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Tag: car

  • Auto sales surge 40 pct

    Auto sales surge 40 pct

    Auto sales in the first six months rose 40 percent year-on-year to 150,481 units, according to Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA).

    Passenger vehicles saw sales rise 37 percent in the period, while commercial vehicles grew 48 percent and special-purpose vehicles, 68 percent.

    Local brand Truong Hai Auto Corporation retained the top spot with 51,685 units, up 51 percent.

    Toyota saw sales growing 16 percent to 29,239 units, while the figures for Mitsubishi were 45 percent and 14,915 units.

    Honda and Ford made up the rest of the top five.

    The best-selling car model in the first six months was the hatchback VinFast Fadil, followed by two sedans, Hyundai Accent and Toyota Vios.

    Last year sales had fallen by 8 percent to 296,634 units as the Covid-19 pandemic badly affected the economy, hitting people’s incomes and discretionary spending.

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  • Apple reportedly insists on having car batteries made in the US for the Apple Car

    Apple reportedly insists on having car batteries made in the US for the Apple Car

    There have been some rumors and talks about the Apple Car, from its price to Tim Cook hinting at it. Now, a report from DigiTimes industry insiders states that Apple may be producing batteries for the Apple Car in the US instead of using China-based manufacturers.The report states that Apple wants the batteries for the autonomous car to be manufactured in the States, and partnerships with China’s two largest battery suppliers, CATL and BYD, seem unlikely.

    Instead, Apple may work with Taiwan-based Foxconn or Advanced Lithium Electrochemistry, both companies planning to set up factories in the US, claim DigiTimes sources. Many of you may know that the majority of Apple’s products are assembled in China. Many components for Apple products are sourced from suppliers all around the world.

    Earlier, Tim Cook stated that many things can be done with autonomous vehicles, and he slightly hinted Apple may, indeed, be working on one – “we’ll see what Apple does”. However, Apple is experimenting in a lot of different product areas, and some of these projects never see the light of production, so keep that in mind.

    Nevertheless, the Apple Car is likely years away from being announced or introduced to the public.

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  • Tesla Sold 33,155 China-Made Vehicles In June

    Tesla Sold 33,155 China-Made Vehicles In June

    U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc sold 33,155 China-made vehicles, including those for export, in June, China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) said on Thursday.

    Tesla, which is making Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai, sold 28,138 China-made cars in China and exported 5,017 cars in June.

    In May, Tesla sold 33,463 China-made cars.

    On Thursday, Tesla launched Model Y cars with a standard driving range in China, lowering the starting price for the vehicle to 276,000 yuan ($42,588) in the world’s biggest auto market.

    BYD sold 40,532 so-called new energy vehicles, which include battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, last month in China. General Motors Co’s venture with SAIC Motor sold 30,479 such cars.

    CPCA also said China sold 1.6 million passenger cars in June, down 5.3% from a year earlier.

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  • Bentley To Launch Electric Car By 2025

    Bentley To Launch Electric Car By 2025

    It was in 2020 that Bentley’s ‘Beyond100’ strategy was announced. It was a roadmap the company’s transformation into the world’s leading sustainable luxury mobility brand and of course, its commitment to an electric future. As a first step towards that, all three Bentley models will be available as luxury hybrid cars by 2023. Two of them – the Flying Spur and Bentayga – already are available in the hybrid avatar.

    However, when it comes to an all-electric model, Bentley will launch one only in 2025. The company also promises that it will also be the first luxury car in the world to be carbon neutral over its entire life. By 2026, the company’s entire range will be made up of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

    As a result of these commitments, the company will evolve from the world’s largest producer of 12-cylinder internal combustion engines, into a purely electric vehicle manufacturer – and all in just ten years. With the goal of a fully electric Bentley line-up by 2030, there remains some way to go, but we can’t wait to see the cars pouring out.

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  • New Electric Hypercar Powerhouse: Rimac Takes Reins At Bugatti

    New Electric Hypercar Powerhouse: Rimac Takes Reins At Bugatti

    112-year-old Bugatti makes some of the most exclusive cars in the world. Its combination of ultra-luxury and mind-boggling speed has defined the hypercar genre for decades, especially under the stewardship of the Volkswagen group, it has thrived since 1998. In the age of electric cars, however, its dependence on the internal combustion engine would’ve antiquated the brand soon. In a masterful move, Volkswagen Group has handed over all its shares of Bugatti to its subsidiary Porsche which is another iconic sports car brand. Porsche, like most brands in the Volkswagen group, has been on its journey of electrifying its portfolio. Its investment in electric hypercar startup Rimac gave it a 24 percent stake in 2018 and a technology flow-over. But now the relationship is even closer, as Porsche has handed its control of Bugatti to Rimac and formed a joint venture called Bugatti Rimac in which it is a 45 percent stakeholder.

