'Hey Alexa': Amazon, Stellantis team up on car dashboards

                PARIS: US-European automaker Stellantis and Amazon are teaming up to develop onboard electronics systems that will bring the Alexa smart assistant to vehicles including the Jeep and Ram truck brands, the companies said Wednesday.

The two will jointly develop a software platform for vehicles that will also include AI-enhanced applications for entertainment, navigation, vehicle maintenance, e-commerce marketplaces, and payment services.

The partnership follows a growing number of collaborations as carmakers seek the help of tech giants to update the driving experience in their vehicles.

Last year, Ford announced it was allying with Google, as has French carmaker Renault. Microsoft has partnerships with Volkswagen, and with GM for autonomous driving.

In addition to developing their SmartCockpit for vehicles, Stellantis will also use Amazon Web Services for cloud computing, including for product development.

Stellantis, which also includes Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen and Chrysler brands, has been supplying Amazon with vehicles as the online retailer develops its own delivery services.

Under the partnership deal, Amazon will be the first commercial customer for Stellantis' new Ram ProMaster battery electric vehicle when it launches next year.
Stellantis plans to invest 30 billion euros by 2025 as it moves to electric vehicles, with up to 20 percent expected to go to software.

As vehicles become connected new commercial opportunities open up to automakers, with Stellantis expecting to earn four billion euros per year from such services by 2026, a tenfold increase from today.

With a fleet of some 34 million connected connected by 2030, Stellantis could be earning 20 billion euros in revenues from such services, which would make it about an eighth of current total revenue.


Daihatsu dismantling 'Toyota Way' as market changes

                When Daihatsu Motor Co launched the Mira e:S minicar in 2011, the Toyota affiliate thought it had found a model for emerging markets.

The Mira e:S - e for eco, S for smart - was capable of going 30km on a litre of gasoline for a sticker price of just 795,000 yen, or $6,637. And indeed, the car was a hit, super-charging Daihatsu’s earnings.

A number of improvements – in manufacturing, engineering, procurement – went into the car. But the real secret to success, says Kosuke Shiramizu, Daihatsu’s chairman at the time, lay in taking something out of the company’s business model: the vaunted Japanese “keiretsu” system.

Shiramizu, now a Daihatsu advisor, says Daihatsu shaved off roughly US$1,000 in the manufacturing costs of the car by dismantling its keiretsu - an informal but close interlocking business relationship between a manufacturer and its suppliers, cemented by cross-shareholdings and personnel exchanges.

 The Mira e:S.

The automotive keiretsu system, pioneered by parent Toyota Motor Corp. and widely adopted by rivals, was acclaimed across the world in the 1980s and 1990s as an ingredient in Japan Inc’s success. Keiretsu, pundits preached, defused adversarial relationships between assembler and supplier, allowing them to share information and create better product quality.

Hence Japanese automakers were able to leap ahead with vehicles such as the Toyota Corolla, the legendarily sturdy and reliable family car.

Today, after two decades of stagnation in Japan, the dramatic shift in growth to emerging markets and revolutions in automotive technology, Shiramizu says the days of the keiretsu are numbered. Companies, he says, are competing for price and value by using market mechanisms instead of relationship-based arrangements. While analysts have been predicting the system’s demise for years, Daihatsu, along with Nissan Motor Co have gone further than any Japanese automaker in scrapping it.

"The Toyota way is the high-cost way,” says Shiramizu, 74, in an interview at Daihatsu headquarters in the Osaka suburb of Ikeda. “Keiretsu doesn’t work anymore. If we stick with it, Daihatsu won't survive. Toyota might face a similar fate, too."

As Shiramizu reforms the way Daihatsu develops and buys components, Toyota, which has maintained a 51-percent majority stake in Daihatsu since 1998, is watching Shiramizu's experiment with interest, he says.

That's because Akio Toyoda, the 58-year-old founding family scion who became Toyota president in 2009, has struggled to deal with the global auto market’s seismic shift toward emerging markets.

 Daihatsu Wake.

In China, Toyota lags rivals such as General Motors Co and Volkswagen AG. Toyota lacks no-frills cars such as the Wuling Hong Guang, a 43,800-yuan (US$7,050) workhorse van GM designed and sells jointly with its Chinese partners. Toyota’s cheapest model is the 69,800-yuan Yaris subcompact car.

In India, Toyota's “strategic volume car”, the Etios, has failed to ignite demand, chiefly because of its relatively high price tag of 570,000 rupees (US$9,118), even as rivals such as Suzuki Motor Corp. sell cars for as little as 240,000 rupees.

