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NetworkNewsWire commentary
Self-driving and electric cars are poised to combine production efforts as both technologies mature.
Investment in self-driving vehicles is growing, leading to the emergence of specialist companies.
Electric cars are also on the rise, supported by the infrastructure of apps and charging points. [Read more…] about Cars of the future will be ‘self-driving and electric’
Electric car maker Tesla has acquired Perbix, a provider of industrial automation solutions, including robots.
Tesla has been working with engineering company Perbix for some time, and lately has faced increased pressure in its manufacturing process.
The company says it has faced manufacturing “bottlenecks” as it attempts to meet the high demand for its new Model 3 electric car. [Read more…] about Tesla buys Perbix industrial automation company
The new Model 3 saloon car from Tesla is way too popular for its own good and the company is struggling to cope with the number of orders it’s being asked to deliver.
Despite the “bottlenecks” in manufacturing, the electric carmaker says it is on course to sell 100,000 vehicles this year for the first time in its 14-year history.
And if things go to CEO Elon Musk’s forecasts, Tesla will be manufacturing 500,000 vehicles a year by the end of next year, according to Business Insider. [Read more…] about Tesla finding manufacturing tough as it struggles with too many orders
lockElectronics and industrial components giant Panasonic is planning to test its autonomous car technology in the state of Colorado, in the US.
The company has been making some significant moves in the automotive space, and this week revealed some of its ideas at the Consumer Electronics Show.
Tom Gebhardt, president of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America, made a presentation at CES in which he said the company’s “smart mobility” plan starts with energy. [Read more…] about Panasonic to test self-driving car tech in Colorado
lockTesla has started making lithium-ion battery cells at its brand new “Gigafactory” in Nevada, US.
At almost 2 million square feet, the facility is said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world – and that’s just for starters.
In a statement, Tesla says: “The current structure has a footprint of 1.9 million square feet, which houses 4.9 million square feet of operational space across several floors. And we are still less than 30 percent done. Once complete, we expect the Gigafactory to be the biggest building in the world.” [Read more…] about Tesla begins production at its Gigafactory – said to be the largest battery manufacturing plant in the world
The much-publicised electric car company, Faraday Future, revealed its new hybrid vehicle at the Consumer Electronics Show this week.
The presentation was said to have had a slight glitch in that when the autonomous, self-parking technology was called on, it didn’t immediately answer.
The hiccup may have been unplanned for Faraday’s billionaire owner, Jia Yueting, especially as the company has invested a lot of money in developing autonomous technology, but with a total of $600 million backing the vehicle venture, there’s plenty of money to smooth out small problems. [Read more…] about Faraday Future unveils electric car as Continental boss talks of job losses
While everyone seems fascinated by driverless cars brought to us via Silicon Valley, established suppliers of advanced driver assistance systems are quietly doing a roaring trade
The automotive industry is going through some fundamental changes, mostly because of computer technology.
The changes include higher levels of computer processing, fully driverless vehicles, greater levels of autonomy, internet connectivity, and the switch from petrol-powered combustion engines to electric.
It’s probably inevitable that the combustion engine will be gone from most mass-manufactured cars within a couple of decades, and will eventually only be seen in antique cars and supercars, although even some supercars are going electric.
Which means the road-going vehicle of the near-future will essentially be computers with wheels, connected to the cloud, and largely autonomous – or, in other words, a robot. In fact, this is what is already happening because of advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. [Read more…] about Advanced driver assistance systems trump driverless cars by stealth