    Rimac is restructuring its corporate structure fully – creating a holding company called the Rimac Group which has a controlling 55 percent stake in the newly formed Bugatti Rimac. It cites Rimac Technologies as its other business and the entity cites Porsche, Hyundai as stakeholders amongst other investors. Mate Rimac, the founder and CEO of RimacAutomobilii will continue to be the CEO of the new Rimac Group with him being the leader of both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technologies. He also retains 37 percent of his stake in the Rimac Group. Porsche has a 24 percent stake in the Rimac Group, while Hyundai owns 12 percent in the new entity.

    Under the new structure, Porsche gets 45 percent stake in the JV and retains its 24 percent stake in the Rimac Group.

    “Bugatti and Rimac will both continue as separate respective brands, retaining existing production facilities and distribution channels,” Mate Rimac says. “Bugatti Rimac represents the company that will develop the future of both Bugatti and Rimac vehicles, by joining resources and expertise in research and development, production, and other areas,” he adds.

    Rimac and Bugatti as brands will remain separate — while Bugattis will be built to their exacting standards from their home in France while Rimac’s will be continued to made in Croatia. As of now, Rimac’s new electric hypercar, the Nevera will be sold separately from the Bugatti Chiron – but together, the JV is now home to two of the most powerful hypercars – one being based on hybrid technology with an internal combustion engine at its heart and the other one fully being propelled by batteries and electric motors.

    Rimac’s technology has attracted it to many automakers like Porsche and Hyundai which previously invested in it. Its technologies unit supplied parts and technology to some of the world’s biggest OEMs like Porsche, Aston Martin, Pininfarina, and of course Bugatti. In fact, the Rimac Nevera takes over the mantel of the world’s fastest hypercar from the Bugatti Chiron with its 1,888 bhp Nevera having the ability to achieve 0-100 km/h in less than 2 seconds.

    Rimac is also building a new headquarters in Croatia which will open in 2023 replete with its now test track and uniquely will be a fully open campus. Bugatti will most likely utilise Rimac’s technology to make a fully electric hypercar something which Mate Rimac hinted at. This will take time, though, with the new vehicle coming only by the end of the decade, so in the meanwhile, it will continue to sell its hybrid cars alongside fully electric Rimac branded vehicles.

    “This is a truly exciting moment in the short, yet rapidly expanding history of Rimac Automobili. We have gone through so much in such a short space of time, but this new venture takes things to a completely new level. Rimac and Bugatti are a perfect match in terms of what we each bring to the table. As a young, agile and fast-paced automotive and technology company, we have established ourselves as an industry pioneer in electric technologies,” Mate Rimac added.

    “We are combining Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac’s tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electromobility. Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base, and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organizational approaches,” said Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche AG.

  • Tata Motors To Increase Prices Across Its Passenger Vehicle Line Soon

    Tata Motors To Increase Prices Across Its Passenger Vehicle Line Soon

    Tata Motors, the home-grown automaker, today announced its plan to increase prices across its passenger vehicle line-up. As of now, the company has not revealed the timeline or the quantum of the price hike on cars, however, Tata did mention that the increase in prices is due to the steep climb in overall input costs. Tata has said that the formal announcement about the quantum of price increase is likely to be made within the forthcoming days or weeks. We expect the new prices to come into effect from August 1, 2021.

    In its official communication, Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors, India’s leading vehicle manufacturer intends to shortly mark an appropriate increase in prices of its ‘New Forever’ range of Cars and SUVs. The steep climb in overall input costs, especially due to continuing rise in costs of essential raw material including steel and precious metals, necessitates a transfer of at least some part of this increase to end customers.”

    Interestingly enough, it was just in May 2021 that the company increased car prices in India by up to 1.8 percent. And now the carmaker has made a price hike announcement in less than 2 months. Back then Tata Motors had said that the price hike was part of Tata’s ‘Business Agility Plan’ to protect and serve the interests of its customers, dealers and suppliers. The rise in the cost of raw materials was also a contributor to the hike. This will be the brand’s third price increase this year. Before May 2021, Tata had previously increased prices in January by up to ₹ 26,000.