“Daihatsu could potentially offer Toyota a number of important lessons on how to effectively use suppliers to come up with a viable low-cost small car for

markets like India,” says Shiro Sakamaki, a Daiwa Securities analyst in Tokyo.

And not just lessons but actual cars. Struggling to crack the no-frills end of India's car market, Toyota earlier this year called on Daihatsu for help in designing affordable cars that could be sold under the Toyota name and through Toyota's sales channels in India - an arrangement similar to one the two companies have in Indonesia.

Shiramizu, who became advisor to Daihatsu's board and technical executive after stepping down as chairman three and a half years ago, says his parts procurement reform isn’t meant to be a template for Toyota. But it is being taken seriously there, he says.

"Mr. Toyoda is carefully aware of what we’re doing,” Shiramizu says, when asked whether Toyoda is considering a similar reform. “He views our parts procurement reform as one experimental way.”

Toyota has been making early moves towards a post-keiretsu system on its own. Toyoda, for example, has told affiliated group suppliers, such as Toyoda Gosei and Toyota Boshoku, not to always count on business from Toyota.

He has given them the green light to do business with Toyota's Japanese and foreign competitors, according to two board members who spoke on condition of anonymity.

 The Daihatsu Move Custom.

Toyota has also begun encouraging the company’s keiretsu suppliers working on similar technologies to merge or combine resources in order for them to better compete with major global suppliers such as Robert Bosch GmbH  and Continental AG

Ryo Sakai, a Tokyo-based Toyota spokesman, declined to comment. “As a matter of policy, we do not disclose details of our individual dealings with suppliers or our purchasing strategies in general.”

Two major shifts over the past two decades in the competitive landscape have been working against Japanese car makers and their keiretsu systems.

First, Western rivals dramatically closed the gap with the Japanese. That was partly due to the fact cars have become easier to design and manufacture, because they are less mechanical and are controlled more electronically. Competition thus shifted to who could offer more value to the customer: the highest fuel economy, the sexiest look, and the most compelling functions for the lowest price.

The other competitive shift came from the emerging world.

Keiretsu worked beautifully for Toyota because an overwhelming majority of the finely engineered cars it made were sold in the high-priced developed markets of the United States, Europe and Japan.

That began changing in the early 2000s, with the rise of emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey. These economies already collectively buy half of the automobiles sold worldwide today.

They will account for an estimated two-thirds of overall global demand by 2020, when sales are expected to reach 100 million cars annually.

For Daihatsu, whose business is mostly in the lower end of the market both in Japan, as well as markets in Southeast Asia, the keiretsu system was especially onerous.

As it began buying more components from Toyota-group suppliers such as Denso and Aisin Seiki over the years, it was also stuck with Toyota's lofty quality standards. Shiramizu says Toyota’s specs are often too high for vehicles that some Daihatsu officials describe as “sandals,” as opposed to the dress shoes that Toyota makes.

“Do we need parts and cars that withstand the desert heat in Arizona?” Shiramizu asks.

Consumers in Daihatsu's key markets outside Japan - Indonesia and Malaysia - are also used to driving under brutal road conditions, which often force them to replace parts quickly. They don't expect parts to last for five to 10 years, so they are more willing to sacrifice durability for price, he says.

Shiramizu is an unlikely scourge of the Toyota tradition. A career Toyota man, he was known inside the company as "the emperor" because of his command of the business - and his imperious temper. He reached the high post of executive vice president before being sent over to run Daihatsu as chairman in 2005.

But there, he says, he came to see the keiretsu as a high-cost, inefficient burden. Shiramizu said his mantra at Daihatsu was: dissolve the keiretsu, or die.

Shiramizu’s reform began in 2009 with a decision to terminate a routine redesign of its Mira mini-car in order to recast it as a strategic car: the Mira e:S. Shiramizu says the trigger was “gaiatsu,” or foreign pressure, which he says threatened to kill the special category of vehicles in Japan - called “kei,” or light, cars - that Daihatsu specialized in.

Washington and Detroit have considered “kei” cars such as the Mira to be a trade trade barrier limiting global automakers’ business in Japan.

The Japanese government offers a low annual vehicle tax rate for kei cars - micro-mini vehicles powered by engines sized at 660 cubic centimeters or less - which Detroit doesn’t make. They account for 40 percent of the Japanese auto market.

But the United States, a key trading partner and ally, was unhappy that  kei cars were becoming increasingly indistinguishable from other low-cost economy cars with bigger engines in Japan.

