Posted 09/10/2018 11: 29: 31CET MADRID, 9 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) – The average price of used cars increased by 6.5% in September compared to the same month of the previous year and stood at 15,554 euros, according to data from the Institute of Automotive Studies (IEA) for Coches.net. Last month, most autonomous communities saw the… Continue reading The price of the second-hand vehicle rises 6.5% in September and stands at 15,554 euros
Tag: Autonomous
GM tops Tesla in ranking of automated driving systems
GM beats Tesla in Consumer Reports ranking of automated driving systems
5:51 PM ET Thu, 4 Oct 2018 | 01:45
As more automakers develop automated driving systems that allow drivers to take their hands off the steering wheels for short periods of time, a new report says General Motors has developed the best system.
Consumer Reports tested four of the most popular systems and says Cadillac's Super Cruise does the best job of ensuring the vehicle is driven safely while making sure drivers pay attention when they take their hands off the steering wheels.
“Super Cruise has a camera that looks at the drivers' eyes and warns them if they look away for too long or fall asleep, and that's a game changer,” said Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at Consumer Reports.
“This is definitely a shot across the bow of Tesla, which already has Autopilot,” said Michelle Krebs, analyst for AutoTrader said.
Consumer Reports ranks Tesla's Autopilot as the second-most effective automated driving system, criticizing it for not doing enough to keep the driver engaged when the vehicle is in Autopilot mode.
“Autopilot is a strong system, but it doesn't have enough safeguards,” said Fisher.
GM Super Cruise tops Tesla in Consumer Reports' automated driving tech tests
8:23 AM ET Thu, 4 Oct 2018 | 03:52
Consumer Reports rated Nissan's ProPILOT Assist as the third-best system and Volvo's Pilot Assist as the least effective of the four it tested. Nissan says ProPILOT Assist is a “hands-on” driver-assist system rather than a “self-driving” feature. Volvo echoed that response.
“Pilot Assist is not an autonomous driving system. It is a driver assistance system designed to keep the driver in the loop at all times with hands on the wheel, eyes on the road and the mind on driving,” said Johan Larsson, a Volvo spokesman.
The systems were evaluated at Consumer Reports' test track and on public and highways. The reviews are based on five criteria: capability and performance, ease of use, if the systems made it clear when it was safe to use, whether they kept the driver engaged, and how they alerted or handled an unresponsive driver.
Consumer Reports is not warning people to avoid using any of the automated driving systems it tested, but it wants drivers to better understand the limits of the technology.
Ever since Tesla unveiled Autopilot in 2015, it's been controversial technology. When it first came out in “beta” mode, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said, “It is important to exercise great caution at this early stage.”
Not everyone got the message. Within months of rolling out, Tesla owners posted videos on YouTube showing themselves driving hands free and not always paying attention.
In 2016, a Tesla driver was killed when his Model S in Autopilot mode crashed into a semi-truck in Williston, Florida. The National Transportation Safety Board concluded limitations in Tesla's Autopilot system played a major role in the crash. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt bluntly summarized the case saying, “System safeguards were lacking.”
Two years later, as more vehicles and more automakers develop automated driving systems, Consumer Reports is worried drivers will become too complacent and not be ready to grab the steering wheel if their car or truck steers itself into trouble.
“The big concern is putting too much trust in these systems,” said Fisher of Consumer Reports. “Drivers are not always paying attention when these systems are in use.”
WATCH: GM demonstrates its hands-free 'Super Cruise' system
General Motors shows off new hands-free ’Super Cruise’ system in highway demo
12:08 PM ET Wed, 28 June 2017 | 05:10
Electrify America Announces Stage 2 Of Its EV-Based Plans (For California)
Electrify America announced a second 30-month investment cycle for the state of California, which envisions more charging infrastructure (DC fast chargers and normal AC L2 charging stations) and various other actions (education and awareness). The company, was established by Volkswagen to implement the $2 billion ZEV Investment Commitment outlined in Volkswagen’s Court-approved settlement involving 2.0L… Continue reading Electrify America Announces Stage 2 Of Its EV-Based Plans (For California)
BMW Group and CRITICAL Software form Critical TechWorks joint venture in Portugal.
Munich. With signature of the final contracts and approval of the competition authorities, the BMW Group and the company CRITICAL Software have concluded the formation of their joint venture. The new joint-venture company with the name Critical TechWorks will combine both partners’ expertise in premium mobility and automotive software engineering for the development of ground-breaking… Continue reading BMW Group and CRITICAL Software form Critical TechWorks joint venture in Portugal.
