At CES, TomTom (TOM2) launched two technologies to support autonomous driving: TomTom AutoStream—a map delivery service that enables vehicles to build a horizon for the road ahead by streaming the latest map data from the TomTom cloud—and TomTom MotionQ, a predictive driving concept to ensure the comfort of passengers in... Read more →

At CES in Las Vegas, Toyota Motor introduced the autonomous electric e-Palette Concept Vehicle, which is designed to meet the demands of future multi-mode transportation and business applications. Toyota President Akio Toyoda also announced the e-Palette Alliance, which will leverage Toyota’s Global Mobility Services Platform (MSPF) to develop advanced vehicle... Read more →

Following on from the “Styled by Courrèges” limited edition available since November 2017 (earlier post), Citroën has presented the new E-MEHARI. The battery-electric, iconically styled four-seater cabriolet is now available in a hard top version with side windows and an opening rear window, having transformed into a real family car.... Read more →

Nissan has sold its 300,000th Nissan LEAF globally since the model first went on sale in 2010. The battery-electric LEAF is the world’s first mass-produced—and best-selling—electric car. Nissan launched a fully redesigned version of the LEAF in September 2017. The new Nissan LEAF is slated for deliveries in January in... Read more →

At CES, AeroVironment launched a new electric vehicle charging station that offers more flexibility, durability, and reliability. A networked solution for residential, commercial, workplace, and utility customers, the new TurboDX gives business owners the option of Bluetooth-enabled access control without networking fees or networked enabled access control. Built on an... Read more →

Ford dealers will begin taking orders for the 2018 F-150 with all-new 3.0-liter Power Stroke diesel engine (earlier post) this month. Deliveries begin this spring. The F-150 Power Stroke diesel features a targeted EPA-estimated 30 mpg (7.83 l/100 km) highway rating; a best-in-class 11,400 pounds (5,171 kg) of towing capacity... Read more →

At the kickoff of the 2018 International CES, Volkswagen CEO Dr. Herbert Diess and NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang discussed on stage how AI is transforming the auto industry and highlighted the new I.D. BUZZ, Volkswagen’s electric rebirth of the iconic Volkswagen MicroBus, infused with NVIDIA AI technology for... Read more →

NVIDIA is delivering first samples of its Xavier processors (earlier post) to customers this quarter. Xavier, an all-new AI supercomputer designed for use in self-driving cars, is a complete system-on-chip (SoC), integrating a new 512-core Volta GPU, a custom 8-core CPU architecture, and a new computer vision acceleratora, new deep... Read more →

On 2 January 2018, the first serially-built Pipistrel Alpha Electro took flight in Australia. The aircraft, which received a Special Certificate of Airworthiness from Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in October 2017, took off from Perth’s Jandakot Airport and conducted two circuits around Jandakot (the 5th busiest airport in... Read more →

At CES, Velodyne LiDAR Inc. is demonstrating its Solid State Velarray, the smallest LiDAR, in a form factor that can be concealed behind windshields, within roof lines, and in bumpers. Velodyne says that it is the highest performance LiDAR for ADAS today. The company is also showcasing the high-resolution and... Read more →

At CES, Ujet unveiled its first product, the Ujet electric scooter. The scooter offers a high performance smart battery available in two sizes with an estimated range up to 70 km (approximately 43 mi) or 150 km (approximately 93 mi), and can be charged from any regular power socket. About... Read more →

China-based GAC Motor will feature its existing sedan, SUV, minivan and NEV at the 2018 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. A new sedan model and a concept car will also make their world debuts during GAC Motor’s press conference. GAC Motor’s exhibition at 2018 NAIAS will feature... Read more →

BYTON, a China-headquartered automotive brand owned by Future Mobility Corporation, unveiled its first drivable electric concept car at CES. With a novel digital design and innovative human-vehicle interaction, the premium SUV is intended to function as a new generation smart device for shared, smart mobility and autonomous driving. (Earlier post.)... Read more →

From January to December 2017, registrations of electric and plug-in hybrid cars in the UK reached 46,522 units, up 27% from 2016, according to figures released by Go Ultra Low. Should the market retain the same rate of growth in 2018, annual plug-in car registrations could reach 60,000 for the... Read more →

AEye, a startup with investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Airbus Ventures and Intel Capital (earlier post), announced the AE100, its first robotic perception system for autonomous vehicle, ADAS, and mobility markets. The AE100 is a solid state, cost-optimized system based on AEye’s iDAR (Intelligent Detection and Ranging) technology.... Read more →

ExxonMobil Corporation announced positive results from its Ranger-1 exploration well, marking ExxonMobil’s sixth oil discovery offshore Guyana since 2015. The Ranger-1 well discovery adds to previous world-class discoveries at Liza, Payara, Snoek, Liza Deep and Turbot, which are estimated to total more than 3.2 billion recoverable oil-equivalent barrels. In October,... Read more →