The redesign of the Daihatsu micro-mini, along with its new model name “e:S,” was aimed at making its “kei” cars a unique category - high on fuel economy and light on the wallet.

An effort to come up with a car priced at US$8,000 or lower was “way way long overdue” for Daihatsu, Shiramizu says. The American trade pressure was simply the last straw, he says.

By resetting the Mira’s design direction, Shiramizu unleashed the program of keiretsu destruction that is still playing out inside Daihatsu.

His first move was to send agents of change - manufacturing engineers like Saburo Yagi, Fumiaki Fukunaga, and Yoshiki Inoue - into the company’s procurement office.

Until then, Daihatsu's purchasing office was staffed by non-technical types with little knowledge on how components are designed and produced and, says Shiramizu, "no ability to assess true cost." Instead of attacking costs, those purchasing managers put a priority on their relationships with suppliers - getting wined and dined and showered with gifts in the process, Shiramizu says.

Shiramizu then initiated another move: abolishing the “account” system that governed procurement deals. The status quo, he says, made it almost impossible for new, non-Toyota-group suppliers to do business with Daihatsu, even when they offered better quality and price.

Under the account system, only existing suppliers with Daihatsu accounts could supply parts to Daihatsu. These so-called account holders tended to be a more financially stable group of suppliers. Any aspiring new supplier had to ask an account holder to sell through its account.

Shiramizu says the system tended to inflate costs because account holders charged a fee – often 10 percent – for letting newcomers use their accounts.

Those back-to-back moves took down the two biggest obstacles preventing Daihatsu from looking beyond the Toyota group for parts.

Most important, it allowed Shiramizu to deploy his new procurement leaders in the hunt for lower-cost parts across Japan - and beyond to China, Indonesia and India.

Inoue, who was plucked out of the production engineering division by Shiramizu, and his team focused on China. The team quickly found Chinese suppliers of windshields, mirrors, speakers, and aluminum wheels at savings up to 50 percent.

One of the team's most critical findings was not a new supplier, however. It was the discovery that some account holders were slapping a hefty margin on components they procured cheaply in China.

Shiramizu was furious. By February 2010, Inoue’s team had found two new suppliers, one near Shanghai and the other in the Hebei provincial town of Qinhuangdao, capable of supplying aluminum wheels for as cheaply as 150 yuan to 200 yuan a piece – roughly half the price Toyota Tsusho charged for a comparable wheel from a different supplier.

Daihatsu last year bought approximately 1.3 billion yen worth of aluminum wheels in China without going through middlemen.

 Daihatsu Kopen on display at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.

“We have too many middlemen skimming off," Shiramizu says. "Getting rid of those middlemen is the shortest cut to cost savings.”

Akitomo Inagaki, a spokesman for Toyota Tsusho, told Reuters his company strives to provide "customised services" that emphasize "timely delivery, safe installment and sound maintenance of equipment we handle".

"We don't see ourselves as a stereotypical trading company," he said.

This experience quickly led to an all-out drive to weed out the middlemen from an array of contracts. A key target was Toyota Tsusho, a main provider of manufacturing equipment Daihatsu used to produce cars in Japan, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Daihatsu’s procurement specialists went factory to factory in Japan, and enlisted Komatsu Ltd, Trinity Industrial Corp, Toshiba Machine Co, Meidensha Corp and Toyota affiliate JTEKT Corp as direct suppliers, cutting out Toyota Tsusho.

Buying directly from those suppliers has made the job of procurement specialists more complex. They have to ensure that the logistics for parts delivery are sound, making sure equipment orders are delivered to plants on time.

It's worth it, Daihtsu officials say. For example, the company says it saved about 10 percent on milling machines it bought from JTEKT Corp, which cost up to 30 million yen a piece.

Inagaki, the Toyota Tsusho spokesman, said that if companies such as Daihatsu has the resources to allow them to do all the logistics for safe and prompt delivery then they might not need a trading company like Toyota Tsusho .

"But in many cases, few companies possess such capabilities on their own," he said.

Daihatsu's new procurement system was crucial to the success of the Mira e:S, Shiramizu says, describing the car's redesign as the start of a much broader initiative to help Daihatsu adjust to rapid changes in the global market and industry.

“We still need to shave off another 100,000 yen to 200,000 yen to bring down the car’s retail price even lower, into the 500,000-yen to 600,000-yen range, if we are to survive,” he says.

The ultimate $5,000 car would ensure Daihatsu's - and perhaps Toyota's - success in emerging markets, he says.

