2020 Hyundai VenueAndrew McCredie / Driving Hyundai will spend US$1.6 billion to develop autonomous vehicles with Aptiv, marking one of the biggest investments yet by a traditional carmaker into the burgeoning robocar industry.Aptiv will take a 50-per-cent stake in the venture, while Hyundai Motor Co., Hyundai Mobis Co. and Kia Motors Corp. will contribute a combined US$1.6 billion in cash and US$400 million in areas including research and development, valuing Aptiv at $4 billion, the automaker said in a statement Monday.The venture will begin testing fully driverless systems in 2020 and have a production-ready autonomous driving platform available for robotaxi providers, fleet operators and manufacturers in 2022, the statements said.Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia aim to commercialize autonomous vehicles in some cities from 2021 and have a goal of launching fully driverless vehicles by 2030.South Koreas automakers and global rivals are investing heavily to develop new models and technologies for electrified and autonomous vehicles.Under the agreement, Hyundai will contribute engineering services, research and development resources and access to intellectual property, while Aptiv will provide autonomous driving technology and about 700 employees. The companies will appoint an equal number of directors in the venture, which will be based in Boston and led by Karl Iagnemma as
Origin: Hyundai to develop driverless cars with Aptiv in US$1.6-billion deal
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UK to develop ‘world-leading’ safety standard for autonomous cars
The UK Government is developing a new safety standard for self-driving vehicles on British roads, as part of a push to make the country a world leader in autonomous technology. The new regime, called CAV PASS, is being developed by “world-leading” experts in vehicle safety and cyber security from the Government, industry and the academic world. It’s intended to ensure that self-driving vehicles “are safe and secure by design and minimise any defects ahead of their testing, sale and wider deployment on UK roads.” The new standards will build on existing guidelines that were first established by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in 2015. The scheme, which the Government hopes will become the basis for a global standard, was announced by George Freeman, the future of mobility minister, at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle conference. At that event, Freeman also opened the Autonomous Village, a new self-driving test facility at Millbrook Proving Ground that features 43 miles of test track. The facility is the first in a planned network of autonomous vehicle testing facilities that will also allow developers to test software, 5G connectivity and cyber security systems. “Self-driving vehicles can offer significant rewards for the UK’s economy, road safety and accessibility,” said Freeman. “We are determined to lead in the testing and development of safe autonomous transport. “This is new terrain, and with our national expertise, the UK is well placed to blaze the trail globally by developing a global benchmark for assuring the safety and security of this exciting
Origin: UK to develop ‘world-leading’ safety standard for autonomous cars
JLR gets 500m from government to develop electric cars
JLR gets £500m from government to develop electric cars The loan guarnatee will boost EV work carried out by Jaguar Land Rover Jaguar Land Rover has been awarded a £500 million loan guarantee by the UK Government to help develop electric cars. The move was signed off by Theresa May, and she told a meeting of industry leaders on Monday (16th July) that the funding would be made up of £500 million from UK Export Finance – the government-backed credit agency – and a further £125 million from commercial lenders. Reports say that Mrs May met with representatives from companies including Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin, Vauxhall, and Nissan, plus energy firms including the National Grid, BP and Shell. She told those assembled that the government was committed to supporting the car industry in a switch to electric vehicles. Earlier this month JLR announced significant investment in its Castle Bromwich plant as the company plans to build electric cars there, including the next-generation pure-electric Jaguar XJ saloon.
Origin: JLR gets 500m from government to develop electric cars
BMW and JLR partner to develop new EV drive tech
BMW and JLR partner to develop new EV drive tech Electric drive development will be shared by Jaguar Land Rover and BMW Group Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have announced that the two manufacturing groups will work together to develop next-generation electric vehicle technology. The partnership will see BMW and JLR work on new electric drive units, with both firms already well established as electric vehicle manufacturers. BMW’s i3/i3s leads its pure-electric portfolio, with Jaguar represented by its I-Pace. In terms of plug-in hybrids, there are a large number of models built by the two groups, including PHEV versions of BMW’s 3 Series, 5 Series, X5, and i8, while JLR has both the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Both companies have plans for further pure-electric and PHEV models in the near future. The power units will be built in-house by each group, but there will be a joint team based in Munich tasked with developing the next generation systems further, plus each group will benefit from improved efficiencies in terms of shared development, production costs, and economies of scale from joint purchasing. Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover Engineering Director added: “We’ve proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products. “It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies’ requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration.” Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Development, said: “The automotive industry is undergoing a steep transformation. We see collaboration as a key for success, also in the field of electrification. “With Jaguar Land Rover, we found a partner whose requirements for the future generation of electric drive units significantly match ours. Together, we have the opportunity to cater more effectively for customer needs by shortening development time and bringing vehicles and state-of-the-art technologies more rapidly to market.”