Leading global automotive supplier Faurecia and Accenture, a global professional services company, signed a memorandum of understanding for a five-year collaboration on mobility services. Faurecia and Accenture will combine their innovation expertise and co-invest to develop products and services for connected and autonomous vehicles. They will focus initially on two... Read more →

Sumitomo Corporation of Americas (SCOA), DENSO and other investors have taken a stake in ActiveScaler Inc., a startup that develops Managed MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) systems powered by artificial intelligence. ActiveScaler will use the investment to continue development and deployment of its Managed MaaS system for leading mobility operators and fleet service... Read more →

Argus Cyber Security, a global leader in automotive cyber security, announced the integration of two of its solution suites with Renesas Electronics Corporation to protect vehicle infotainment and telematics units, potentially the most vulnerable attack surfaces in connected and autonomous vehicles, against cyber-attacks. Argus Connectivity Protection and Argus Lifespan Protection... Read more →

Mobileye, an Intel Company, a global leader in the development of vision and data analysis for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, and Spain’s Directorate General of Traffic (DGT) have agreed to a collaboration intended to reduce road accidents and prepare Spain’s infrastructure ecosystem and regulatory policy for... Read more →

Norway-based global shipbuilder VARD has secured a contract for the construction of one electric car- and passenger ferry for Boreal in Norway. The new car- and passenger ferry is specially designed for environmentally friendly operations in the Norwegian fjords. The ferry, designed by Multi Maritime, will measure 74 meters in... Read more →

Molex and Excelfore have developed a 10 Gbps Ethernet Automotive Network designed to accelerate data bandwidth in intelligent connected vehicles. Integrating highly reliable high-speed data transmission, prioritization, scalability and security, the new Molex network platform featuring Excelfore connected mobility solutions will be officially unveiled at CES 2018. Based on an... Read more →

The average fuel economy (window-sticker value) of new vehicles sold in the US in December was 25.0 mpg 9.4 l/100 km)—down 0.2 mpg from the revised value for November, according to the monthly report from Dr. Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). This... Read more →

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) is partnering with a development team to advance a new process that converts natural gas to hydrogen, carbon fiber, and carbon nanotubes. The low-emission process, selected for funding as part of the H2@Scale initiative (earlier post) by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Fuel Cell... Read more →

US regular retail gasoline prices averaged $2.41 per gallon in 2017, 27 cents/gal (13%) higher than in 2016, but two cents/gal less than in 2015, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Higher crude oil prices in 2017 contributed to higher gasoline prices. Source: US EIA, Gasoline and Diesel... Read more →

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes or modified graphene nanoribbons may be suitable replacements for platinum for fast oxygen reduction, the key reaction in fuel cells that transform chemical energy into electricity, according to Rice University researchers. The findings are from computer simulations by Rice scientists who set out to see how carbon... Read more →

ON Semiconductor has joined the global Charging Interface Initiative e.V. (CharIN) ecosystem with the goals of promoting standards for charging systems in electric vehicles (EV), creating requirements for the evolution of EV charging systems and developing a certification system for manufacturers to implement charging systems into their products. ON Semiconductor... Read more →

Cummins Westport Inc. (CWI) received certifications from both the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and California Air Resources Board (ARB) for its 2018 ISX12N natural gas engine. (Earlier post.) Like the Cummins Westport L9N engine, the ISX12N meets California ARB optional Low NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr, a 90% reduction... Read more →

Anellotech, developer of a process for the production of cost-competitive renewable aromatic chemicals and fuels from non-food biomass (earlier post), has completed the commissioning of its 25-meter tall TCat-8 pilot plant, and has begun a development and testing program. An integrated team of Anellotech and IFPEN research engineers and technicians... Read more →

Continental has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a 5% indirect ownership stake in HERE Technologies, a global leader in mapping and location services. The share will be sold by HERE’s current indirect shareholders, Audi AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG. The involved parties have agreed not to disclose any... Read more →

DENSO Corporation and FLOSFIA Inc., a tech startup spun out from Kyoto University, are partnering to develop a next-generation power semiconductor device expected to reduce the energy loss, cost, size and weight of inverters used in electrified vehicles (EVs). Through the joint development project, the two companies aim to improve... Read more →

ON Semiconductor announced a scalable family of CMOS image sensors to address the spectrum of applications for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving. The sensors have resolutions scaling from 8.3 megapixels (MP) down to 1.2 MP, with industry-leading low-light performance from 4.2 µm pixels. The AR0820AT, AR0220AT and... Read more →

Toyota Research Institute (TRI) will show its next-generation automated driving research vehicle, Platform 3.0, at CES next week in Las Vegas. The new platform, which is built on a Lexus LS 600hL, combines greater technological capabilities with new harmonized styling that integrates the automated vehicle technology into the LS model’s... Read more →

