SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — SF Motors announced it has begun test driving autonomous technology on the streets of Silicon Valley after receiving a permit from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles to test autonomous vehicle technology on public roads. With two manufacturing plants and four R&D offices across three continents, SF Motors is aggressively pursuing state-of-the-art intelligent and connected vehicle technologies.
“On the heels of receiving our autonomous vehicle test permit in California, we believe this is the ideal time to begin putting our research to the test as we prepare to unveil our intelligent electric vehicles equipped with advanced autonomous and connectivity systems,” says John Zhang, CEO of SF Motors. “To compete in the global EV market, we’ve placed a considerable investment in research and development and because our technology is at the core of our vehicles. We’re humbled to see our technology be deployed in our backyard and see the future of our advanced systems as exceptionally bright.”
SF Motors finalized a multi-year $2.5-million agreement with the University of Michigan in late 2016 to conduct proprietary joint research on advanced automated driving systems. This investment has led to ground-breaking progress in autonomous technologies such as heterogeneous sensor fusion, multi-object detection and tracking, and high-performance vehicle motion control. These technologies and breakthroughs are supporting new product development and extensive testing validation at SF Motors focused on delivering reliable, safe and affordable products to customers. Test drives are being conducted in California and Michigan, with further research expected to continue to advance the technologies.
“Looking ahead, SF Motors targets to achieve protected autonomy in 2020 through fast innovations and iterated developments in multiple technology areas, such as deep learning, sensor fusion, path planning, human machine interface, safety and redundancy, vehicle electronics, to name a few,” says Yifan Tang, CTO of SF Motors. “We will utilize our strength in system integration as well as supplier partnerships to overcome the many challenges in bringing autonomous driving to the global markets.”
SF Motors is also testing autonomous driving vehicles on the roads in China. The company plans to publicly announce and unveil its intelligent electric concept vehicle for global markets at an event scheduled for late March in Silicon Valley.
About SF Motors
Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and dedicated to creating connected intelligent electric vehicles, SF Motors is funded by the Chinese automaker and parts supplier Chongqing Sokon Industry Group. The company has established an e-powertrain and intelligent driving R&D center in Silicon Valley, as well as engineering R&D facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Beijing, China. The global EV brand owns manufacturing plants in Mishawaka, Indiana and Chongqing, China. More information about SF Motors is available at www.sfmotors.com.
About the University of Michigan Mobility Transformation Center
The MTC is a public/private R&D partnership that will lead a revolution in mobility by developing the foundations for a commercially viable ecosystem of connected and automated vehicles. One of the central goals is to develop and implement an advanced system of connected and automated vehicles in Ann Arbor by 2021. For more information, please visit www.mtc.umich.edu.
Media Contact:
Mission Control Communications (mc²) for SF Motors
sfmotors@missionC2.com
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SOURCE SF Motors