Shiramizu stepped down as chairman in June 2011 and the Mira e:S launched in Japan later that year. Still, lessons from the car's redesign set off a wave of other moves now being pursued by the talent Shiramizu trained.

In one such initiative, Daihatsu opened an office in Shanghai. Its 20-person staff now searches across China for low-cost parts, an effort that netted 3 billion yen worth of parts by 2013.

The push last year went into hyper-drive when the China team discovered factory hubs in the eastern China province of Zhejiang for dirt-cheap generic auto parts – or, as one Daihatsu executive puts it, “fakes.”

Daihatsu discovered those generic parts in a roundabout way: on parts shelves of dealers and repair shops in Indonesia that stock them for penny-pinching everyday drivers.

A quality engineer who took note of the rampant use of those parts in Indonesia told Shiramizu of his discovery, and a major push to search for usable parts ensued.

The results have been mixed: Designs by the generic parts producers are often robust, but the production quality is unreliable, according to Daihatsu officials. Daihatsu isn't giving up on China, but the officials say it is turning out to be a time-consuming effort.

So how will Daihatsu realise a US$5,000 car?

One solution being pursued now is to produce on its own many of the core, high-ticket parts Daihatsu currently buys from Toyota suppliers. Those include air-conditioning and steering systems, drive shafts and wire harnesses.

“Toyota suppliers aren't going to like it,” one official says, “but our basic philosophy is to go ‘in house’ - and that means no more middlemen."


Google partners Fiat Chrysler on self-driving MPVs

                DETROIT/WASHINGTON: Alphabet Inc's Google unit and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV have agreed to work together to build a fleet of 100 self-driving multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) in the most advanced collaboration to date between Silicon Valley and a traditional carmaker, the companies said Tuesday.

The deal marks the first time that Google has worked directly with an automaker "to integrate its self-driving system, including its sensors and software, into a passenger vehicle," the companies said in a statement on Tuesday.

Google and Fiat Chrysler engineers will work together to fit Google's autonomous driving technology into the Pacifica MPV. Some engineers for both companies will work together at a facility in Southeast Michigan, where Fiat Chrysler has its major North American engineering center, the companies said.

Google said it is not sharing proprietary self-driving vehicle technology with Fiat Chrysler, however, and the vehicles will not be offered for sale to the public.

The agreement between Google and Fiat Chrysler comes as rival technology and auto companies are accelerating efforts to master the complex hardware and artificial intelligence systems required to allow vehicles to pilot themselves.

General Motors Co in March agreed to acquire San Francisco self-driving car startup Cruise Automation . German automakers Daimler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG last year bought digital mapping company HERE to accelerate their autonomous driving development.

Some features already available on mass market cars, SUVs and trucks take steps in the direction of replacing a human driver, such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and automatic lane-keeping.

Some analysts said a self-driving MPV would make sense for testing the technology in a fleet of mass transit vehicles deployed in a controlled environment, such as a Google or Fiat Chrysler campus or a city center.

“Minivans (MPVs) fit into the transportation fleets easily,” said Karl Brauer, a senior analyst at Kelley Blue Book. “They can be a box-on-wheels and can move more humans around.”

Google's self-driving car engineers had previously bought Lexus sport utility vehicles made by Toyota Motor Corp and retrofitted sensors and other hardware into the cars on their own.

Tuesday's deal holds benefits for both companies. Fiat Chrysler has a net debt pile of 6.6 billion euros (RM30bil). Chief executive Sergio Marchionne has been trying unsuccessfully for more than a year to convince reluctant rivals, including GM, to consider a merger to spread the rising costs of advanced safety and emissions technology.

Fiat Chrysler shares rose more than 2 percent in after market trading after the Google agreement was announced.

Google has said that it does not want to build self-driving vehicles on its own and has explored alliances with auto companies, but none have been finalised. Working more closely with Fiat Chrysler could help Google refine its systems as a step toward offering them in regular production cars.

The deal does not preclude either FCA or Google from cooperating with others, the companies said in their statement.

“The opportunity to work closely with FCA engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer and bring everyday destinations within reach for those who cannot drive,” John Krafcik, chief executive of the Google Self-Driving Car Project, said in a statement.

Collaborating with Google provides an opportunity for Fiat Chrysler "to partner with one of the world’s leading technology companies to accelerate the pace of innovation in the automotive industry," Marchionne said in a separate statement.

The Fiat Chrysler vehicles will more than double Google's testing fleet, which currently includes about 70 Lexus SUVs and small prototype cars designed by Google. Google is now testing self-driving vehicles in four US cities.

