter, it was a bright spot for GM.

The company reported record third-quarter “equity income” in the country, led by a 4 percent increase in Cadillac sales there. GM uses equity income to measure its performance in the region since the company follows the standard industry practice of selling its vehicles through a joint venture with Chinese manufacturer SAIC. Each company owns a 50 percent stake in the venture.

Barra told analysts the partnership has served GM well.

“I think we have the strongest partner in China with SAIC,” she said.

“At this time we are not looking to change the 50-50 structure,” Barra added. “It has served us well, and I think the strength of our results demonstrate that.”

But at the same time, sales in the country were down 15 percent over the same quarter last year, and there are signs of trouble in the region. A recent report from Bloomberg said the Chinese government is considering a cut to taxes on auto purchases to revive flagging sales.

GM said it was able to charge more for cars during the quarter and the declines came from less its profitable segments. It also said that sales of its luxury vehicles were up.