    Right now, Tata Motors is gearing up to launch its 2021 Dark Edition range in India, which, in addition to the Harrier, will also include the Altroz, Nexon and Nexon EV. The new Dark Edition models are expected to be launched in India as early as later this week.

  • Lamborghini’s Latest Teaser Reveals A Likely Final Version Of The Aventador

    Lamborghini’s Latest Teaser Reveals A Likely Final Version Of The Aventador

    Earlier this year, Lamborghini had confirmed revealing two new V12 models in 2021 and one of them could be the final version of the Avantador series, while the second one could be the hybrid that will be the successor to the Aventador. Well! The supercar maker has now released a new teaser on social media platforms, that shows two new Lamborghinis, and the headlight cluster easily gives away the Aventador leading in the image. It shows a shadowed pair of cars cruising along a twisty road and headlights beaming through the darkness.

    Now a spy video that surfaced online in May showed a partially camouflaged Aventador undergoing testing. The entire front end was under wraps along with the side sills, rear fenders, and upper rear intakes. At the rear, the car sported the SVJ’s exhaust and diffuser while the rest of the car looked like an Aventador S. The wraps did a good job in hiding the design changes and they remained hidden in the new teaser image as well. That said, we are just speculating both to be the same models. According to rumours, this is the Lamborghini Aventador S Jota which is destined to become the most powerful Aventador ever.

    The 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 is likely to churn out close to 760 bhp which is humongous but the Sian puts out 807 through its hybrid powertrain. Lamborghini is likely to make other changes to the powertrain and chassis in a bid to improve the model’s performance capabilities further. More details on that are likely to follow soon on July 7, when Lamborghini will reveal the new model.

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  • Volvo Cars To Harness Real-Time Data From Customer Cars To Set New Safety Standards

    Volvo Cars To Harness Real-Time Data From Customer Cars To Set New Safety Standards

    The next generation of Volvo cars are set to be the company’s safest ever, thanks to cutting-edge software and hardware levels, coupled with continuous and more rapid improvements to safety features with the help of real-time data. Volvo Cars has always taken a data-driven approach to safety, using traffic data from real-life situations to develop new safety technologies and make its cars even safer. For its next generation of cars, Volvo Cars is now looking towards processing data from customer cars in real-time, if customers choose to share data and help Volvo Cars make its cars safer.

    Volvo Cars and Zenseact are investing in a data factory that will contain over 200 PebiBytes (225 million gigabytes) of data within the next few years.

    By allowing customers to choose and be a part of improving safety levels and traffic safety in this way, Volvo Cars can make continuous and much faster improvements to its cars, constantly improving safety levels. This data would include continuous inputs on the car’s environment from sensors like the high-resolution LiDAR delivered by technology company Luminar.

    Volvo Cars engineers would be able to validate and verify autonomous drive (AD) features quicker, to promote a safe roll-out of AD technology. Thanks to the data generated from millions of kilometers driven by tens of thousands of Volvo drivers around the globe, engineers would be able to validate AD features for specific geographic locations much quicker than with a limited number of cars on a test track.

    Verified updates to existing systems and new features can be rolled out rapidly through over-the-air updates, increasing the safety of Volvo cars step by step. The first car to benefit from this new approach to safety development is the company’s first SUV on a completely new electric-only technology base.

    To process the real-time traffic data they will collect, Volvo Cars and Zenseact are investing in a data factory that will contain over 200 PebiBytes (225 million gigabytes) of data within the next few years. By using artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, data can be crunched at record times. Customers will be able to choose whether this data is collected about them, and all collected data will be aggregated with adequate safeguards for customer privacy.

    Volvo Cars engineers would be able to validate and verify autonomous drive (AD) features quicker, to promote a safe roll-out of AD technology.

    The use of real-time data is part of Volvo Cars’ longer-term vision for a future where collisions simply no longer happen, by equipping its cars with some of the best sensors available and advanced, continuously improving safety and autonomous drive systems.

    Volvo Cars’ forthcoming fully electric flagship SUV will have industry-leading safety technology as standard, helping the company to save even more lives as it sets a new standard for automotive safety. It will come with state-of-the-art sensors, including a LiDAR developed by Luminar and an autonomous driving computer powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip, as standard.