Bodo Uebber goes like Dieter Zetsche 2019: Daimler CFO ends surprisingly
DPA Daimler CFO Bodo Uebber (59) Following the announced resignation of Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, another long-serving board is now setting sail. Chief Financial Officer Bodo Uebber does not want an extension of his contract and will leave at the end of 2019. DaimlerFinance Director Bodo Uebber has surprisingly announced his departure for the end… Continue reading Bodo Uebber goes like Dieter Zetsche 2019: Daimler CFO ends surprisingly
Seeing the Light: Ford’s Call for a Standard Self-Driving Car Language to Communicate Intent
By John Shutko, Ford Human Factors Technical Specialist for Self-Driving Vehicles Ford is calling on all self-driving vehicle developers, automakers and technology companies who are committed to deploying SAE level-4 vehicles to create an industry standard for communicating driving intent In real-world and virtual reality studies, Ford has tested a self-driving intent interface that lets… Continue reading Seeing the Light: Ford’s Call for a Standard Self-Driving Car Language to Communicate Intent
Electric cars are clean, but can they be profitable? New report casts doubt
Volkswagen MEB platform architecture
A flood of new electric-car models is washing into the market in the next year as automakers scramble to meet regulatory demands for electric cars around the world—not to mention scrambling to compete with Tesla.
The challenge, as with Tesla, is whether they can sell those cars at a profit.
A new report by AlixPartners, a worldwide business consulting firm, shows the transition to electric cars is coming at a steep cost to automakers.
DON'T MISS: VW plans 27 electric cars by 2022 on new platform
The company pegs the cost of building new electric cars at almost $9,000 more than conventional cars, and plug-in hybrids at an additional $5,700.
Worldwide, the report says, established and startup automakers are spending $255 billion to develop more than 200 new electric models that are expected to hit the market by 2022.
Many of these will be low-volume models that will not make a significant dent in the development costs for new powertrains, the report says.
CHECK OUT: Tesla sells 200,000th car, starting phaseout of federal tax credits
Further, the number of new models is likely to exceed customer demand, the report says, meaning that intense competition among these new electric cars may force automakers to sell them at a discount. This hit to automaker profits could be exacerbated by ride-sharing and autonomous car fleets, which would buy cars at fleet prices.
As if to confirm the report, BMW cheif executive Bernhard Kuhnt told Bloomberg Friday, “Tesla is now ramping up their volumes, and it’s putting pressure on that market segment.”
At the same time, the study notes, the overall car market in the U.S. is beginning a cyclical downturn from its record sales of 17.2 million new cars and trucks in 2017.
That's not to say the study expects electric cars to be unsuccessful. AlixPartners forecasts that by 2030, electric cars will make up 20 percent of the U.S. market, 30 percent of European car sales, and 35 percent of car sales in China.
2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC
In a consumer survey conducted as part of the study, AlixPartners found that 22.5 percent of Americans say they plan for their next car purchase to have plug-in capability.
A Reuters report on the study notes that auto executives generally concur that the transition to electric cars will be expensive, and that R&D and development costs for electrics may not be paid off any time soon. “What everyone needs to realize is that clean mobility is like organic food—it’s more expensive,” Carlos Tavares, chief executive of Peugeot, Citroen, and Opel manufacturer PSA told Reuters.
Last month, BMW warned investors that investments in electric-car development and meeting cleaner emissions rules would erode profits. Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz also each warned separately that developing electric cars will cost more than they initially budgeted.
So far tax incentives from many governments, such as the U.S. federal $7,500 tax credit, are designed to offset these higher costs. As automakers begin to sell millions of electric cars, however, these tax incentives may become unsustainable.
READ MORE: 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC specs revealed (Updated)
The hope is that by then battery prices will equal the cost of internal combustion powertrains, but that's not guaranteed. Batteries currently account for 40 percent of the cost of building an electric car, Reuters reports.
AlixPartners reports that commodity costs are up 70 percent the last year compared with 2015, at $884 per car, a six-year high.
“Industry players are sort of caught between a rock and a hard place,” said Shiv Shivaraman, co-head of AlixPartners' American automotive and industrial practice. “If they don’t participate in some way in the ‘new-mobility’ revolution that’s coming, they stand to lose out on what might be the biggest thing ever in this industry. If they do participate, as so many are, they have the chance of benefiting from first-mover advantages, but they also face the possibility of going broke in the process.”
Daimler starts building electric car batteries in Tuscaloosa
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler (DAIGn.DE) on Friday said it will start building a battery plant as part of its planned $1 billion investment to upgrade its factory in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which has also started to produce a new sports utility vehicle, the GLE. FILE PHOTO: The Daimler logo is seen before the Daimler annual shareholder… Continue reading Daimler starts building electric car batteries in Tuscaloosa
The U.S. Government Wants to Allow Fully Autonomous Vehicles on U.S. Roads
Look Ma! No Hands! The freedom that comes with owning a car is almost as old as the American dream itself. But the safety risks associated with automobiles are immense: in 2017, more than 37,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). One solution: accelerate the development… Continue reading The U.S. Government Wants to Allow Fully Autonomous Vehicles on U.S. Roads
AXA & Navya – insurance cooperation
The insurer AXA cooperates with the manufacturer of autonomous vehicles Navya. Navya is one of the leading manufacturers of autonomous e-shuttles, which are already in use worldwide. But unlike the competition you have no insurance partner. The competition, EasyMile, is about the alliance insured, Becomes AXA now insure the Navya vehicles? Navya shuttle bus First,… Continue reading AXA & Navya – insurance cooperation