Honda Motor and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Motor said on Thursday they would build a new factory in Wuhan to exclusively manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) from 2024.
The factory would have a production capacity of 120,000 vehicles a year, Honda said in a statement.
Honda, Japan’s second-largest automaker, is set to launch a new EV brand in China this year called e:N Series with plans to roll out 10 models with partners Dongfeng and GAC.
Despite technically skipping this year’s Omicron-infected Consumer Electronics Show, Google absolutely bombarded the tech world yesterday with exciting announcements originally designed for a large Las Vegas audience.
We could even go so far as to say the search giant had one of its strongest CES presences ever… in its physical absence, unveiling (or rather teasing) a whole bunch of potentially groundbreaking, decidedly life-changing, or simply extremely useful features scheduled to hit every platform from Android to Wear OS, Chrome OS, Google TV, and Windows by the end of 2022.
While we already covered a large part of the company’s bold software plans for this year in fairly extensive detail, several big changes headed to Android Auto managed to escape our radar at first. Arguably the most important thing coming to Big G’s Apple CarPlay rival this very month is actually not developed or manufactured by Google itself, instead hailing from Motorola… licensee SGW Global.
Although Android Auto can technically facilitate a wireless connection between your (Android 11 and up) phone and your car, the list of vehicles natively supporting the technology remains depressingly short, which means many drivers looking to get valuable assistance (and some much-needed entertainment) behind the wheel have to rely on a good old fashioned USB cable… in 2022.
Starting January 30, however, you will be able to score a handy and seemingly easy-to-use alternative for this barbaric connection process at just $89.95.
Enter the Motorola MA1 wireless car adapter, which aims to do exactly what you think and nothing more. Namely, “adapt” your USB-enabled Android Auto vehicle to wirelessly connect to your phone using Bluetooth every time you get into your car.
Obviously, you will still need to rely on a USB port to activate wireless Android Auto functionality, but you can say goodbye to your trusty cables and maximize the in-vehicle freedom of your handset.
Just remember to keep your eyes on the road and register your interest in the non-Motorola-made MA1 dongle on the Motorola website to ensure your place at the front of the line. Naturally, it’s unclear how many units that little-known SGW company will manage to manufacture and deliver to early adopters around the world, and you might not want to miss your chance here.
As for exactly what Google is preparing to deliver on the auto front this year, we should probably kick off our little roundup today with Android Auto’s upcoming Lyft and Kakao Mobility driver apps aiming to make life easier for, well, everybody who uses the two services.
Then you have a bunch of extremely cool stuff coming (relatively) soon to vehicles with built-in Google technology, starting with “select” Volvo cars. Among other things, those bad boys will allow you to download a multitude of popular apps ranging from Sygic and Flitsmeister to ChargePoint, PlugShare, SpotHero, and ParkWhiz from a special version of the Play Store baked into the infotainment systems of said cars right from the factory.
Even more… unusually, the same vehicles will be capable of playing YouTube content without you having to lift a finger while also letting you adjust and activate various settings and features like lane keeping assist sans pressing any buttons or doing anything that doesn’t involve your voice.
Speaking of voice assistance, Google is also partnering with Volvo to make it easy to remotely control your car directly from your smart home. While you obviously won’t be able to drive your vehicle from a distance, your voice will be enough to lock, unlock, warm up, and cool down your car without getting anywhere close to it.
Pretty much like everything else, these game-changing remote actions are set for a limited launch in the foreseeable future and an expansion to more cars and car brands at some point down the line.
BMW AG is claiming that it outperformed Mercedes-Benz in terms of sales in 2021. The carmaker has beaten its German counterpart for the first time in the last six years as Mercedes-Benz had been the highest-selling luxury carmaker since 2015. Pieter Nota, Head Of Sales – BMW Group took to LinkedIn saying, “Proudly claiming number one position in the global premium automotive segment for the BMW brand in 2021,” Nota has credited the sales growth to the carmaker’s product range and operational performance.
That said, BMW is yet to disclose the annual sales numbers of 2021 but has said that deliveries have been tracking ahead of the Daimler AG brand for much of this year. According to reports, the Bavarian carmaker has been comparatively less impacted by the semiconductor shortage crisis. In fact, there is a good chance that Mercedes-Benz’s sales have been impacted mainly due to the semiconductor issue that disrupted production. Mercedes on Monday said scarce supply of components will continue to grip the industry during the first half of the year.