    By combining this state-of-the-art hardware with software by Volvo Cars, Zenseact and Luminar for the next generation of its well-established collision avoidance technology, Volvo Cars expect its new safety package to reduce fatalities and accidents as a whole.

    Over time the car will improve and have the hardware and software capabilities to allow the car to take over on its own, in case the driver does not respond in life-threatening situations after repeated warnings. So while the driver always remains in ultimate control, the car and its safety technology can both support and watch over the driver like an extra pair of eyes and brains.

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  • Honda Cars India To Hike Prices Across Range From August 2021

    Honda Cars India To Hike Prices Across Range From August 2021

    Honda Cars India plans to increase the prices of its entire model range effective from August 2021. As reported by PTI, the Japanese automaker has cited an increase in input cost as the primary reason for the price hike. The carmaker looks to offset the impact of a sharp increase in the procurement cost of various essential commodities like steel and precious metals. However, the company hasn’t revealed the quantum of the hike, which is expected to vary from model to model.

    This will be the third price hike this year as the company had earlier increased prices in April because of rising input costs. In January 2021, prices of Honda cars were hiked as the company cited a rise in input costs to hike prices. The carmaker has four models in its product line-up for the Indian market, including the City and the Amaze sedan.

    Rajesh Goel, Senior VP and Director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India today PTI, “The prices for raw materials like steel, aluminium and precious metals have increased sharply and many of them are at an all-time high, impacting our input costs significantly.”

    He further added that the carmaker is presently working out the details of the price hike which could be implemented from next month.

    “Our endeavour is to keep the cost of acquisition lower, so we are currently deliberating on how much of the additional cost we can absorb and how much will be inevitable to be passed on to our customers. The revised prices will be implemented from next month,” Goel noted.

    With input costs going up, Maruti Suzuki India last month announced that it would increase prices of its entire product portfolio in the second quarter of the financial year 2022. The Indo-Japanese auto major has already effected a price increase in April 2021.

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  • Volkswagen Polo GTI Facelift Unveiled

    Volkswagen Polo GTI Facelift Unveiled

    Now before getting into the details of the new Volkswagen GTI facelift, let us tell you how these official pictures of the 2021 model year surfaced online. So we actually don’t know whether it is one of Volkswagen’s marketing strategies, or Ralf Brandstatter – CEO, Volkswagen Passenger Cars got so excited by looking at these official pictures of this new hot hatch, that he couldn’t help sharing them on his linked in profile. Yes! This is how the range-topping 2021 Volkswagen Polo GTI was unveiled, almost two years after the global debut of the line-up.

    In terms of design, the new GTI gives you exactly what you expect of a facelift as the changes remain subtle and it’s a predictable evolution if you will. It gets fully redesigned headlights along with the slim DRLs extending to the new grille, just like the Golf GTI. Then, there are wider taillights and the overall design has been spruced up with the usual red accents, dual exhaust tips, and a honeycomb grille. It also sports chunkier two-tone alloy wheels with upgraded brakes featuring red calipers and other sporty elements include contrasting black mirrors and roof.

    On the inside, it gets VW’s Discover Pro and Discover Media systems as optional, and the car also receives Volkswagen’s new ‘digital cockpit’ dashboard setup, as used by the Golf and ID 3. Other elements include a 9.0-inch touchscreen unit, panoramic sunroof, voice control, wireless charging, Beats sound system, and 18-inch alloy wheels. In the safety department, the new Polo gets Volkswagen’s Travel Assist system for the first time, which includes adaptive cruise control, lane assist, side assist and rear traffic alert. Autonomous emergency braking is also standard, as is a driver alert system and automatic post-collision braking.

    The new Polo GTI also comes with three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport with the last one tuned for enhanced exhaust note. The Polo GTI also gets a bespoke, performance-oriented chassis tune, lowering the body by 15 mm compared with the standard Polo and adding a large stabilizer on the car’s front axle, rigid coupling rods at the front and stiffer axle-locating mounts at the rear. Now Brandstatter is promising a powerful TSI engine under its hood, but mechanical details are not confirmed yet. We expect it to feature the same 2.0-litre, four-cylinder Turbo TSI motor tuned for optimum performance and it should come with the options of both six-speed manual and DSG transmission. Talking about the India context, the new Volkswagen Polo GTI is based on the sixth-generation Polo and both models are not likely to join VW India’s line-up anytime soon.