Origin: BMW and JLR partner to develop new EV drive tech
Jaguar Land Rover and BMW join forces to develop electrified vehicles
Jaguar Land Rover and BMW have announced they will collaborate on the development of next-generation technology for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. The two firms will jointly develop electric drive systems, otherwise known as EDUs, in a move which Jaguar Land Rover and BMW hope will significantly lower the cost of development in an area of growth that has been incredibly costly to car makers in recent years. This new alliance is one of many currently underway in the industry as manufacturers seek to make electrified vehicles more profitable. Most recently, Ford announced a $500m investment in EV start-up Rivian. No timeframe has been given for when the first fruits of the collaboration will be seen, but it’s likely to be in the next three to four years. Similarly, no volume expectations have been announced but given the need for economies of scale, it is set to be substantial. Both firms are ramping up their electrified line-ups. Jaguar Land Rover will launch a plug-in hybrid Evoque and Discovery Sport in the next 12 months, while BMW will introduce the electric iX3 next year, closely followed by the i4, an electric equivalent to the 3 Series. The announcement comes just weeks after Jaguar Land Rover reported a £3.6billion loss over its financial year amid persistent rumours of a possible takeover by PSA Group, a deal which has yet to be confirmed. The collaboration, which includes joint investment in research and development, engineering and procurement stems from both the success of Jaguar’s electric I-Pace and BMW’s long-established expertise, having built EDUs in-house since it launched the i3 in 2013. Jaguar Land Rover and BMW will work together to develop the EDUs with both developing systems to “deliver the specific characteristics required for their respective range of products,” said the statement. The EDUs will be made by JLR and BMW at their respective plants. For JLR, this will be the Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton, which was confirmed as the home of the firm’s global EDU production earlier this year. There is not yet word on where BMW will build its EDUs, but there has been widespread reports that BMW is expanding its manufacturing base in Hams Hall, in the Midlands, which would mean it was in close proximity to JLR’s facility. The financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Jaguar Land Rover said the move supports “the advancement of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry’s transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future”. Nick Rogers, Jaguar Land Rover engineering director added: ““We’ve proven we can build world beating electric cars but now we need to scale the technology to support the next generation of Jaguar and Land Rover products. It was clear from discussions with BMW Group that both companies’ requirements for next generation EDUs to support this transition have significant overlap making for a mutually beneficial collaboration.” BMW is yet to elaborate on its plans as part of the agreement. This is not the first meeting of Jaguar Land Rover and BMW. In 1994, BMW bought Land Rover but had limited successs so sold it to Ford in 2000. Ford later sold the brand to Tata Motors in
Origin: Jaguar Land Rover and BMW join forces to develop electrified vehicles
Volvo is using mixed-reality headsets to develop vehicles
Volvo is using mixed-reality headsets while test driving vehiclesVolvo Volvo’s RD department just got a little cooler. The Swedish automaker claims it’s found a way to use mixed-reality headsets to cut costs and improve efficiencies while developing new vehicles. In case you’re not up to speed on the nuances of the various digital realities, mixed reality places digital objects in the real world, allowing users to see things that aren’t really there. So, Volvo – in partnership with Finnish startup Varjo – has been strapping mixed-reality headsets to its developers and sending them out for drives in the real world. That sounds fun and also reckless, but the brand claims it’s mostly in the name of safety. According to the press release, the XR-1 goggles “allows Volvo Cars designers and engineers to ‘drive’ future cars and evaluate all features in a simulation environment many years before they exist, enabling the company to develop the safest cars with the most refined user experience possible.” Automotive News asked Varjo CEO Niko Eiden to provide some examples of the kinds of tasks developers are using the headsets for. “You can experiment with new dashboard layouts while driving an existing car because what you see blends perfectly into reality,” he told the publication. “We have also integrated eye tracking. So, for example, if a warning light is blinking in the right-hand side corner of the dashboard, we can immediately test how quickly the driver is actually reacting. That means we can automate a lot of the testing processes that were previously much more difficult to measure.” Volvo is using mixed-reality headsets while test driving vehicles Volvo Also, according to the press photos, it can also put a virtual moose on the highway. Volvo claims to be the first out of the gate with this tech, but starting this year, Varjo’s headsets will be fair game for other industry competitors.
Origin: Volvo is using mixed-reality headsets to develop vehicles
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