Executives at other automakers, including GM, Ford Motor and Daimler, have expressed wariness about alliances with Alphabet or other technology companies that could relegate them to the role of hardware suppliers.

John Elkann, Fiat Chrysler's chairman, in April dismissed the idea that automakers must shoulder alone the burdens of heavy investments in automated driving or ride sharing. By 2030, Elkann said, fully self-driving cars will likely account for just 15 percent of global sales.

"Boring old car makers need to figure out how to make this profitable and guard against falling into the ... trap of ignoring that business while chasing profits in other parts of the value chain," Elkann said.


VinFast CEO Lohscheller quits, Vingroup vice chairwoman takes over

                HAI PHONG (Vietnam): Michael Lohscheller, the German CEO of VinFast, has resigned from the company.

No details were provided by VinFast on Monday except that he stepped down for "personal reasons".

Lohscheller had only been in the post since July after he left as Stellantis' Opel boss to join Vingroup's automotive division. He is expected to return to Europe following his surprised exit.
 Thuy.
VinFast, which has been angling to become a global electric car maker, has named Vingroup vice chairwoman Le Thi Thu Thuy, to take over the CEO role. She will retain her position as Vingroup vice chairwoman.

Come Jan 5-8, VinFast will showcase its full EV line-up at CES 2022 in Las Vegas.

The highlight is the unveiling of five models, including three unreleased vehicles entering the A, B and C segments at CES.

The remaining two models, the VF e35 and VF e36, entered the D and E segments, respectively, and were released at the LA Auto Show in November.


Dragster-style Harley-Davidson FXDR 114 on the way in late 2018

                MILWAUKEE: Harley-Davidson has introduced a new, performance-oriented sporty motorcycle to its product range. The muscular FXDR 114 from the American Softail family aims to evoke memories of classic dragster bikes.

As such, the FXDR 114 will have a flat-set fork, a large air filter and exhaust and a short tail with a single seat, Harley-Davidson says.

The model’s decreased weight is another improvement, thanks largely to a new light-metal rear swing arm that weighs only 6.25kg – 43 per cent less than one made of steel.

The 18-inch rear wheel with 240-mm-wide tyres is also noticeably lighter. The road-ready bike weighs 303kg and allows riders to lean at just over 32 degrees on both sides when taking corners, a significant tilt for a softail.

The FXDR’s centrepiece is the Milwaukee-Eight 114 liquid-cooled engine. From its 1,868-cc displacement, the V2 generates 91hp and offers maximum torque of 160Nm at 3,500 rpm. The motorcycle is expected to first become available in select markets October at prices starting from over US$21,000 (RM87,000).


Chevrolet offers glimpse of new  Bolt EUV Power Flow Screen

                DETROIT: Chevrolet shared a glimpse of the 2022 Bolt EUV Power Flow Screen, which will give owners critical information about their electric vehicle, including regen braking use and battery charge level.

The Bolt EUV will be the first electric vehicle from Chevrolet to feature Super Cruise, the industry’s first true hands-free driver assistance system for compatible highways.

Chevrolet said that the driver of a Super Cruise-activated car must continue to pay attention while helming the car and not be distracted by a mobile device or passengers.

The Bolt EUV or electric utility vehicle is the SUV version of the Bolt hatchback.

Both Bolt models will go into production in summer 2021.


Stellantis, Foxconn form 50-50 JV on semiconductors for auto industry

                MILAN: Stellantis and iPhone assembler Foxconn have created a 50-50 joint venture to design and sell semiconductors for the automotive industry from 2026.

The joint venture, called SiliconAuto, will supply Stellantis, including its new 'STLA Brain' electronic and software architecture, Foxconn and other customers, the two companies said in a statement.

"SiliconAuto will provide customers an auto industry-centric source of semiconductors for the growing number of computer-controlled features and modules, particularly those needed for electric vehicles," they said.

The deal, for which no financial details were provided, follows a preliminary agreement that Stellantis and Foxconn signed in December 2021 to partner in semiconductors for the automotive industry. Stellantis owns a range of car brands including Fiat and Peugeot.

A key component in low emission and interconnected mobility, semiconductors have been at the centre of a prolonged global supply chain crunch in recent years.

"Stellantis will benefit from a robust supply of essential components, which is critical to fueling the rapid, software-defined transformation of our products," Stellantis Chief Technology Officer Ned Curic said.

SiliconAuto will be based in the Netherlands, where Stellantis is also headquartered, with a management team which includes executives from both partners.

