Shelby Foam Systems has made 50 million seat foam pads since starting in 2010Plant focuses on best practices, innovation and sustainable manufacturingDedicated team embodies Magna’s company culture TROY, Mich., June 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — For the extended amount of time people spend in their cars, it could be considered a second home to most.… Continue reading Magna Celebrates Manufacturing Milestone
Tag: Mobility
VW boss Diess wants to expand cooperation with Ford – even with electric cars: “VW is very strongly influenced by Chinese – we need a counterweight in the US”
DPA “We need a counterbalance in the US”: Ford CEO Jim Hackett (r) and Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess know each other well, they agreed at the beginning of the year, together to develop vans and mid-sized pick-ups The speculation about a close cooperation of Volkswagen and ford Autonomous driving and electric car technology have been… Continue reading VW boss Diess wants to expand cooperation with Ford – even with electric cars: “VW is very strongly influenced by Chinese – we need a counterweight in the US”
Tesla loses key Autopilot engineer to self-driving truck start-up Embark
Embark self-driving truckEmbarkZeljko Popovic, a leader within Tesla's Autopilot team, is leaving for Embark, the autonomous trucking start-up in San Francisco, according to a person familiar with the move. Embark confirmed the hire.
The departure comes at a critical time, as Tesla is promising its electric vehicles will be capable of operating as “robotaxis” by the end of next year — which is to say, they'd be fully self-driving in normal conditions, without human intervention. Tesla also says it plans to start production of its long-awaited electric semi trucks by the end of 2020.
Popovic, whose background is in robotics, built and ran the perception team for Tesla's Autopilot division.
According to people familiar with his accomplishments there, Popovic managed the development of highly accurate maps of U.S. highways for Tesla, and created a “sensor fusion system” which combines data from the many cameras, radars and ultrasonic sensors that Tesla vehicles employ. The sensor fusion system enables Autopilot to “see” other cars on the road.
At Tesla's annual shareholder meeting this week, CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that some Tesla self-driving features still need improvements. “Summon,” which allows a driver to automatically call their car over from wherever it is parked, was supposed to be widely available by now. But at the meeting, Musk said it is still being tweaked.
Founded in 2015, Embark integrates its self-driving systems into Peterbilt semis rather than building its own trucks completely from scratch, and the trucks are generally operated with human supervisors behind the wheel. It now has more than a dozen trucks and 60 employees. Amazon is using self-driving trucks developed by Embark to haul some cargo on the I-10 interstate highway in California, both companies previously acknowledged.
Attrition has been a big issue for Tesla in the last two years as the company has missed some of its production goals and its stock price has swung wildly. Among others, self-driving VP Jim Keller left for Intel, and head engineer Doug Field rejoined Apple to work on that company's secretive self-driving technology.
Popovic and Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
WATCH: Self-driving trucks are here — here's how they'll transform the trucking industry
VIDEO13:0513:05How the rise in self-driving trucks will transform the trucking industryTech
Electrify America and ChargePoint partner to expand public charging access
Electrify America and ChargePoint have partnered to enable drivers to use public chargers operated by either network without incurring additional fees. Beginning later this year, the partnership will connect over 30,000 Level 2 and DC fast chargers from the two companies. Giovanni Palazzo, CEO of Electrify America, said, “We can help expedite electric vehicle adoption by creating… Continue reading Electrify America and ChargePoint partner to expand public charging access
Northvolt Raises $1 Billion: Announces JV With Volkswagen
Northvolt raised €900 million for its first lithium-ion cell gigafactory in Sweden and together with Volkswagen, plans a 50/50 JV for a second gigafactory in Germany June 12, 2019 was a big day for Northvolt, which completed a huge €900 million ($1 billion) equity capital raise, led by Volkswagen Group and Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking… Continue reading Northvolt Raises $1 Billion: Announces JV With Volkswagen
UPDATE 2-VW and Ford close to deal on self-driving and electric cars – VW
HAMBURG (Reuters) – Volkswagen and Ford are close to reaching a deal on a partnership for developing self-driving and electric cars, the German carmaker’s chief executive said on Thursday. FILE PHOTO: The logo of Volkswagen carmaker is seen at the entrance of a showroom in Nice, France, April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo Volkswagen and… Continue reading UPDATE 2-VW and Ford close to deal on self-driving and electric cars – VW
VW continues to Aurora with Ford
VW ends its collaboration with the US robot car company Aurora – and wants to cooperate with self-driving cars in the future with Ford. Even with a Swedish battery manufacturer, the German group enters. Hauke-Christian Dittrich / DPA Autonomous vehicle “Cedric” Wednesday, 12.06.2019 15:59 clock Autonomous driving is considered a key technology for the future… Continue reading VW continues to Aurora with Ford
Former Ford CEO suggests electric-car “reckoning” as US adoption lags
Many major automakers, including Ford Motor Company, have changed their tune on electric cars, and stepped up targets for EVs and electrified vehicles over the past several years.
But not everyone is so rosy about rapid growth of the electric vehicle market—including, apparently, former Ford CEO Mark Fields.
Appearing at the EcoMotion mobility conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, as reported by Automotive News, Fields said that the industry is going to be “under a reckoning over the next 2 to 3 years.”
2020 Ford electric SUV teaser
“My view is that yes, electrification is going to grow over the years, but it's not going to grow to the extent all the experts are telling you,” said Fields, who pointed to China’s industrial policy and noted that the adoption rate of electrified vehicles in the U.S. is going to lag that in other countries.
It’s possible Fields has an axe to grind. In the couple of years since the former CEO was shown the door, it has emerged that some in the company saw him as towing too conservative of a line with respect to electrification—even though he announced a $4.5 billion push toward those technologies during his tenure.
Under the leadership of CEO Jim Hackett, Ford has since gone bigger on plans for electric and hybrid vehicles, while pulling back on some of its autonomous-vehicle push that Fields had started. It’s in the midst of an $11 billion investment plan toward 40 electrified vehicles (and including several fully electric models) by 2022. Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand will have at least one of those fully electric models, and it will get electrified versions of all its models by 2022.
2020 Lincoln Aviator plug-in hybrid
Fields’ successor also led Ford’s slow exit from traditional sedans, toward future vehicles that would be more activity-based and configured around varying levels of electrification. “We’re all in on this and we’re taking our mainstream vehicles, our most iconic vehicles, and we’re electrifying them,” chairman Bill Ford said in January 2018. “If we want to be successful with electrification, we have to do it with vehicles that are already popular.”
The company has announced that it will be partnering with Volkswagen for vans and trucks outside of North America, and has an ongoing memorandum of understanding extending the conversation to other vehicle types and business areas. So it’s still within the realm of possibility that Ford could decide to step its targets and timelines up once again—regardless of what former executives might think.
Uber enlists “Qute” to take on India’s choked, polluted roads
A billboard of ride-hailing service Uber is pictured on a highway in New Delhi, India, April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee BENGALURU (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc (UBER.N) has launched a new ride-hailing service in India’s tech capital Bengaluru that will use miniature gas-powered cars called “Qute” to win over commuters stressed out by the sprawling… Continue reading Uber enlists “Qute” to take on India’s choked, polluted roads
DENSO Announces Recipients of the 2018 North America Supplier of the Year Awards
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — DENSO, the world’s second largest mobility supplier, today announced the recipients of its annual North America Supplier of the Year Awards. Each of the 13 recipients demonstrated exceptional contributions to the quality, service, innovation and value DENSO was able to provide its customers throughout its 2018 fiscal year. The… Continue reading DENSO Announces Recipients of the 2018 North America Supplier of the Year Awards