  • Canoo Reveals Renders Of Manufacturing Campus In Oklahoma, USA

    Canoo Reveals Renders Of Manufacturing Campus In Oklahoma, USA

    Canoo, the electric car startup which went public recently via a SPAC merger has shared renders of its manufacturing campus that will be built in Oklahoma. Canoo calls it the mega micro-factory and it is scheduled to be opened up in 2023. In the Tulsa region, it is expected to create more than 2000 jobs. Canoo recently lost both its co-founders, with one, Ulrich Kranz, who led the development of BMW’s i3 and i8 electric cars and then moved to Faraday Future has joined Apple. In fact, Canoo was of great interest to Apple with the company interested in its skateboard. But Apple being Apple wanted to acquire Canoo while the team at Canoo wanted to retain its independence.

    “Oklahoma has always been a pioneer in the energy industry, and this partnership with Canoo shows that our state is an innovation leader in electric vehicle technology,” said Governor Stitt.

    “We are thrilled to partner with Canoo and Chairman & CEO Tony Aquila to provide high-paying jobs for Oklahomans and position America as the global leader for vehicle manufacturing for decades to come,” he added.

    It is developing an all-purpose delivery van and a modular pickup truck. It has a 400-acre campus which will be Tulsa. In a tweet, Canoo shared a 55-second video showcasing the concept design of the campus that it will start building soon.

    As per the tweet, it is right now in a design phase and remains on track to be up by 2023. It expects the facility to be over 1 million square feet. It plans on beginning production and delivery of its first vehicles by Q4 2022 with the help of a third-party manufacturer.

    “We invested millions of dollars to find the right location for our manufacturing facility. We’re proud to be American-made and to bring more than 2,000 jobs to Oklahoma,” said Tony Aquila, Investor, Chairman & CEO, Canoo, Inc.

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  • Nissan Will Build The First EV Factory In UK

    Nissan Will Build The First EV Factory In UK

    Japanese automotive giant Nissan will be making the first battery facility in the UK as per Sky News. The factory is slated to open in Sunderland in 2024 and is expected to produce batteries in 200,000 electric cars every year. Nissan will be partnering with Chinese specialist Envision AESC to build the batteries. It will produce 6 gigawatts of battery capacity per year which is far more than 1.9-gigawatt-hours of capacity that an existing Envision AESC Sunderland plan has. Of course, all of this is made to look tiny compared to what Tesla has in the US with the 35-gigawatt hour Gigafactory in Nevada.

    Of course, the cost is in the hundreds of millions and the British government will be contributing to the cost. The cost, however, is not known.

    “It is hoped the new plant will be producing batteries in time for 2024 when the level of UK-made components in UK-made cars is required to start increasing in line with the terms of the UK’s trade deal with the European Union – where most of Nissan’s Sunderland-assembled cars are sold,” reported the BBC.

    “Industry sources expect the scale and size of the new facility may closely match that of a new facility in Douai, France, recently announce by Renault – which is a major shareholder in Nissan and a partner in a global manufacturing alliance,” the report added.

    Nissan of course is known for the Leap EV which is also made in Sunderland. It could be there is a new electric car launch on the cards.

  • Apple Car Team Rejigged Again

    Apple Car Team Rejigged Again

    The one thing that the Apple Car project at the legendary company has lacked is consistent management. After more changes late last year, a slew of executives left the Cupertino-based giant earlier this year revealed a report by Bloomberg. Three top members of the tear Benjamin Lyon, Jaime Way, and Dave Scott left, but Apple has made amends by hiring some more people like Ulrich Kranz who helped BMW make the i3 and i8 and was more recently the co-founder of Canoo.

    Apple has promoted Hanns Teppeiner, who was the co-founder and former president of robotic toy car startup Anki that was even featured by Apple at WWDC 2013. Similarly, Tim Cheng, formerly of Drive.Ai, a self-driving company Apple acquired two years ago has also been promoted.

    Apple also recently hired Hans Lee, the co-founder of Freedom Robotics which creates software to control fleets of robots. Martin Levihn, who now leads AI-based decision-making for self-driving cars has also been promoted. Apple also promoted Paul Costa who has been a longtime Apple hardware engineer.

