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automotive

BP invests in Chinese electric vehicle charging platform

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BP Ventures has invested in PowerShare, a leading integrated hardware and software solutions provider for electric vehicle (EV) charging in China.

The investment is part of PowerShare’s Series A round, which was led by BP Ventures and draws support from DETONG Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm in China.

PowerShare provides an online platform that connects EV drivers, charge point operators and power suppliers, streamlining the charging experience from locating a charge point through to paying for the power supply.

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ZF acquires automotive division of Romanian engineering services provider BeeSpeed

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ZF Friedrichshafen AG has acquired the automotive division of Romanian engineering service provider BeeSpeed.

The new ZF subsidiary BeeSpeed Technical Engineering Center S.R.L. employs more than 100 developers at the polytechnic university in Timisoara in western Romania.

BeeSpeed has been working with the Braking System Business Unit of the Active Safety Division since 2008.

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Denso takes a stake in semiconductor processor startup quadric.io

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Denso Corporation, the world’s second largest mobility supplier via its subsidiary NSITEXE, Inc., has taken a stake in quadric.io, a startup company based in Burlingame, California.

NSITEXE designs and develops semiconductor IP cores  and the investment will help quadric.io’s development of edge processing units (EPUs), which are high-performance semiconductors that could be used as a foundation for enabling automated driving technology.

Denso established NSITEXE in 2017 to design and develop next-generation, high-performance semiconductor devices to advance automated driving solutions.

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BMW Group sales of electric hybrid vehicles up 38 percent in 2018

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The BMW Group sold 142,617 electrified (battery-electric and plug-in hybrid) BMW and Mini vehicles in 2018, up +38.4%.

Europe is the Group’s biggest sales region for battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles, accounting for over 50% of sales in 2018.

With 75,000 electrified vehicles delivered to customers in Europe last year, the BMW Group is the market leader in the region, with over 16% market share.

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Groupe PSA to starts autonomous driving tests on open roads in China

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Groupe PSA has obtained a licence to start autonomous driving tests on open roads in Chongqing, China, the first French carmaker to do so.

Groupe PSA has autonomous car experience in Europe, the challenge is to integrate Groupe PSA’s technology into the Chinese ecosystem as the environment, infrastructure, map system and road users are different.

The company is the first car manufacturer to have tested the autonomous car on open roads in France from July 2015 onwards, as well as the first carmaker to obtain the authorisations to carry out autonomous mode tests with “non-expert” drivers in March 2017.

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Continental concludes Kathrein Automotive acquisition

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Continental has completed the acquisition of Kathrein Automotive GmbH, the automotive division of Rosenheim-based antenna and satellite technology manufacturer Kathrein, which makes intelligent vehicle antennas.

Potential applications range from remote access keys and navigation applications through to telematics solutions. A connected vehicle can contain over 22 installed antennas.

Continental can now offer a broad portfolio ranging from rod antennas to the Intelligent Antenna Module.

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Honda will premiere its new electric vehicle prototype at 2019 Geneva Motor Show

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Honda has confirmed the global premiere of a prototype version of its new electric vehicle will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2019.

Honda’s new electric vehicle is developed with a focus on functionality and purpose and the prototype sketch demonstrates this through its clean, simple and unique design. The image highlights a clear link to Honda’s Urban EV Concept initially shown at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The debut is a further demonstration of Honda’s ‘Electric Vision’, a commitment that two thirds of European sales will feature electrified technology by 2025. A mass production version of the car will be on sale later in the year.

Visteon and Tencent partner on autonomous driving and intelligent cockpit solutions

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Visteon Corporation, a leading global cockpit electronics supplier, and China internet technology leader Tencent will cooperate to develop autonomous driving and intelligent cockpit solutions, initially for Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC) R&D Center in China.

Under the agreement, Visteon’s SmartCore cockpit domain control platform will incorporate Tencent Automotive intelligence (TAI) solutions to enable user interaction and control based on facial expression and voice and gesture recognition.

Visteon, Tencent and GAC R&D will jointly develop, and share research results for, intelligent technologies for an integrated cockpit project targeted for commercialisation on GAC pure electric vehicles starting in 2020.

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Denso merges three subsidiaries to form Denso Solution

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Denso Corporation, the world’s second largest mobility supplier, has announced that Denso Sales Japan Corporation, Denso Ten Sales Limited and Denso Ten Service Limited will merge to form a new company called Denso Solution Japan Corporation on April 1, 2019.

With the rapid progress of vehicle electrification and automated driving within the auto industry, Denso has previously announced several organisational changes to increase competitiveness.

The formation of Denso Solution will create new products and services in the automotive aftermarket.

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Aisin and Denso to form electric vehicle driving module joint venture

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Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. and Denso Corporation have formally agreed to form a new company to develop and sell driving modules used for electric vehicles.

The new company is named BluE Nexus and will be established in April* 2019. In August 2018, Aisin and Denso first announced their basic agreement to establish a joint venture.

Electrification requires a driving module package that consists of transaxles, motor-generators, and inverters, which are key components needed for both partially and fully electric vehicles.

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