According to news reports, BMW will publish its full-year sales data on January 12 which is when we’ll get an idea of its sales. The carmaker delivered sold 1.7 million units in the first three quarters of 2021 and exceeded Mercedes-Benz’s by over 1.12 lakh units. Even in India, BMW Group recorded the highest ever sales growth in a decade this year at 35 percent selling 8,876 cars (BMW + MINI) and 5,191 motorcycles in 2021.
BMW Group India has recorded the highest ever sales growth in a decade at 35 percent selling 8,876 cars (BMW + MINI) and 5,191 motorcycles in 2021. While the Bavarian carmaker sold 8,236 units of BMW cars, 640 units of MINI cars were sold in India. BMW India saw over 40 percent contribution from locally manufactured SUVs including the BMW X1, the BMW X3, and the BMW X5. The new models such as the BMW M 340i xDrive, BMW X7 and BMW 3 Series Gran Limousine which were quite a in demand were either completely sold out or had a long waiting period of several months.
Vikram Pawah, President, BMW Group India said, “BMW Group India has remained strong and resilient with all its three brands – BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad – posting stellar growth. Greater flexibility and farsighted planning in business processes ensured that we overcame unpredictable market situations and increased our market share. An attractive product portfolio specially designed keeping in mind the requirements of Indian customers and an unwavering emphasis on customer service has significantly propelled brand loyalty and drawn many new customers into our fold.”
Coming to its sedan range, the BMW 3 Series and the BMW 5 Series continued to be strong performers for the brand. Even the MINI range saw a growth of 25 per cent compared to 2020 sales where the MINI Countryman remained the bestselling MINI contributing over 50 percent to overall sales. The MINI Hatch and the popular MINI Convertible contributed 18 percent each.
Japanese automaker Toyota Motor is planning to launch its own operating system, which would be capable of handling advanced operations such as autonomous driving, for its vehicles by 2025, Nikkei reported on Monday. Software is playing an increasing role in vehicles, from managing electric motors and batteries to supporting functions such as autonomous driving, entertainment, and navigation.
Toyota’s automotive software platform Arene will compete with German rivals, Volkswagen AG and Daimler AG, with Volkswagen working on its ‘VW.OS’ software and Daimler planning to roll out its own ‘Mercedes-Benz Operating System’ in its cars by 2024.
Toyota is considering a licensing model to make Arene available to other car manufacturers and companies working on electric or self-driving cars
The Japanese carmaker aims to put the operating system in its own vehicles by 2025, with plans to make it available to affiliates such as Subaru in the future, Nikkei said.
Toyota is considering a licensing model to make Arene available to other car manufacturers and companies working on electric or self driving cars, the report added.
Toyota did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Sports cars have always been and still are the object of lust of a true car enthusiast, regardless of his nationality, age, and financial situation. Beautiful, powerful, and high-speed cars look extremely spectacular on the screens and on the glossy pages. But how practical are they in real life?
Is it worth buying such a masterpiece of design, if you have the necessary sum in your pocket, or is it better to spend them on more practical SUVs?
It is known that a sports car can provide fast driving, and it is worth noting that the concept “sports car” covers quite a large set of the most effective qualities of cars in general. But there are fundamental differences between sports cars and “ordinary mortal” passenger cars. Here are these differences:
An extremely powerful engine, giving you the ability to develop high speed immediately after starting;
a typical sports car has just two doors;
low landing; a light body, the weight of which is much less than in conventional cars.
It must be said, however, that today’s market has advanced so much that these attributes are not always respected today. Some famous companies already make sports cars with four doors.
Manufacturers producing sports cars can be divided into three categories:
The first category includes those concerns that produce sports cars in the most sought-after price range. These firms produce sports cars in limited numbers: Bugatti, Pagani, AC Cobra, MG.
The second category includes manufacturers who are exclusively engaged in the production of sports cars and racing cars: Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Porsche, Jaguar, Martin, McLaren, Maserati.
