Tag: Autonomous

Germans Curious About Robo-Taxis and Largely Reject Carsharing

Four out of five Chinese respondents would use robo-taxis, along with half of those in the U.S.A. and Japan and one third in Germany Women remain particularly skeptical of driverless taxis CEO Dr. Degenhart: “Very positive responses to our CUbE test platform” Hanover, November 19, 2018. The 2018 Continental Mobility Study shows that the vast… Continue reading Germans Curious About Robo-Taxis and Largely Reject Carsharing

Hyundai Motor unveils sweeping executive reshuffle, shares surge

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group shook up its executive ranks on Tuesday and appointed its first foreign head of research and development, raising expectations of a smooth transition of power at the family-run business empire. FILE PHOTO: The Hyundai logo is seen during the first press day of the Paris auto… Continue reading Hyundai Motor unveils sweeping executive reshuffle, shares surge

Tesla owners will commute “with no driver input” soon, Musk says

Tesla Model 3 dashboard in Autopilot testing with IIHS [CREDIT: IIHS]
Over the weekend, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that Tesla is testing new features on its Autopilot “self-driving” system, that will allow its cars to recognize stoplights and stop signs and negotiate traffic on roundabouts.

“Your Tesla will soon be able to go from your garage at home to parking at work with no driver input at all,” Musk tweeted.

That sounds like something a lot of drivers would like. Musk has 23.6 million followers on Twitter around the world; 1,400 had commented on the tweet and 5,100 had retweeted it to others, as of yesterday afternoon.

The tweet highlights how far along Tesla may be in developing its self-driving software and also how its drivers may become more reliant on its Autopilot system than Tesla itself says they should be.

Other companies testing self-driving software, such as Google's Waymo and GM's Cruise, already recognize stoplights and stop signs. They are testing only in limited areas, however, where their cars to try to encounter new obstacles one at a time to learn how to deal with each new variable.

Since cars aren't allowed on roads without a driver, each company has to apply for local permits to test cars driving themselves, especially when they begin testing with no-one in the car at all. Google recently announced that it would begin a commercial self-driving service where it is testing in Phoenix, but then didn't open the service up to the public, instead limiting it to a small group of pre-screened riders.

CHECK OUT: Tesla drivers log 1 billion miles on Autopilot

Tesla is taking a different approach. Since the company has owners driving its cars all over the world, and most of the cars have front and rear cameras, forward radar, and side proximity sensors—all of which can transmit driving data back to Tesla headquarters—the company is harvesting all this data from its drivers and running simulations using artificial intelligence software to improve its system's performance, updating the software and pushing improvements out to cars periodically, using other drivers' data to gradually improve Autopilot's driving.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk on

The company tweeted last month in time with the LA Auto Show, that drivers in its cars have covered 1 billion miles driving on Autopilot—giving the company a vast trove of data to improve the self-driving system.

Yet roads around the world aren't all alike, and it can be difficult for the company to integrate so many more driving scenarios so much more quickly, even with more real-world miles under their collective belts.

Tesla's cars have been involved in several high-profile crashes this year when driving on Autopilot, including one in which the car swerved into the damaged end of a highway divider and accelerated, killing its owner, and two in which cars under Autopilot control hit the back of stationary emergency vehicles and injured their drivers.

READ MORE: Investigators: Autopilot sped up before fatal Tesla Model X crash

Each time, Tesla has responded by releasing a statement saying: “When using Autopilot, it is the driver’s responsibility to remain attentive to their surroundings and in control of the vehicle at all times. Tesla has always been clear that Autopilot doesn’t make the car impervious to all accidents, and Tesla goes to great lengths to provide clear instructions about what Autopilot is and is not, including by offering driver instructions when owners test drive and take delivery of their car, before drivers enable Autopilot and every single time they use Autopilot, as well as through the Owner’s Manual and Release Notes for software updates.”

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First Nissan Global Digital Hub inaugurated in India

The facility will be the first of its kind in a number of software and information technology development centers in Asia, Europe North America and Latin America THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India – The first Nissan Global Digital Hub at Technopark in Trivandrum was inaugurated on Monday in India. The state of the art facility – located in… Continue reading First Nissan Global Digital Hub inaugurated in India

The price of the second-hand vehicle rises by 4.4% in November and stands at 15,235 euros

Posted 11/12/2018 11: 34: 03CET MADRID, 11 Dec. (EUROPA PRESS) – The average price of used vehicles in Spain rose by 4.4% in November compared to the same month of the previous year, standing at 15,235 euros, according to data from Coches.net. In the eleventh month of the year a total of 243,009 second-hand cars… Continue reading The price of the second-hand vehicle rises by 4.4% in November and stands at 15,235 euros

JAC Volkswagen holds groundbreaking ceremony of the new R&D centre in China to boost the electric vehicle

JAC Volkswagen Automotive Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for the New Energy Passenger Vehicle Project R&D Centre located in Hefei, Anhui Province. The ceremony came two weeks after a strategic agreement was signed by Volkswagen Group China, JAC and SEAT in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.… Continue reading JAC Volkswagen holds groundbreaking ceremony of the new R&D centre in China to boost the electric vehicle

DeepMap Signs Deal to Provide HD Mapping Technology to Ridecell & Einride – FutureCar

author: FutureCar Staff     Silicon Valley startup DeepMap, a provider of high-definition (HD) mapping and localization technology for autonomous vehicles, has announced licensing deals with San Francisco-based mobility platform provider Ridecell and Sweden-based Einride. As part of the deal, Ridecell and Einride will integrate DeepMap’s HD mapping software in their autonomous fleets. DeepMap was founded… Continue reading DeepMap Signs Deal to Provide HD Mapping Technology to Ridecell & Einride – FutureCar

