Coming back from unprecedented Japanese holidays, the Dailykanban resumes its morning roundup. Happy New Year!
- First look at Infiniti’s Q Inspiration Concept – Yahoo: Infiniti has just posted its best-ever sales figures for the calendar year in the US, and things could get even better for the luxury arm of Nissan if the concept it’s just released an image of goes into production looking as it does in the teaser. The…
- 2018 Mercedes-Benz G-Class leaks ahead of Detroit motor show debut – Autocar: This is the new Mercedes-Benz G-Class The Mercedes G-Wagen”s full exterior has been laid bare, in images leaked ahead of the official reveal
- Hyundai, Aurora to release autonomous cars by 2021 – Washington Post: Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday it will begin selling its first self-driving vehicles by 2021 in partnership with U.S. based self-driving technology startup Aurora Innovation Inc. Within in three years, Hyundai and Aurora will bring autonomous vehicles…
- Volkswagen joins forces with Silicon Valley self-driving start-up – FT: Volkswagen is partnering with Aurora, the Silicon Valley company headed by Google’s former self-driving chief Chris Urmson, on autonomous car research, underscoring how traditional carmakers are looking to the technology industry to help them adapt to…
- Tesla delays Model 3 production targets again – Autocar: Tesla has further reduced its production forecast for the Model 3 Company boss Elon Musk claims progress on clearing ‘production bottlenecks’, despite falling short on promised deliveries in final quarter of 2017
- Volkswagen partners with Silicon Valley’s Aurora on self-driving cars – FT: Volkswagen is partnering the Silicon Valley company headed by Google’s former self-driving chief Chris Urmson on autonomous car research, underscoring how traditional carmakers are looking to the technology industry to help them adapt to a self-driving…
- Competing with the Giants in Race to Build Self-Driving Cars – New York Times: The company’s methods are part of a change sweeping across the world of self-driving cars: a kind of so-called machine learning technology that promises a chance for little companies like Aurora to compete with the giants of both the tech and…
- Poland’s Dec new car registrations up 3 pct yr/yr – Reuters: New car registrations in Poland rose by 3.2 percent last month from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, helped by corporate purchases. Registrations of cars, vans and small trucks totalled 51,161, marking a 33th consecutive month of annual growth….
- A User’s Guide to the Dawn of Robot Driving – Bloomberg: Other major players will spend this year preparing for the imminent introduction of driverless vehicles. By 2019, General Motor Co. expects to … Uber Technologies Inc. has also pledged to launch a fleet of self-driving Volvo XC90 sport-utility…
- US Auto Sales Slump in First Since 2009, But Party Isn’t Over – Bloomberg: While total light-vehicle sales slipped in 2017, several automakers curbed lower-margin deliveries of car models to rental companies that tend to be heavily … for trucks, because there are new ones coming,” Michelle Krebs, an analyst with…
- VW, Hyundai Turn to Driverless-Car Startup in Silicon Valley – WSJ: In the race to develop driverless cars, Volkswagen AG and Hyundai Motor Co. are placing bets on a Silicon Valley startup founded a year ago by the former leaders of autonomous vehicles at Google and Tesla. Aurora Innovation Inc. on Thursday announced…
- This Company Is Set to Become a Driving Force Behind Fully Autonomous Vehicles – Fortune: The number of test vehicles will grow to “triple digits” in 2019, and “four digits” in 2020, before going into production in 2021, Jungwirth said. Ultimately, the self-driving system could be integrated across VW Group’s many brands include Volkswagen…
- Kia Niro EV concept to be revealed at CES – Autocar: Kia will showcase an electric concept car at CES Korean firm to preview forthcoming electric SUV and future innovations at technology show
- Mercedes taps SUV craze to win US luxury sales crown in 2017 – Automotive News: 2 was BMW, which just beat out the previous year’s runner-up, Lexus. Lexus finished 553 vehicles behind BMW after posting a 14 percent drop in December. Overall luxury sales for the year declined 0.2 percent to 2.02 million. That compares with a 1.8…
- Alfa Romeo Bets Big on America and Wins – Bloomberg: When Fiat Chrysler pledged to resurrect Alfa in America, it promised vehicles with great weight distribution, a lot of horsepower per pound, and mouth-watering design. After all, this is a brand responsible for what some call the sexiest car ever made….