    Day-to-day operations of the Apple Car project is run by Doug Fields who was a VP at Tesla for the Model 3’s development.  He spent five years at Telsa before returning to Apple where he used to be the VP for Mac hardware engineering. Before Apple, he used to be the CTO at Segway. He reports to Apple’s AI boss John Giannandrea who joined Apple previously in 2018 from Google. Giannandrea was handed reigns of the project from Bob Mansfield, an Apple veteran and a trusted confidant of Steve Jobs who used to run hardware engineering, before Dan Riccio.

    Bob Mansfield had retired but was pulled out of retirement by Tim Cook to run the project, but he has retired again and this time around it seems like it is for good. Recently at a conference, Tim Cook eluded to keep some secrets when asked about the Apple Car. In the past, he has called the self-driving car the mother of all AI projects.

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  • Honda’s First All-Electric SUV To Be Called Prologue

    Honda’s First All-Electric SUV To Be Called Prologue

    Honda today announced that its first new mass-market battery-electric vehicle will be called Prologue, signaling a new electrified era that will lead to the company’s vision for 100% zero-emission vehicle sales in North America by 2040. An all-new SUV coming to market in early 2024, the battery-electric Honda Prologue will be, according to the company ‘highly competitive’ but specific details about the new vehicle will be released over the coming months.

    In addition to the Honda Prologue, the company will introduce an all-electric Acura SUV in the 2024 calendar year. Both will utilize the highly flexible global EV platform powered by Ultium batteries based on the company’s strategic partnership with General Motors. Honda also plans to launch a new series of EV models in the second half of the decade based on a new e:Architecture, with development led by Honda.

    In April 2021, Honda global CEO, Toshihiro Mibe, announced a vision to achieve carbon-neutrality for its products and corporate activities by 2050, including key targets for sales of electrified vehicles. This vision calls for the sales ratio of battery-electric and fuel cell electric vehicles in North America to progress from 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2035 to 100% by 2040.

    Honda has a long history in bringing electrified vehicles to market in the U.S., beginning almost a quarter-century ago with the EV Plus electric vehicle (1997); to America’s first hybrid, the Honda Insight (1999); the Honda FCX (2002), the industry’s first fuel cell vehicle in the hands of individual customers, and the Clarity series (2017). As Honda prepares for the launch of Prologue, the company will introduce hybrid-electric systems to more core models to continue to reduce CO2 emissions and bridge customers to the volume of battery-electric vehicles now in development.

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  • Toyota-Backed Self-Driving Startup Pony.ai Considers Going Public

    Toyota-Backed Self-Driving Startup Pony.ai Considers Going Public

    Self-driving tech company Pony.ai, backed by Toyota Motor, is considering going public in the United States to help fund its goal of commercializing driverless ride-hailing services, its chief executive said. The startup, active in the United States and China, plans to install its technology in hundreds of vehicles next year, rising to tens of thousands in 2024-2025, he said.

    Self-driving startups such as Alphabet Inc’s Waymo and General Motors Co’s Cruise have been racing to raise capital as the industry prepares to scale up operations.

    Still, beyond the time taken to address technological challenges and the massive cost of producing self-driving cars, the industry still has to persuade global regulators as well as the public as to the safety of full automation.

    “For autonomous driving, it’s a big opportunity. But at the same time, it’s a long-term, big opportunity,” CEO James Peng said in an interview with Reuters.

    “So it requires a long lead way for spending. That means all the autonomous driving companies need to raise enough funding to support their operations,” he said.

    The comments come as Pony.ai on Friday said it had tapped Lawrence Steyn, vice chairman of investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co, as chief financial officer to help “accelerate its commercial growth and global deployment”.

    “We’re still debating and considering,” said Peng, when asked about the time frame for a public share sale.

    “It’s just a different way of raising funds.”

    Pony.ai, founded by former Google and Baidu Inc engineers Peng and Lou Tiancheng in 2016, has so far raised more than $1 billion, including $462 million from Toyota, valuing the startup at $5.3 billion as of late last year.

    Earlier this month, it said it had begun driverless testing on public roads in California’s Fremont and Milpitas ahead of the planned launch of a robotaxi service next year. It has also been testing driverless vehicles in Guangzhou, China.

    The firm has operated robotaxi services with safety drivers behind the wheel in some parts of China, as well as in Irvine, California. That has yielded diverse data which it could use to train its driver system and tap a talent pool in both countries, Peng said.

    He said the next big challenge is to reduce manufacturing costs for driverless vehicles while expanding into more cities and regions and ensuring safety in different environments.