Separately, Stellantis and Foxconn already have the Mobile Drive joint venture to develop in-car and connected-car technologies for the auto industry.


The car interior can be dirtier than a toilet, UK study finds

                LONDON: It all sounds familiar and we have heard that said of handle bars, computer keyboards, phone screens and other high-use surfaces. That they are dirtier than a toilet.

So it isn't much of a surprise when the car interior also gets a bad rap.

According to research from Aston University in Birmingham, England, it discovered that the boot and the driver's seat are areas with the highest levels of bacterial contamination. They were even found to contain faecal bacteria.

The study, reported by price comparison website Scrap Car Comparison, shows that the highest levels of bacterial contamination were found in the car boot (1,425 bacteria identified) and on the driver's seat (649).

The gearshift, dashboard and back seats also had high levels of bacterial contamination, all equaling or exceeding those found on the average domestic toilet seat and flush.

In the end, the steering wheel (146 bacteria) was the least contaminated area of the car. This can be partly explained by the widespread use of hand sanitiser gel in the recent past due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps more worryingly, all of the cars the scientists swabbed for the study contained faecal bacteria in the boot, and fecal matter was found on the driver's seat.

It should be noted that there is a correlation between the age of a car and the levels of bacteria found, with older vehicles having the highest number of germs.

As a result, drivers may want to reconsider eating in their cars, or should at least make sure that they wash their hands thoroughly and avoid eating any food that drops on the floor or seat, for example.

Similarly, fresh produce like fruit and vegetables stored in the boot should be cleaned before eating, especially if they had come in contact with interior surfaces. It's also wise to clean your car regularly to avoid the build-up of bacteria over time.

To conduct this study, researchers from Aston University's School of Biosciences took samples from the interior of various cars (a Peugeot 307-SW, a VW Golf, a Ford Focus, a Honda Jazz and a Peugeot 308) to establish their levels of bacterial contamination.


Hino Poncho minibus to trial run in Penang and new routes in Kuala Lumpur

                KUALA LUMPUR: Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Hino) and Rapid Bus Sdn Bhd (Rapid Bus) will continue its trial in more challenging routes in Kuala Lumpur, after successfully completing its first trial run for two months in 2019.

The 7-metre low-floor Hino Poncho minibus offers a solution for transport accessibility in tight and narrow roads.

The second trial in Kuala Lumpur, commencing from early October 2021 to end of April 2022, will cater to route T180: Taman Dato Senu to Chow Kit, and route 302:
Titiwangsa to KLCC.

Making its trial debut in the Penang Island, Poncho will cater to route 11: Pengkalan Weld to Batu Lanchang, and route 201: Pengkalan Weld to Tingkat Paya, Terubong.

Hino Malaysia said more than 2,000 units of the Poncho busses are operating in Japan's busy city roads and quieter residential areas.

This bus was designed to match the most innovative community transport solution and be the solution to cater the ‘first and last-mile’ travel as its short 7-metre length makes it easy to navigate through narrow city roads.

Its low floor design also made it easier for senior citizen, children, and wheelchair bound passengers to board.

“Based on our first trial in Klang Valley from October 2019 to March lastyear, Hino Poncho was able to serve our passengers better and the small size of the bus enabled it to easily manoeuvre smaller residential areas and improvise resource utilisation through the improvement of the load factor,” said Rapid Bus chief executive officer Muhammad Yazurin Sallij.

He also said the normal 10-metre to 12-metre buses usually faced problems such as haphazard parking by private vehicle owners at the side of the roads that caused longer bus trips and delays to passengers’ journey.

Hino Malaysia managing director Atsushi Uchiyama said the company believed the second trial run with Rapid Bus would meet their expectation, especially on the effectiveness of connectivity, access and cost-efficient factors.

"We are excited to see Hino Poncho trial expanding to other states especially in Penang island,” he said.


F1 team principal Abiteboul leaves rebranding Renault

                PARIS: Frenchman Cyril Abiteboul is leaving Renault, where he was Formula One team principal, the company announced on Monday in a press release.

Laurent Rossi, director of strategy and business development for Renault, will take over the motor sports unit which will be rebranded Alpine.

The Formula One team, which is based in Enstone in England, will replace its predominantly yellow livery with the red, white and blue of the French flag.

That leaves the responsibility for running the F1 team open and its executive director, the Franco-Polish Marcin Budkowski, could take over the reins.

Abiteboul, 43, joined Renault in 2001 and has spent most of his career there, apart from a stint at the head of the Caterham F1 team from 2012 to 2014. He oversaw the Renault team's return to F1 in 2016.

