Tag: Mobility

Mercedes joins forces with BMW to build an electric ecosystem

Mini from BMW and Smart from Mercedes join in Reach Now car sharing program
Making electric cars accessible to more people requires developing an ecosystem that would help drivers charge, and occasionally get to destinations that might not yet be ideal for an electric car—like a long road trip.

To bridge those gaps for buyers of its upcoming EQC and other electric cars to follow, Mercedes-Benz announced last week that it will team up with BMW to provide those services.

DON'T MISS: Poll suggests more Americans might buy an EV—if only they had a place to charge

BMW launched several such services under its X-Now umbrella when it first launched the BMW i3 electric car starting in 2014: Drive Now for car sharing in some European Cities, ReachNow for car sharing and ride hailing in the U.S. (started in 2016), and ChargeNow for charging.

The rival companies have now joined forces to operate those services, with the exclusion of DriveNow, and to expand them.

CHECK OUT: Care by Volvo subscription program proves more popular than expected

They have jointly invested more than $1.1 billion (1 billion euros) into the project, and rebranded the services in all-caps. The project wraps in several existing companies that each brand owned around the world, such as Car2Go in the U.S., Kapten in France, and Beat in Mexico, The services include:

– ReachNow in offers an app that will let BMW and Mercedes electric-car drivers in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, access car-sharing and ride hailing services, and even bike rentals to get to their final destination, for example if they have to charge someplace that is too far to walk in a city. You can even find a bus or trolley.

– ChargeNow is an integrated system to find and pay for available and compatible chargers and operates in 25 countries.

– ParkNow helps users find, reserve, and pay for parking, for example in city garages. Mercedes cites studies showing that 30 percent of urban traffic comes from drivers looking for parking.

– FreeNow includes services like chauffeur-driven ride-sharing in France.

– ShareNow incorporates similar services.

CHECK OUT: Electric car-sharing programs expanding in U.S.

“Ultimately, we want to offer our customers as many options as possible for getting from A to B. In short, this is about driving, riding or being driven,” said Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche, in a statement announcing the joint venture.

In an unrelated survey published by Volvo and the Harris polling organization on Tuesday, 32 percent of respondents said such a manufacturer sponsored car-sharing program would increase the likelihood that they would buy an electric car. Volvo sells a one-year subscription program for its XC40 small SUV that has proven more popular than dealers can accommodate, and has indicated it plans a similar program for its first electric car, the Polestar 2, unveiled on Wednesday.

After four years of effort from BMW, it seems that the confluence of car-sharing programs and electric cars may finally be coming together.

The companies also announced on Thursday that they will also form a partnership to develop self-driving car technology.

German auto giants BMW and Daimler team up to develop self-driving technologies

BMW Group/Daimler AG
The two companies will work together on a variety of autonomous technologies.

Daimler and the BMW Group are to work together on automated driving technologies.
In an announcement on Thursday, the auto giants said their initial focus would be on the development of “next-generation technologies” for automated driving on highways, driver assistance systems and parking features.
BMW and Daimler said that their collaboration would focus on Levels 3 and 4 of SAE International's levels of driving automation. Five “levels” of driving automation have been defined by SAE International, a global association of over 128,000 engineers.
At Level 5, automated driving features can drive a vehicle under all conditions. At Levels 3 and 4, automated driving features allow technology to drive a vehicle under certain, limited conditions.
The two companies said they viewed their partnership as being a “long-term, strategic cooperation”, adding that they were aiming to make “next-level technologies widely available” by the middle of the 2020s.
Thursday's announcement comes a week after BMW and Daimler announced anew one billion euro mobility partnership.
Earlier this week, the CEO of Arm Holdings told CNBC that it would be “a while” before self-driving cars become mainstream.
“It is a phenomenally hard problem to anticipate what a car could do under absolutely any set of circumstances,” Simon Segars, who was speaking with CNBC's Karen Tso at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, said earlier this week.

“I think you're going to start to see early services, in quite a constrained way, quite soon over the next couple of years,” he added, explaining that there was “some way to come” before the technology was “completely mainstream.”

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.

AEye Advisory Board Profile: Scott Pfotenhauer

We sat down with each of our Advisory Board Members to ask them about their vision for the future of self-driving cars…
Mr. Pfotenhauer began his career at Intel in the mid 1970’s and has since been involved with numerous technology companies. Since joining Morgan Stanley in 1996, he developed and leveraged an expansive network of investment banking and wealth management resources to help clients formulate exit strategies for their businesses. He is a Senior Investment Management Consultant with Morgan Stanley, advising private client and corporate executives. Pfotenhauer obtained both a BA and MBA in Business from California Coast University.