And the third category is those manufacturers who produce both sports and simple cars. These are world-famous Mazda, Nissan, BMW, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and others.
If you decide to buy a sports car, you should, first of all, get rid of a very common false public opinion: sports cars and sports racing cars are not the same.
Sports cars are mass-produced for sale to the public, so they require state registration. And, like any other car, it is possible to carry passengers in the sports car. Although there is a popular opinion, that the car is not a luxury, a means of transport, this truth almost does not apply to the sports car. The matter is that the automobile is really luxurious because it indicates refined taste, a certain style of life, and the high financial position of its owner.
A sports car is a rather expensive purchase, and in order not to make up your mind, you should thoroughly analyze to what extent you need exactly such a car, and what you would like to expect from it. These are quite serious issues that need to be addressed. In this respect, your expectations may not be met because real sports cars have much less comfort compared to conventional cars. So the main advice in our article will be to get used to the character of sports cars. To rent a car sports will be a great solution to this issue.
At the end of the article, I would like to add that everything depends only on your preferences. The final decision in the choice of a sports car, in any case, remains for you. And in this case, we would like to hope that our small review will be useful to you. We wish you a successful choice and a safe road!
Tesla Inc is recalling over 475,000 Model 3 and Model S electric cars, the U.S. safety regulator said.
For Model 3 sedans, rearview cameras mounted on these units might malfunction, increasing the risk of a crash, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.
Ferrari has signed a multi-year accord with Swiss technology firm Velas Network to create digital content for its fans, the luxury sports car maker said on Monday.
From next season, Velas, a provider of digital products and services, will become a partner of Ferrari’s Formula 1 racing team.
“In addition, Velas will be Title Sponsor of the Ferrari Esports Series, the online mono-brand series of the Prancing Horse, and of the Esports team that will compete in the F1 Esports Series, the official digital championship competed in by all teams participating in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship,” Ferrari said in a statement.
Velas is a leading provider of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptographic assets stored on a blockchain that have an identification code that makes them unique and has gained popularity as a way to sell digital art.
Google Maps is the most popular mapping and navigation app in the U.S. Google also owns Waze which it purchased for a price believed to be in the $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion range. Like Maps, Waze is an app that delivers turn-by-turn directions to help users safely and quickly get from point “A” to point “B.” However, Waze uses information that is crowdsourced to help enhance the data that users receive.
The information crowdsourced includes police presence, accidents, traffic jams, and more. While Google has taken some features from Waze and added them to Google Maps (such as showing the speed limit on the screen, and the ability to report accidents, and police presence), there are still some major differences between the two apps. Waze’s navigation is mostly suited for cars while Google Maps provides directions for those walking, driving, biking, or taking public transportation.
In addition, the Waze UI is less detailed than Google Maps as it focuses on the driver experience instead of listing places to go, things to do, and hotels to stay at every destination (which you’ll find on Google Maps). Waze also requires an internet connection while Google Maps will work even if you’re offline. If you drive along rural roads in the U.S. and use Waze, you might want to have Google Maps installed just in case you find yourself in an area without an internet connection.
Waze users have recently been experiencing inconsistency, especially when dealing with police reports and speed traps. These users say that they are no longer receiving a speed trap alert when they drive toward a location where one was previously reported. While the speed trap does appear on the display as you move closer to it, there is no alert which means that in order to know that a police trap is ahead, the driver has to take his eyes off of the road and put them on the display.The Waze help page includes a question from a Waze user which asks, “I have alerts and notifications selected but I no longer get notified (about police and speed traps) and .. wondering if Waze is no longer allowed to do this? Or is anyone else experiencing this?” A Googler responded that “People should still be receiving these alerts, we’re not aware of any bugs surrounding this at the moment.”
He goes on to say, “Do keep in mind that there is a bit of a delay (some minutes) for these to appear. Also, if several people downvote the report when they get it, it becomes more likely that the report will disappear quite quickly. There is also a system that determines how trustworthy reports are from each user. While not too likely, it could always be that someone’s reports don’t actually get shown to other users based on their history.”
Another thing to consider is that these alerts are directional. A notification alert about a temporary speed trap that you report will most likely not result in a notification for Waze drivers motoring in the opposite direction from you, even though it will be viewable on the app.