The team, which won 12 constructors title between 1992 and 2013, was unable to repeat that level of success, but did return to the podium twice as Daniel Ricciardo finished third twice while Esteban Ocon recorded his first top-three finish when he came second in the Sakhir rand Prix in Bahrain.

Ricciardo is leaving the team and will be replaced by Fernando Alonso, who will turn 40 during the season. The Spaniard won his two world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.


Le Mans Classic returning 2022 and 2023 for centenary special

                PARIS: After first being postponed in 2020, Le Mans Classic has once again had to be cancelled this year due to the restrictions in place to fight the spread of Covid-19.

The event's organisers hope to see fans of the event back in force in 2022, as well as in 2023 for a special centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

For the first time, two editions of this usually biennial vintage sports car event in France will be held in consecutive years.

Plus, with 2023 marking the 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that particular edition of Le Mans Classic promises to be particularly special.

As for this year, government restrictions on mass gatherings forced the organisers to cancel the event, due to be held July 1-4, 2021. However, competitors who wish to will still be able to drive on the Bugatti circuit July 3-4.

The biannual event is usually attended by around 200,000 spectators.


Rider on big bike flung into air after crashing into car

A screengrab of the video.
KUALA LUMPUR: A motorcyclist was flung into the air and suffered a broken hand when he crashed into the back of a car that was attempting to switch lanes.

City Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department deputy chief Supt Sarifudin Mohd Salleh said that the accident occurred on Friday along Jalan Sg Besi.

He said that a Singaporean driver had tried to switch lanes abruptly on the highway, and caused the motorcyclist, who was unable to slow down, crash into the back of the car with his high-powered motorcycle.

The crash threw the motorcyclist in the air before he landed in front of the car.

"We have yet to receive a report from the motorcyclist, who had to be sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for treatment," Supt Sarifudin said on Sunday (Sept 29).

A video of the accident has been making its rounds on social media.

The 23-second video showed a white car suddenly changing lanes along the highway, as the driver attempted to take an exit on the far right lane.

In a separate accident today, a marathon runner was critically injured after a car ploughed through safety barriers and hit several runners.

It was earlier reported that a car had crashed into runners at the Kuala Lumpur Standard Chartered Marathon 2019 today.

According to news portal FMT, an Ampang Jaya traffic police spokesman said that three runners were injured, one of whom had suffered critical injuries.

The spokesman said witnesses had reported that the accident happened on the Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road heading towards Gombak.

According to a Facebook user, Onizuka Rizuan, one of the victims was a colleague of his and would be undergoing surgery.

Rizuan also posted several pictures of a vehicle number plate, allegedly of the "hit-and-run" driver.

He added that he would lodge a police report on the incident.


Jaguar F-Pace gets a facelift

                LONDON: The refreshed Jaguar F-Pace is now more luxurious, connected and efficient with a new exterior, all-new interior, latest generation Pivi Pro infotainment and the choice of in-line four and six-cylinder engines.

There are also plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and mild-hybrid (MHEV) powertrains for enhanced efficiency and refinement.

Under the hood, there are 400PS in-line six-cylinder 3.0-litre Ingenium petrol and the latest in-line six-cylinder 300PS Ingenium diesel engines with MHEV technology.

You can also find the next generation 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged Ingenium diesel engine delivers improved efficiency with MHEV technology.

The new exterior design gives the award-winning F-Pace performance SUV a cleaner, more assured presence, featuring a new sculpted bonnet with a wider power bulge and smoother, more precisely defined surfaces.

The new bonnet also contributes to a more striking finish by reducing the number of shutlines on the front of the car.

An enlarged grille features Jaguar’s heritage logo-inspired ‘diamond’ detailing, while the side fender vents now feature the iconic Leaper emblem, demonstrating the exceptional attention to detail found right across the vehicle.

A new front bumper with redesigned air intakes and dark mesh details visually widen the new F-Pace for a more assured dynamic presence.

There are also new super slim all-LED quad headlights with ‘Double J’ Daytime Running Light (DRL) signatures, which are available with optional Pixel LED technology, deliver increased resolution and brightness.

Premium LED technology is fitted as standard across the range and is available with Auto High Beam Assist on SE and HSE models.

At the rear, new slimline lights feature Jaguar’s double chicane graphic – first previewed on the all-electric I-Pace – to accentuate the width of the vehicle.

The new bumper design and sculpted new tailgate also add visual drama and deliver a more confident appearance.

