Posts

Screen Shot 2016-04-26 at 10.36.28 AM

Self-Driving, Connected Cars Are The Big Buzz at Beijing Auto Show

/0 Comments/in , , , , , ,

Jennifer van der Kleut

The Beijing International Automotive Exhibition is happening this week, and self-driving and connected cars appear to be the big-ticket items on most people’s minds.

Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for all the buzz is the fact that one self-driving car traveled roughly 2,000 kilometers to get itself to the show. A driverless car manufactured by Changan Automobile completed the six-day journey from its headquarters in Chongqing to Beijing for the show, according to the South China Morning Post.

The article says in addition to cameras and radar that allowed the car to maneuver through traffic and change lanes, the car is also capable of recognizing traffic signs and even following voice commands.

In total, a movement called “Internet Plus” seems to be permeating China’s automotive industry, as more and more automakers announce work on self-driving and connected-car technology.

For example, Chinese online video and smartphone maker LeEco, formerly know as LeTV, also showed off its first concept car at the event-a self-driving, electric vehicle, news outlets are reporting.

Cars with connected technology were also big stars of the auto show. The Roewe RX5 SUV by Chinese automaker SAIC debuted to much buzz. The car is run by Alibaba’s YunOS operating system, which reportedly has an impressive ability to process big data. As the Wall Street Journal reports, SAIC touts the car as “the car that understands you best.”

And speaking of SUVs — to the surprise of some, big cars seemed to be all the rage. A number of SUVs have already been unveiled at the show, including two new models by Honda Motor Co.

However, off-roading does not necessarily seem to be the target terrain for many of the new SUVs being shown off during the event. As the Detroit Free Press reports, the aim appears to be space and luxury for many of them.

“Ford, Volkswagen, General Motors and China’s Chery also displayed new SUVs, many never meant to be driven off-road and equipped with heated seats, Web-linked navigation, entertainment centers and other features,” the Free Press said.

These early reports are already coming out of the show, but there is likely much more to come, as the show runs through May 4.

 

 

Google self-driving car illustration

Prediction: These 5 Companies Will Dominate the Driverless Industry, Bring Cars to Consumers

/5 Comments/in , , , , , ,

Jennifer van der Kleut

A new report by the firm Juniper Research declares the five companies they believe will dominate the driverless car industry, and bring the first driverless cars to consumers, reports Business Insider.

Though countless companies have declared they will have mass-market driverless cars on public roads sometime between 2019 to 2025, Juniper has announced the five they think will win the race.

The five companies are:

  1. Google
  2. Volvo
  3. Daimler
  4. Tesla
  5. Apple

We at Driverless Transportation track four of these five companies in our exclusive D20 Stock Index.

Some may be surprised to see Apple - the lone company on Juniper’s list that we don’t track on the D20 - anywhere on the list, considering the company has all but denied they are doing any work toward researching and developing autonomous car technology. Countless news outlets have been pointing to signs that Apple is working on it in secret, though, including reports that Apple executives met with California Department of Motor Vehicles officials earlier this year to discuss laws and regulations for driverless vehicles.

Juniper said it handed the number-one spot to Google due to the fact they have been testing driverless cars longer than any other company in the game, and continue to collect mountains of real-time data every day.

Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, made headlines earlier this year by driving an autonomous big-rig truck on a public highway. Daimler’s head of development has also publicly declared that the company will be the first to launch autonomous functions in production vehicles, “within this decade.”

Do you agree with Juniper’s predictions? Tell us in the comments.

DOTbusyIntersect1

Latest KPMG Report: Connectivity More Important Than Horsepower in Cars of the Future

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , ,

Jennifer van der Kleut

Luxury, gas mileage and horsepower-features such as those have long been the deciding factors for consumers when picking the car for them.

The latest report from research/consulting firm KPMG says those features are starting to move toward the back burner, though-and that the future is all about connectivity.

According to KPMG, processing capability and connectivity will be more important than horsepower in the cars of the future.

In the report, KPMG analysts go so far as to theorize that technology is completely taking over auto innovations, and that within a decade, automakers will no longer exist as independent companies, implying that OEMs will join together with tech companies like Apple and Google to continue manufacturing cars, or perhaps tech companies will even even acquire car companies.

Mobility-on-demand (such as ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft) and autonomous cars are two areas of auto innovation that KPMG says are experiencing the biggest push right now-largely by tech companies.

In short, KPMG’s report says that tech companies, not car companies, are the ones most focused currently on what consumers really want, and that is why they are poised to take over automakers.

In addition, KPMG says companies like Apple-perhaps best known for its smartphones these days-are more accustomed to high levels of production, cranking out hundreds of millions of units each time a new product comes out, in comparison to automakers’ mere millions.

“Maybe automakers should start thinking about behaving like phone companies,” comments columnist Patrick Nelson of Network World.