The big issue here is the inconsistency of the feature. One Waze user pointed out that she is hearing the app alert her by saying “police ahead, but only “50% of the time.” Hearing that the odds of receiving an alert about a speed trap before driving into that trap is the same as picking heads or tails is not going to placate Waze users who depend on the app for that early warning so that they can slow down in time and avoid receiving a ticket from their friendly neighborhood police officer.
For instance, automakers shrink to become more profitable and efficient, historic names like Mercury, Oldsmobile, and Pontiac are fading from history. Names like Chrysler, Jaguar, and Volvo are looking for new parent companies outside their home countries. And new companies have sprung up, like Rivian and Tesla.
Everywhere you look, a seemingly independent company is owned by someone else. Many liked car companies are owned by someone else.
List of some car brands and their proprietors:
BMW
Volkswagen Group
Daimler AG
General Motors Company
Hyundai Motor Company
Honda Motor Company
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)
While many companies control other vehicle brands in the automotive sector, some prefer to remain independent and isolated. Among those vehicles are:
It becomes simpler for potential car buyers to see which brands and companies they can trust by knowing the car brands and their parent companies based on their previous knowledge of their vehicles.
Luxury sports car maker Ferrari announced plans on Monday to shake up its leadership structure, in one of new boss Benedetto Vigna’s first major moves, and said three top managers will leave the company. Those who have decided to leave include Chief Technology Officer Michael Leiters, the carmaker said. The planned reorganization, to be unveiled in detail on Jan. 10, was consistent with Ferrari’s “strategic goals of exclusivity, excellence and sustainability”, it said.
Vigna, an industry veteran, took the CEO role at the beginning of September with a task to drive Ferrari into the new era of electrification.
The new management structure will “further foster innovation, optimize processes and increase collaboration both internally and with partners”, the carmaker said.
Leiters, a German national who joined Ferrari in 2014, has helped develop Ferrari’s recent most successful models, including the 2019’s SF90 Stradale and this year’s 296 GTB, the house’s first two hybrid electric cars.
Other top managers leaving the company are Chief Manufacturing Officer Vincenzo Regazzoni and Chief Brand Diversification Officer Nicola Boari, who oversaw Ferrari’s push into luxury, with the unveiling in June of its first in-house fashion collection.
Key figures in the new organizational framework have been already identified through internal promotions and new hires, and will join the company starting from next month, Ferrari said.
The Delhi government has announced that it will deregister all diesel vehicles that will complete 10 years on January 1, 2022. Owners of said vehicles will be given a No Objection Certificate (NOC) which will allow them to re-register the vehicle in other places. The Delhi government has taken this decision in compliance with the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) directions relating to restrictions on registration and plying of 10-year-old diesel and 15-year-old petrol vehicles in the city. While owners of petrol cars that have completed 15 years will get the NOC from the transport department, the same will not be issued for diesel vehicles that have completed 15 years or more on the date of applying for it.
An order issued by the transport department said, “the department will deregister all such diesel vehicles in Delhi on January 1, 2022, which have completed or would be completing 10 years on that date”. The department has been deregistering vehicles that have completed their lifespan. Owners of diesel vehicles, which are 10 years old, and petrol vehicles, which are 15 years old, can get the NOC for any place in the country. However, it is subject to the condition that NOC will not be issued for the places which are identified by states as restricted areas for re-registration. To facilitate this, the NGT had directed states to identify areas where the dispersion of air is higher and vehicular density is less.
Interestingly, the transport department has said that owners will also have the option to convert their 10-year-old diesel or 15-year-old petrol vehicles to electric vehicles in case they want to continue using them in Delhi. Of course, this means the vehicles will need to be retrofitted with impaneled electric kits via agencies approved by the department. The empanelment process for electric kits is under process.
For vehicle owners with diesel vehicles that are older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years, scrapping is the only option. Transport department and traffic police teams are impounding such vehicles and sending them for scrapping by authorized vendors.
Volvo Cars and Northvolt will open a joint research and development (R&D) center in Gothenburg as part of a SEK 30 billion investment in battery development and manufacturing. The R&D center, which will become operational in 2022, will create a few hundred jobs in Gothenburg. Following the partnership announced by both companies earlier this year, Volvo Cars and Northvolt have now signed a binding agreement this week to create a joint venture for the development and sustainable production of batteries for the next generation of pure electric Volvo cars.
