Author: Christopher Harrison

ZF, a company known for its transmissions, used CES to introduce its Next Generation Shuttle, an autonomous vehicle equipped with Level 4 autonomous driving technology. The shuttle uses lidar, radar, camera, and audio sensors to gather information about its surroundings, which is then processed by ZF’s Virtual Driver software to enable self-driving in urban environments. The shuttle also has multiple redundancies for “full functionality” and high reliability. It has a range of between 50 and 100 kWh and can travel up to 80 miles on a single charge at a top speed of 25 mph. ZF plans to increase the…

The Peugeot Inception concept was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show 2023. The concept car, a sleek saloon, showcases Peugeot’s vision for the future and provides an initial glimpse into the features of the STLA Large platform developed by parent company Stellantis. The STLA Large platform will be used for larger vehicles within Peugeot’s lineup, and the Inception is a prime example, measuring five meters in length. The size of the Inception has been carefully chosen to demonstrate the numerous innovations it represents and will serve as an inspiration for future Peugeot models, from the most compact to the largest,…

Volvo and Polestar will be the first automakers to introduce Google’s new high-definition mapping technology to their vehicles. Google’s new high-definition mapping technology designed specifically for use in vehicles that utilizes real-time data to improve navigation. The service will be available on Volvo’s all-electric EX90 and the Polestar 3. HD Maps will combine sensor data with real-time traffic updates to optimize route planning and will be able to communicate with the Pilot Assist semi-autonomous system in order to provide detailed information about the vehicle and its surroundings. The service will be available on Volvo models equipped with the Pilot Assist…

The BMW Group reported a decrease in car sales in 2022, selling approximately 2.4 million vehicles, a drop of 100,000 from the previous year. However, the proportion of fully electric cars sold by the company more than doubled, reaching almost 10% of total sales. According to a spokesperson for the company, BMW plans to increase the share of battery electric vehicles in its total sales to 15% in 2023. The core BMW brand saw a decrease in sales in 2022, with 2.1 million vehicles sold, down from a record 2.2 million the previous year. The decrease was attributed to the…

Tesla announced an increase in electric vehicle sales of 40% year-on-year, reaching a total of 1.31 million deliveries out of the 1.37 million vehicles produced. This marks a 47% increase compared to the previous year. Despite this achievement, the company failed to meet CEO Elon Musk’s target of a 50% increase in EV sales. In the past quarter, Tesla sold 405,278 vehicles, which was below the expected number of 431,117 units, despite offering incentives for December deliveries. Despite this disappointment and a 65% drop in its stock price last year, Tesla remains the world’s most valuable automaker with a market…

Microsoft is reportedly in advanced talks to invest in autonomous driving startup Gatik as part of a cloud partnership between the two companies. According to sources, Microsoft plans to invest over $10 million in a financing round that values Gatik at more than $700 million. As part of the deal, Gatik will use Microsoft’s Azure platform for cloud and edge computing in the development of autonomous delivery technology for trucks. It is worth noting that the terms of the deal could still change and both Microsoft and Gatik have declined to comment on the matter. Microsoft has been actively investing…

Tesla is expanding its supply of lithium, a key raw material for the company, through an amended agreement with Piedmont Lithium. The deal will see 125,000 metric tons of lithium delivered to Tesla from 2023 to 2025, with the option to extend the agreement for an additional three years. The lithium will come from Quebec. In addition to partnering with large mining companies for lithium, Tesla is also working with smaller mining companies like Piedmont. The contract allows these emerging companies to secure funding for new mining projects. This is not the first time that Tesla has worked with Piedmont;…

Electric vehicle (EV) company Canoo has filed a lawsuit accusing several former employees of “corporate espionage,” alleging that they stole trade secrets to launch a rival EV company, Harbinger. Canoo was founded in 2017 and has attracted significant supply agreements, including up to 10,000 Lifestyle Delivery Vehicles (LDVs) from Walmart and has delivered its vehicles to the US Army and NASA. According to recently filed documents, Canoo has over $2 billion in orders, including $750 million binding. However, the company has struggled financially, recently expressing “significant doubt” about its ability to continue doing business due to accumulated losses. On December…

Kalmar, a company under the Cargotec umbrella, is partnering with Toyota Tsusho America and Ricardo to create terminal tractors powered by fuel cells. The project will involve a customer in the US testing out two Kalmar Ottawa Terminal Tractors that run on fuel cells at their container terminal on the west coast. This initiative aligns with the Advanced Clean Truck rule implemented by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 2020, which aims to phase out fossil fuel usage in trucks and transition to zero-emission technologies. The rule stipulates that truck manufacturers must increase their sales of zero-emission trucks to…

Aptera Motors, a startup focused on electric vehicles (EVs), has revealed its plans to start production of its three-wheel solar EV before the end of 2022. The company has unveiled a production-intent prototype called Delta, which represents the culmination of improvements made during the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma development phases. The Delta prototype will pave the way for the Launch Edition Aptera, the company’s first and most exclusive model. Launch Edition Aptera models will have a single configuration, which will allow for more efficient production. Aptera will unveil more details about its production plans, including specifications and “revolutionary capabilities,” during…

Toyota Boshoku, is part of the Toyota Group. They will showcase two Mobility as a Service (MaaS) concepts at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The first concept was known as the MX221, and was envisioned as a ride-hailing vehicle with a Level 4 autonomous driving system. The concept, embraced the idea of diversity, and featured a reconfigurable interior. The first configuration, known as the MX Pass, has the traditional four-seat, two-row. In addition, there are also two rows of seats, but facing each other. While the MX Access, featuring models equipped with wheelchairs. MX Prime focuses on luxury as…

Rivian announced that it produced 10,020 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2022 and delivered 8,054 during the same period, just missing its goal of producing 25,000 units for the year. Rivian produced 24,337 vehicles and delivered 20,332 in 2022, falling short by 663 units. In the third quarter, Rivian had produced a total of 14,317 vehicles, meaning it had to significantly increase production in the final three months of the year. The electric truck and SUV maker has over 100,000 reservations for its vehicles and will continue to ramp up production at its Illinois plant while also working on…