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Transportation

Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng agree joint venture to develop electric vehicles in China

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The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Dongfeng Motor Group have formed a new joint venture to co-develop and sell electric vehicles in China.

The new joint venture, eGT New Energy Automotive Company, or eGT for short, will focus on the core competencies of each partner and will “harness the full potential of the Renault-Nissan Alliance electric vehicle leadership”, according to the companies.

It will also combine the resources of DFG in the new energy industry, to meet the expectations of the Chinese market.  [Read more…] about Renault-Nissan and Dongfeng agree joint venture to develop electric vehicles in China

Visteon and ZongMu Technology sign co-operation agreement on autonomous driving solutions

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Visteon, a supplier of automotive cockpit electronics, and ZongMu Technology, a China-based supplier of advanced driving assistance systems, have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to develop Level 3-plus autonomous driving solutions.

Under the agreement, Visteon and ZongMu will combine their strengths to jointly develop a self-parking solution integrating Visteon’s DriveCore autonomous driving platform and ZongMu’s autonomous parking system.

Markus Schupfner, chief technology officer for Visteon, says the cooperative agreement with ZongMu supports Visteon’s commitment to collaborate with “highly respected technology partners” to advance autonomous driving in the fast-growing China market.  [Read more…] about Visteon and ZongMu Technology sign co-operation agreement on autonomous driving solutions

Kodiak Robotics raises $40 million to develop self-driving trucks

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Kodiak Robotics has raised $40 million in Series A financing led by global investment firm Battery Ventures.

CRV, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Tusk Ventures also participated in the round.

Kodiak is an autonomous-vehicle startup founded by Don Burnette, previously a co-founder of the self-driving trucking company Otto, and Paz Eshel, a former venture capitalist.  [Read more…] about Kodiak Robotics raises $40 million to develop self-driving trucks

ZF spins off Car eWallet as a payments start-up

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ZF Friedrichshafen has founded a new startup called Car eWallet, in which the company will outsource the current activities of the transaction service Car eWallet.

The objective is to further develop and market the service following an initial six-month collaboration with project partners IBM and UBS, which successfully concluded this spring.

The service, for example, enables payments for refueling or re-charging electric cars.  [Read more…] about ZF spins off Car eWallet as a payments start-up

SAE releases new autonomous car definitions

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SAE, the international engineers’ association, has released a revised set of definitions for autonomous driving. 

The new version keeps SAE’s original six levels of automation, from 0 to 5, but provides more clarification.

The organization explains some aspects of it in its new document, available free on its website.  [Read more…] about SAE releases new autonomous car definitions

Bosch and Nio sign strategic partnership agreement

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The Bosch Group and electric vehicle company Nio signed a strategic cooperation agreement focused on sensor technology, automated driving, electric motor controls, and intelligent transport systems.

The signing ceremony took place in Berlin in the presence of German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Nio began delivering its 7-seat high-performance electric sports utility vehicle, ES8, to its users in China in June.

The vehicle contains key components from Bosch, such as driver assistance systems, control units, sensors and the iBooster electromechanical brake booster. The components will be further developed for Nio’s future models.

Schaefer invests in DS Automation and expands AGV development

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SSI Schaefer says it is expanding its development activity in the area of automated guided vehicles through an investment in DS Automation.

The company says it is doing this “in order to meet the increasing demand for AGVs”.

Schaefer is expanding its product portfolio through co-operation with, and investment in, the Austrian AGV specialist DS Automation.  [Read more…] about Schaefer invests in DS Automation and expands AGV development

General Motors outlines vision of self-driving vehicles of the future

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“Imagine a world with no car crashes,” says General Motors in a statement outlining the company’s vision of the driverless automotive culture of the future.

“Our self-driving vehicles aim to eliminate human driver error – the primary cause of 94 percent of crashes — leading to fewer injuries and fatalities.

“Imagine widespread use of electric-only vehicles, reducing vehicle emissions. Our self-driving vehicles will all be electric, contributing to a better environment.  [Read more…] about General Motors outlines vision of self-driving vehicles of the future

Driverless race car becomes first to complete uphill event

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The dynamics of racing — a human driver guiding a powerful machine to reach the finish line as fast as possible — haven’t changed much since the Goodwood Festival of Speed was founded a quarter century ago. Until now.

The Roborace Robocar, a futuristic vehicle designed for the new era of driverless transportation, became the first car to complete the Goodwood hillclimb without a human at the wheel.

The innovative race car, powered by the Nvidia Drive autonomous vehicle computing platform, wowed 55,000 spectators by navigating with ease around trees, hay bales and tight curves.

[Read more…] about Driverless race car becomes first to complete uphill event

Volvo receives Sweden’s largest order ever for electric buses

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Gothenburg in Sweden now takes the lead in the transition to electrically propelled urban bus traffic in Sweden. The order for 30 all-electric Volvo buses from GS Buss, subsidiary of Göteborgs Spårvägar, and Public Transport Authority Västtrafik, is the biggest order so far for all-electric buses in Sweden.

It is also Volvo Buses’ biggest order to date. The buses will run on route 60 in Gothenburg from next autumn.

Västtrafik, the public transport provider in the Västra Götaland region, has high sustainability targets. Among other things, carbon dioxide emissions are to be cut by 80% by 2020, 95% of all transport shall use renewable energy by 2025, and noise from transport is to be reduced.

[Read more…] about Volvo receives Sweden’s largest order ever for electric buses