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automotive

Hyundai unveils new electric vehicle charging and automated parking concept

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Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation has unveiled a new concept of electric vehicle wireless charging system with the Automated Valet Parking System (AVPS).

The system will offer a convenience to drivers who are faced with an overcrowding of both parking and charging locations as electric vehicle numbers grow steadily.

It relocates fully charged vehicles from charging stations and allow other awaiting electric vehicles to charge.

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Groupe PSA acquires shares in Chinese automotive spare parts distributor, UAP

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Groupe PSA is taking a stronger position in Chinese market with the acquistion of a stake in UAP Auto Union, the leading spare parts distributor in the Shandong region,

UAP has a geographical coverage of more than 100 hubs, and is expanding its delivery service to surrounding provinces with 50 hubs.

With the help of UAP, Groupe PSA will have access to a competitive and efficient distribution system. The objective is to accelerate growth in sales of multi-brand parts, particularly with the new Eurorepar range, which Groupe PSA is developing for the Chinese market.

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Volvo Group sells majority stake in WirelessCar to Volkswagen

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The Volvo Group has signed an agreement to divest 75.1% of the shares in its wholly-owned subsidiary WirelessCar to the Volkswagen Group for SEK 1.1 billion.

WirelessCar provides connected vehicle services and solutions to global producers of passenger cars. Closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2019.

“We are committed to remaining the leader within the field of connectivity and connected services. This agreement will enable us to fully focus our resources and efforts on connected solutions for commercial vehicles,” said Jan Gurander, Deputy CEO of the Volvo Group.

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BMW to showcase ‘Vision iNext’ at CES

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At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the BMW Group is showcasing the future of driving pleasure with visitors having their first chance to take a virtual drive in the BMW Vision iNEXT, accompanied by the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

The vision vehicle is being displayed alongside a sophisticated mixed-reality installation that, for the first time, provides a virtual and immersive impression of what it is like to drive autonomously, emission-free, and fully connected in the BMW Vision iNEXT.

To begin the simulation, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant suggests an agenda for the day and plans the activities for the trip.

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Mercedes-Benz uses 3D printing for ‘classic’ replacement parts

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Mercedes-Benz has been offering 3D printed replacement commercial vehicle parts since 2016, now further replacement parts have passed quality assurance and are coming onto the market.

The inside mirror base for the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Coupé (W 198 model series), the spark plug holder from the tool kit of this iconic sports car as well as the sliding sunroof rollers for the W 110, W 111, W 112 and W 123 model series: these are important replacement parts for faithfully maintaining this classic of the brand.

Mercedes-Benz Classic has them newly produced in a 3D print. The process is particularly well-suited to smaller quantities, which allows gaps in the replacement part supply of classic vehicles to be closed.

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Infineon and TTTech Auto collaborate for level 4 and 5 automated driving

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Semiconductor firm Infineon Technologies AG and TTTech Auto, a leader in safety platforms for automated driving, have just released the second generation of their fully integrated automotive-grade safety solution for automated driving use cases.

It is based on Infineon’s AURIX™ TC397XM microcontroller and TTTech Auto’s MotionWise safety software platform.

It delivers full support and scalability for level 2+ solutions up to the advanced levels 4 and 5 of automated driving. It is said to help customers achieve faster time-to-market, improved software integration and validation thus reducing overall cost.

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ZF invests €800 million in Saarbrücken plant in Germany

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Over the next four years, ZF will invest €800 million in its Saarbrücken site in Germany, the lead location of ZF’s transmission technology, in production plants and systems, infrastructure, and its supplier network for the transition from conventional to electric car drives.

“The share of hybrid drives in production will increase tenfold over the next few years – from five to 50 percent,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG.

ZF is investing more than €3 billion worldwide in new products and its production network for transmission technology.
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Daimler spends €20 billion on battery cells

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Daimler is taking the next step towards securing its CASE- connectivity, autonomous, shared & services and electric – corporate strategy.

The company is investing ten billion euros in the expansion of the Mercedes-Benz Cars electric fleet and another billion euros in the global battery production network within the worldwide production network.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Our electric offensive continues to gain momentum. After investing billions of euros in the development of the electric fleet and the expansion of our global battery network, we are now taking the next step.

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Magna seeks design inspiration for tomorrow’s vehicles from today’s students 

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To showcase tomorrow’s vehicle designers’ vision of the future, Magna is launching a new global automotive design competition.

Larry Erickson, global director of the Magna Exteriors Design Group, introduced the inaugural Global Bold Perspective Award during his closing keynote address at the Car Design News LA Forum during the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show.

“We are always looking ahead to understand how innovations in materials, surfaces and technology can influence future automotive design and help automakers achieve their design goals,” said Erickson.

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Continental and EasyMile launch new autonomous driving R&D team in Singapore

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A joint R&D team from Continental and EasyMile will begin work on solutions for driverless mobility in Singapore.

The new joint team’s focus will be to develop new technology centred on perception and deep learning and to prepare autonomous vehicle (AV) technology for tests towards safe deployment on private grounds and public roads in the Singaporean metropolitan area.

With a regulatory sandbox for AVs in place, Singapore has the flexibility to quickly adjust its regulatory framework to support the fast pace of development of AV technology while safeguarding public safety.

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