SoftBank invests in parking startup ParkJockey pushing valuation to $1 billion

SoftBank continues to invest in the future of transportation — this time in ParkJockey, a startup that has built a technology platform aimed at monetizing parking lots. And ParkJockey, which was founded in 2013, is already using that capital to scale up. Along with the SoftBank investment news, ParkJockey also announced that it was acquiring two… Continue reading SoftBank invests in parking startup ParkJockey pushing valuation to $1 billion

Fiat Chrysler to build Jeep in revived Detroit plant

Fiat Chrysler to build Jeep in revived Detroit plantDetroit — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV plans to convert an idled engine plant in the city into an assembly plant as part of the automaker's plans to add a new three-row Jeep SUV to its lineup, The Detroit News has learned.
The Auburn Hills-based automaker plans to revive Mack Avenue Engine II, which has been idled since 2012, as an assembly plant building a new three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee for model year 2021, multiple sources familiar with the plans told The News. The move could add as many as 400 new auto jobs in the city.
The renovated Mack Avenue facility would be the first new auto assembly line to open in Detroit in 27 years, potentially cushioning the blow of General Motors Co.'s plans to stop production of four sedans at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant by June 1. FCA's plans are the latest move by automakers in the waning days of the year before Detroit's automakers begin to renegotiate their contracts next year with the United Auto Workers.
Foreign and domestic automakers are under increasing pressure from President Donald Trump to boost production of cars, trucks and SUVs in the United States — even as his administration wages a costly trade war with China, Canada, Mexico and the European Union that is raising steel prices and threatening tariffs on imported vehicles.
FCA's plans for its Detroit plants come as GM CEO Mary Barra was on Capitol Hill for a second straight day to caucus with Michigan's congressional delegation and Ohio's two senators. They want the automaker to reconsider its plans to idle four U.S. plants next year, a request that Barra appears to have politely rebuffed.
When Mack II starts production of the three-row Grand Cherokee, FCA would begin retooling Jefferson North Assembly Plant — directly across the street from the Mack Avenue Engine Complex — to make way for the next generation of the two- and three-row Grand Cherokee. A public announcement is tentatively scheduled for the end of next week.
An FCA spokeswoman and the office of Mayor Mike Duggan declined comment.
“FCA is essentially out of capacity,” said Jeff Schuster, an analyst with LMC Automotive in Troy. “They’re kind of running up against being against full capacity. This is a very different situation than what GM is dealing with.”
Even as Fiat Chrysler officials mull decisions to prepare for a future expected to include expensive electric and autonomous vehicles, the automaker needs to invest in a new assembly line to build the profitable SUVs that will raise cash to fund that future. Fiat Chrysler’s plant capacity utilization in November hit 92 percent in North America.
The capacity crunch is not an accident. In 2016, FCA's late CEO, Sergio Marchionne, shocked the industry when he confirmed FCA would abandon car production in the United States and retool the plants to build profit-rich Ram pickups and Jeep SUVs. The plans to convert Mack II to build the Grand Cherokee are the latest move in that strategic realignment.
FCA also recently approved plans to spend six months next year retooling its Warren Truck Assembly Plant to prepare for production of a 2021 full-size three-row SUV, the Jeep Wagoneer. The automaker likely has delayed plans to repatriate from Mexico production of the Ram Heavy Duty.
Construction on Mack II, internally dubbed “Plant X,” likely would begin next year, as Detroit's automakers prepare to begin national contract talks with the UAW. To convert the old engine plant to a full assembly line, sources said, the automaker would need to add at least a body and paint shop.
Reviving the idled half of the Mack engine plant as an assembly operation would improve a worsening capacity problem for Fiat Chrysler. With strong demand for its Jeep and Ram products, the automaker has shuffled products from plant to plant in recent years while it retools for new vehicles — an attempt to avoid the significant financial hit of idling production of its most profitable vehicles.
Fiat Chrysler's North American assembly plants are currently running at 92 percent capacity, according to data compiled by LMC Automotive for The Detroit News. By comparison, GM and Ford Motor Co. were operating at 72 percent and 81 percent through November, respectively.
But FCA's Jefferson North plant, on the west side of Conner between Mack and Jefferson, is operating at 130 percent capacity. That means the automaker is running extra shifts to meet demand for the Jeep Grand Cherokees, Jeep Grand Cherokee SRTs and Dodge Durangos made there.
Only two of Fiat Chrysler's U.S. assembly plants are operating at below 80 percent capacity in 2018: the Toledo Supplier Park and Warren Truck Plant. Currently building only the Ram 1500 work truck, the Warren plant is operating at just 46 percent of capacity.
The new production line on Mack Avenue would also add a valuable new three-row product to Fiat Chrysler’s hot-selling Jeep lineup. The revamped line is expected to add hundreds of new jobs on Detroit’s east side and to bolster the city's tax base.
FCA's plans for its U.S. plants are a stark contrast to GM's. The Detroit automaker plans to idle five plants in North America next year, imperiling the jobs of 6,300 line workers in the region as it slashes some 8,000 white-collar jobs in a restructuring plan designed to save the Detroit automaker $6 billion by 2020.
Among the affected GM plants is Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, staffed by nearly 1,350 union workers and one of only two vehicle assembly plants left in Detroit. Should GM's Detroit plant close as part of 2019 contract talks with the UAW, Fiat Chrysler’s Jefferson North Assembly Plant stood to become to final auto assembly plant in Detroit — until the Mack II project emerged.
Jefferson North, the last remaining automotive assembly plant located entirely inside Detroit's borders, completed construction in 1991 and produced its first Grand Cherokee in January 1992. GM opened Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly in 1985, after the city used eminent domain powers to seize a predominantly Polish neighborhood for the auto plant.
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