Q: Where do you see ADAS solutions, autonomous vehicles, and/or artificial perception, heading within the next few years? The next decade? Beyond?
I was fortunate enough to work for Intel from the mid 70’s to the mid 90’s — and participated in the advent of desktop and mobile computing, which had their foundation on Intel products.

In the last 25 years, I’ve continued to look around the corner to try and spot the next “big thing”. We now have the advanced computing tools that allow companies to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) within their decision making and take advantage of big data. These trends converge around the auto industry and its next inflection points — EVs and autonomy.

Q: What do you see as the next logical step for the auto industry?
When I think about the auto industry, it’s remarkable how many inflection points it has gone through. The internal combustion engine of 1876 made cars feasible, while mass production which began in the early 1900’s made them affordable. The starter engine of 1912 rendered hand cranks obsolete, and then the first transcontinental highway in 1913 opened up the nation. The pickup truck of the early 1930’s made the vehicle more functional, while the automatic transmission, power steering, and braking of the 40’s and 50’s made it easier and safer for just about anyone to drive.

Seat belts, anti-lock brakes, and airbags increased the safety, while GPS and maps made us all more efficient. Now we have begun the climb up the 5 levels of automation — we won’t get anywhere without a complete set of artificial eyes — that are always on, don’t blink, don’t get distracted, or won’t tire.

AEye Advisory Board Profile: Scott Pfotenhauer — AEye Advisory Board Profile: Elliot GarbusAEye Advisory Board Profile: Tim ShipleThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles: Part I – Think Like a Robot, Perceive Like a HumanThe Future of Autonomous Vehicles: Part II – Blind Technology without Compassion Is RuthlessDeconstructing Two Conventional LiDAR MetricsAEye’s iDAR Shatters Both Range and Scan Rate Performance Records for Automotive Grade LiDARElon Musk Is Right: LiDAR Is a Crutch (Sort of.)AEye’s iDAR Leverages Biomimicry to Enable First Solid State Lidar with 100Hz Scan RateBlair LaCorte Named President of AEyeFutureCar Provides an In-Depth Look into How AEye’s AI-Based Perception System Can Become the ‘Eyes’ of Self-Driving Cars

Robots on the Move, Powered by Lidar

March 4, 2019 Photo via Knightscope The role of robots in the workplace is evolving through the power of lidar technology. Robots are moving beyond being stationary workhorses in industries, such as manufacturing, to becoming mobile machines that operate autonomously and traverse changing and unstructured environments. FedEx is the latest company to introduce mobile robot… Continue reading Robots on the Move, Powered by Lidar

Comeback of an attitude towards life: The world premiere of the electric ID. BUGGY in Geneva

World premiere in Geneva: The electric ID. BUGGY concept car Summer cruiser: ID. BUGGY takes the idea of the legendary dune buggies into the age of electric mobility Pure driving pleasure: With the ID. BUGGY concept car, Volkswagen is showing a new, leisure-oriented facet of electric mobility Based on modular electric drive matrix: Safety chassis… Continue reading Comeback of an attitude towards life: The world premiere of the electric ID. BUGGY in Geneva

Volkswagen opens electric platform to third-parties

e.GO to become first partner for e-mobility platform (MEB) MEB enables efficient production of smaller series – significant cost benefits from scaling Diess: “Volkswagen wants to establish its platform as a standard for e-mobility” ID. BUGGY on show at Geneva Motor Show highlights MEB’s variability even for small series The Volkswagen Group is opening its… Continue reading Volkswagen opens electric platform to third-parties

Failed meal-kit service Munchery owes $6M to gift card holders, vendors

Several weeks after a sudden shutdown left customers and vendors in the lurch, meal-kit service Munchery has filed for bankruptcy. In the Chapter 11 filing, Munchery chief executive officer James Beriker cites increased competition, over-funding, aggressive expansion efforts and Blue Apron’s failed IPO as reasons for its demise. Munchery owes $3 million in unfulfilled customer… Continue reading Failed meal-kit service Munchery owes $6M to gift card holders, vendors

Mercedes-Benz at the 2019 Geneva International Motor Show

04.