The establishment of the new R&D center in Gothenburg will be followed by the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Europe. It will produce next-generation state-of-the-art battery cells, specifically developed for use in next-generation pure electric Volvo and Polestar cars. The exact location of the plant is expected to be confirmed in early 2022.
The R&D center will be in close proximity to Volvo Cars’ own R&D operations and to Northvolt’s existing innovation campus, Northvolt Labs, in Sweden, ensuring synergies and efficiencies as it develops battery technologies.
The partnership will focus on developing tailor-made batteries that give Volvo drivers what they want, such as range and quick charging times. Volvo Cars is working with Northvolt to create a true end-to-end system for batteries, whereby it develops and builds the batteries itself.
As for their joint battery plant, Volvo Cars and Northvolt are in the final phase of a selection process to find a suitable location in Europe. The plant will have a potential annual capacity of up to 50-gigawatt hours (GWh), which would supply batteries for approximately half a million cars per year. It will start construction in 2023, with large-scale production in 2026, and is expected to employ up to 3,000 people.
Alongside battery supply agreements, the partnership with Northvolt secures the European battery cell needs that are part of Volvo Cars’ ambitious electrification plans. It aims to sell 50 per cent pure electric cars by the middle of this decade, and by 2030 it aims to sell only fully electric cars.
The partnership with Northvolt is key to Volvo Cars’ ambition to become a leader in the premium electric car segment and sell only pure electric vehicles by 2030. It also represents an important step in strengthening Volvo Cars’ own development capabilities.
November saw the highest monthly auto sales this year of 38,656 units as a discount in registration fees sent buyers scrambling to dealers’.
The figure represented a 30 percent rise from October and a 6 percent increase year-on-year, according to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association.
The government cut registration fees for locally produced cars by 50 percent for six months starting December 1.
November was the third month in a row in which auto sales rose after five months of declines between April and August as the fourth wave of Covid-19 hit sales.
In the first 11 months of this year, 257,390 units were sold, a 3 percent rise.
Thaco, an assembler of Mazda and Peugeot led with 88,967 units, up 5 percent, followed by Toyota with 55,109 units, down 7 percent, and Mitsubishi, Ford, and Honda made up the top five.
Last year sales fell by 8 percent to 296,634 units as the Covid-19 pandemic hit the economy, people’s incomes, and discretionary spending.
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Thursday it is discussing with Tesla its decision to replace cameras in some U.S. vehicles. CNBC reported on Monday Tesla was replacing front fender cameras in several hundred Model S, X, and 3 vehicles due to faulty circuit boards inside but had not issued a recall. NHTSA said it is “monitoring all data sources” including consumer complaints, and also urged “the public to let NHTSA know if they think their vehicle may have a safety defect that isn’t part of a current recall.”
U.S. law “prohibits manufacturers from selling vehicles with design defects posing unreasonable risks to safety,” the agency said, adding it has “robust enforcement tools to protect the public, to investigate potential safety issues, and act when we find evidence of non-compliance or an unreasonable risk to safety.”
Consumer groups said the regulator needs to look into whether Tesla should have recalled the defective parts.
A malfunction of front fender cameras would likely create a safety risk, says David Friedman, a former acting administration at NHTSA and now Vice President at Consumer Reports.
“Reports of a service campaign repair to malfunctioning front-end cameras that are critical to Tesla’s driver assistance suite is important enough to the safety of the vehicle to merit exploration by NHTSA,” said Jason K. Levine, executive director at Center for Auto Safety.
“The reality is that the auto industry has a long history of choosing to conduct service campaigns instead of recalls, but it is too early to say whether that’s the case here.”
A malfunction of front fender cameras, safety systems used for blind-spot monitoring, would likely create a safety risk, said David Friedman, a former acting administration at NHTSA and now Vice President at Consumer Reports.
“If people are losing reliable access to blind spot images, or the effectiveness of autopilot or automatic emergency braking is being hampered, the malfunction would seem to pose an unreasonable risk,” he said.
Tesla was not immediately available for comment.