- Spain’s 2017 sales get big boost from discounting – Automotive News: Renault brand’s registrations rose 12 percent in 2017 and 15 percent in December. Seat’s volume gained 22 percent over the full year with sales jumping 39 percent in December. The brand was helped by the introductions of its new Ateca and Arona SUVs….
- Tesla Breaks Another Production Promise With Crucial Model 3 – Yahoo: Tesla Inc. pushed back a production target for its Model 3 again after shipping fewer of the sedans than expected, setting back Elon Musk’s goal to mass-manufacture electric cars. The company now expects to assemble 5,000 Model 3s a week by the end of …
- Continental to take five percent stake in mapping firm HERE – Reuters: German automotive supplier Continental has agreed to buy a 5 percent indirect stake in digital mapping firm HERE from Audi, BMW and … of euros in electric cars and software-based mobility services as tightening emission rules and connectivity are…
- Bosch buys 5 pct stake in mapping firm HERE – Reuters: Robert Bosch GmbH, the German auto supplier and engineering group, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy a 5 percent stake in HERE, the digital mapping firm jointly controlled by carmakers BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen’s Audi. Privately held Bosch did…
- Honda China December vehicle sales up 6.2 percent year-on-year – Reuters: Honda China December vehicle sales up 6.2 percent year-on-year. Reuters Staff. 1 Min Read. SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co’s (7267. … FILE PHOTO: A staff member cleans Honda brand’s accord sedan model at the booth of Guangzhou Automobile…
- China’s Baidu Ties Up With BlackBerry For Self-Driving Vehicle Software – Nikkei: Canadian smartphone maker BlackBerry and Chinese Internet firm Baidu have signed an agreement to jointly develop self- driving technology for automotive companies and suppliers. As per the agreement, Baidu will use BlackBerry’s QNX operating system to…
- Hyundai Hires Crack Team to Catch Up on Self-Driving Taxis – Bloomberg: While Chi declined to say when the robot taxis will be ready, Koh Tae-bong, a senior analyst at Hi Investment & Securities Co. said Hyundai may not be able to commercialize a self-driving shared mobility service before 2021. “In order to start a…
- Tesla rules the electric roost, but Bolt shows surge – Detroitnews: All-electric Chevy Bolt, which went on sale nationwide in August, closes 2017 with 23,297…
- Toyota confronts auto evolution with ‘connected’ strategy – Nikkei: This will be “our future weapon,” said Toyota Motor President Akio Toyoda of the JPN Taxi, a new connected vehicle unveiled in October and a pivotal product in how the company plans to lead a changing industry. According to consulting firm PwC…
- 2018 Porsche Macan facelift spotted ahead of April reveal – Autocar: Porsche’s facelifted sporty SUV gets a new range of turbocharged V6 petrol engines co-developed with Audi, plus cosmetic tweaks
- Hyundai to open ‘Genesis Gangnam’ exhibition hall to promote Genesis models – Yonhap: Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s biggest carmaker by sales, said Thursday it will open an exhibition hall in Seoul to promote its sub-brand Genesis models. In the two-story Genesis Gangnam exhibition hall, which is set to open Saturday in the affluent…
- Tesla Reports New Setback for Model 3, With Output Lagging – New York Times – New York Times: Tesla’s first mass-market offering keeps encountering roadblocks. The electric-car maker said on Wednesday that production of the new vehicle, the Model 3, in the final quarter of 2017 was far behind what its chief executive, Elon Musk, forecast when …
- More than half of Norway’s new car sales now electric or hybrid, figures show – Guardian: Unlike diesel or gasoline cars, which are heavily taxed, electric cars benefit from a very generous tax system, making their purchase prices relatively competitive. Their owners also enjoy many privileges such as free city tolls, ferries, parking and…
- Tesla: whoosh – FT: Exciting news for the vanishingly small number of Tesla Model 3 owners: your car now has automatic windscreen wipers. But the electric carmaker once again demonstrated its most impressive feature on Wednesday evening: it is bulletproof. Last summer,…
- Tesla misses its Model 3 deliveries by a mile (TSLA) – Yahoo: Tesla delivered just 1,550 Model 3 sedans during the fourth quarter, falling well short of the 2,917 figure Wall Street expected. Tesla produced just 2,425 Model 3s in the quarter. In July, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the company could most likely …