March 2019

Stuttgart/Geneva

Combined fuel consumption: 12.5 – 6.2 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 284 – 142 g/km*Stuttgart/Geneva. An exclusive look at the world premieres, a relaxed atmosphere and plenty of room to chat: Ahead of the press days at the Geneva International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz tells an invited audience of media representatives about the world premieres scheduled for one of the industry’s most important shows. Focal points included the presentation of the facelifted GLC, the AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ (fuel consumption combined: 9.3 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 212 g/km)1 and the AMG GT R Roadster (fuel consumption combined: 12.5 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 284 g/km)2.
“Meet Mercedes” offers more than just a product presentation. The tried-and-tested format buzzes with discourse among journalists, engineers, product managers and brand representatives from Mercedes-Benz Cars. The subject matter provided by a tour of the display and subsequent workshops delivered an overview of current Daimler activities. The core information came from Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales, and Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development, with their spontaneously delivered presentations and commentary on the new vehicles, and insights into product and brand philosophy. “Mercedes-Benz is the most valuable premium car brand. A major factor in that success is we build cars that our customers love,” said Britta Seeger, referring to the sheer breadth of the vehicle presentations. Ola Källenius turned his attention to the electrification strategy for the next few years: “We will offer several electrified solutions for all mobility demands, and we plan to offer more than 10 purely electric models by 2025.”
The main course: three special-edition models
The main course served on the outside exhibition area in Geneva was three special-edition models from Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG, on show for the first time: the SLC 300 (fuel consumption combined: 7.0 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 161 g/km)1 and the AMG S 65 (fuel consumption combined: 14.2 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 325 g/km)1, each as a Final Edition, as well as the SL 500 Grand Edition (fuel consumption combined: 9.8 l/100 km; CO2 emissions combined: 223 g/km)1.
Mercedes-Benz GLC: excelling on and off the road
In “HEAD – Genève” everything was about the world premieres of the GLC and AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ as well as the new AMG GT Roadster. Like its predecessor, the updated Mercedes-Benz GLC pairs excellent driving characteristics both on and off the road with spaciousness, functionality and comfort. With its broad stance and sporty appearance, the new operating concept including MBUX and gesture control, innovative driver assistance systems and a redeveloped engine range, the new GLC offers the very best of Mercedes-Benz.
Two athletes from Affalterbach
The Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ promises not only more performance than its predecessor, but also a noticeably more agile and precise driving experience both on- and off-road, thanks not least to its AMG Performance 4MATIC all-wheel drive. The Mercedes-AMG GT R Roadster pairs ultimate performance with the freedom of open-top driving – and is the crowning glory of the open sports car model line-up. It is as much at home on winding racetracks as it is on the upscale boulevards and stunning coast roads of the world. The 4.0-litre V8 biturbo from AMG with 430 kW (585 hp) and maximum torque of 700 Nm underscores its powerful appearance.
Show cars point the way forward
Two further world premieres in Geneva provide a glimpse of the future: The Formula E show car represents the entry of the Mercedes-Benz EQ Formula E team into the ABB FIA Formula E Championship in the 2019/2020 season. With the smart forease+, the smart brand is presenting not only a groundbreaking design show car, but is also confirming its position as a pioneer of comprehensive mobility offerings with the latest developments in its “ready to” services. With more than eight all-new digital services such as private carsharing and package delivery direct to the vehicle as well as significantly expanded functionality, smart makes urban life more convenient for its customers and eases entry into electric mobility. Plus, the new user interface also makes it all even simpler to operate.
Go to https://media.mercedes-benz.com/gims2019 for the multiangle livestream of the full press conference and medial special on the 2019 Geneva Motor Show.
1 The stated figures were determined in accordance with the prescribed measuring method. These are the “NEDC CO2 figures” according to Art. 2 No. 1 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1153. The fuel consumption figures were calculated based on these figures.
2 The stated fuel consumption and CO2 emission figures are provisional, were determined by the technical service for the certification process in accordance with the WLTP test procedure and correlated as NEDC figures. No EC type approval or certificate of conformity with official figures is yet available. There may be differences between the stated figures and the official figures.

Press Contact

Koert Groeneveld

Head of International Product & Technology Communications

koert.groeneveld@daimler.com

Tel: +49 711 17-92311

Fax: +49 711 17-94365

Willem Spelten

Head of international Brand & smart Product Communications

willem.spelten@daimler.com

Tel: +49 (0)711 17-75847

Fax: +49 (0)711 17-79099473

Jochen Übler

Mercedes-AMG GmbH

jochen.uebler@daimler.com

Tel: +49 (0) 7144 30292470

Fax: –

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VW signs e-vehicle startup as first partner for production platform

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