California state legislator Phil Ting has introduced a bill—AB 1745—that all new passenger vehicles in the state be zero emissions vehicles after 1 January 2040. For the purposes of the bill, zero emissions vehicles cannot produce exhaust emissions of any criteria pollutant or greenhouse gas under any operational mode or... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company and Aurora Innovation, an autonomous vehicle technology startup (earlier post), announced a strategic partnership to bring self-driving Hyundai vehicles to market by 2021. This partnership will incorporate Aurora’s self-driving technology into Hyundai vehicles starting with models custom-developed and launched in test programs and pilot cities. Over the... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group and self-driving technology startup Aurora Innovation, founded by technology veterans from Google, Tesla and Uber, announced a strategic collaboration ahead of the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The collaboration brings the two companies together to realize self-driving electric vehicles in cities as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS)... Read more →

General Motors and its joint ventures sold more than 4 million vehicles in China for the first time in 2017. Retail sales totaled 4,040,789 units, which was up 4.4% from the previous high in 2016. China was GM’s largest retail market for the sixth consecutive year. The company benefited from... Read more →

Ricardo is supporting a trial run by UK Power Networks into using smart grid technology to unlock spare capacity for increased electric vehicle use—maximizing the power available from existing infrastructure while avoiding costly network reinforcement or substation replacement. The project, called Active Response, will trial a responsive, automated electricity network... Read more →

Sales of BMW Group electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles increased 31.2% in 2017 to 21,208 units, accounting for 6.0% of total BMW Group sales in the US. BMW offers six electrified vehicle models in the US, including the BMW i3 and BMW i8, as well as the BMW i... Read more →

At CES, Continental will showcase a highly flexible computing platform for automated driving systems and the processing of large amounts of data. Developed by Continental’s San Jose Research & Development Center in collaboration with Xilinx, the Assisted & Automated Driving Control Unit will enable Continental’s customers to get to market... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc., the US subsidiary of New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI Group), the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, announced that its Anniston, Alabama facility has successfully completed its first full build of an Xcelsior CHARGE battery-electric heavy-duty transit bus.... Read more →

Tesla reported Q4 deliveries of 29,870 vehicles, of which 15,200 were Model S (51%); 13,120 were Model X (44%); and 1,550 (5%) were Model 3. These results marked the best quarter for combined Model S and X deliveries, representing a 27% increase over Q4 2016, and a 9% increase over... Read more →

Nexeon, a UK-based developer of silicon anode materials for Li-ion batteries (earlier post), and its partners have been awarded £7 million (US$9.5 million) in Innovate UK funding toward a £10-million (US$13.6-million) project to develop significantly better materials for Li-ion batteries. The work is an essential step to achieving electric vehicles... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected six projects to receive approximately $30 million in federal funding for cost-shared research and development in unconventional oil and natural gas (UOG) recovery. The projects, selected under the Office of Fossil Energy’s (FE’s) Advanced Technology Solutions for Unconventional Oil and Gas Development... Read more →

Nissan is researching technology that will enable vehicles to interpret signals from the driver’s brain, redefining how people interact with their cars. The company’s Brain-to-Vehicle (B2V) technology promises to speed up reaction times for drivers and will lead to cars that keep adapting. Nissan’s B2V technology is the first system... Read more →

For the new i3s electric vehicle (earlier post), BMW not only the increased output of the motor but also developed an innovative traction control system adapted specifically to the instantaneous power deliver of the BMW eDrive system. BMW has now announced that it will use the new i3s traction control... Read more →

Caterpillar Marine is collaborating with Sanmar Shipyards in Istanbul, Turkey to build an innovative tugboat with a hydraulic hybrid propulsion system. Sanmar is the largest tug builder in Turkey with over 40 years of experience and known as a market leader at the forefront of the tug building industry. The... Read more →

ON Semiconductor has joined Baidu’s Apollo Autonomous Driving Platform. (Earlier post.) Through this collaboration, ecosystem partners can get the plug-and-play compatible imaging solutions jointly developed by both companies. Apollo provides an open-source, reliable software and hardware system, enabling the efficient development of autonomous driving systems by automotive systems designers. Image... Read more →

Magna will showcase key products in electrification, autonomy and mobility during CES 2018. By using virtual reality technology, attendees will experience firsthand how an autonomous vehicle works. Attendees can also design their own new mobility vehicle and take their bespoke design for a virtual test drive. In addition, the company... Read more →

Engineers at The Ohio State University are developing technologies that have the potential to convert fossil fuels and biomass economically into syngas for conversion into useful products including methanol, gasoline and electricity without emitting carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. In the first of two papers published in the journal Energy... Read more →