In purposeful R-Dynamic specification, the new F-Pace features a series of distinct design elements for a more performance-focused look, while all models are available with the additional Black Exterior Pack, which delivers an even more dynamic appearance with bespoke elements finished in Gloss Black.

The Jaguar F-Pace is priced from £40,860 (RM217,181) OTR in the UK.


New Hino 300 Series Pro launched in Malaysia

                PETALING JAYA: Hino Motors Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (HMSM) announced the launch of the new Hino 300 Series Pro, a new line-up for its Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) that comes in the 4-wheeler and 6-wheeler segments.

In the 4-wheelers segment, there are three variants and the highlight is the XZU600 AT that comes with an automatic transmission best suited to operate in the inner-city and intra-city trips.

The 4-wheelers features the Euro-3 turbo-charged inter-cooled engine that produces 141PS and 402Nm of torque.

The main advantage of the Hino 300 Series Pro 4-wheeler is its gross vehicle weight (GVW) that is upgraded from 4,800kg to 5,000kg and makes it the highest GVW in its segment.

With this upgraded feature, it allows our professional customer to carry more payload per trip.

The 6-wheeler comes with greater rear tread dimension, up to 1,660mm, making it the widest rear tread in its segment.

 Managing Director of HMSM, Atsushi Uchiyama.

This upgraded feature provides space to place two pellets side by side with sufficient space for forklift maneuvering as well as for bulkier items.

Out of the six variants of the 6-wheeler; two of them come with automatic transmission, all are fitted with 6-
speed transmission with power assistance making it easier to shift gear at higher speed and Euro-3 turbo-diesel engine that produces 156PS and 429Nm of torque.

Both segments of Hino 300 Series Pro have new and improved transmission with higher first gear ratio gives better gradeability while lower top gear ratio offers better fuel consumption at high speed.

The main and basic safety feature for the 300 Series Pro is the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) along with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Override System (BOS) as well as side door impact beams, improved mirrors for a bigger field of vision, front & rear under-run protection, 3-point seat belt,and Emergency Guard Impact Safety (EGIS) cabin.

Speaking at the virtual launch of the new Hino 300 Series Pro was Managing Director of HMSM, Atsushi Uchiyama, who said  “Hino 300 series Pro is designed for our Customer’s business success and it is equipped with features towards the growth of technology and the need for changes in commercial vehicles industry.

Our new light-commercial vehicle, Hino 300 series is one of our products that we have worked on to achieve customer’s satisfaction.”


How Toyota steered clear of the chip shortage mess

                TOKYO: When the Tohoku earthquake triggered a tsunami that struck Japan’s northeastern coastline in March 2011, killing more than 15,000 people, Toyota Motor Corp. spent half a year struggling to get back on its feet.

One of the biggest hurdles: Tokyo-based Renesas Electronics Corp., a major producer of chips for the automotive industry, saw its main plant knocked offline for three months after the tsunami, sparking a supply squeeze that rippled through the industry.

As Toyota scrambled to repair its facilities and procure missing parts, it also pored over its supply chain to identify the most at-risk items in the hope of preventing a similar disruption in the future.

The automaker came up with a list of about 1,500 parts it deemed necessary to secure alternatives for or to stockpile. The company also put in place an intricate system to monitor the vast network of suppliers that produce those items—and the smaller companies those suppliers buy materials from—to develop an early-warning system for shortages.

A decade later, that deep contingency planning is being put to the test.

The world’s automakers have for months been grappling with a pandemic-induced shortage of semiconductors that threatens to knock about US$60 billion off the industry’s global sales this year.

On March 19, the situation got even worse, when a fire broke out at a giant Renesas chip plant in Hitachinaka. The damaged factory, which could take at least 100 days to get back to normal production, accounts for about 6% of global automotive semiconductor output, according to Barclays Plc. Toyota is one of Renesas’ largest customers.

During the industry crisis this time, however, Toyota’s bolstered inventories and steadier control over its supply chain mean it’s better positioned than many of its rivals.

Toyota is in the process of gauging the extent to which its output will be affected by the fire but for now says it doesn’t see an immediate need to halt production.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda addressed the chips shortage last month at a briefing in his capacity as chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Amid a global dearth of semiconductors, “there are automakers that are really struggling and others that are not scarred as deeply,” he said. “What’s proven important: very close communication between automakers, chipmakers, and the part suppliers that rely on those chips.”

Toyota’s ability to carefully manage its supply chains has helped it trudge through not only the chip shortage but also the past year in general, as pandemic-related disruptions threatened the industry’s access to everything from fibers used in air bags to the ships needed to transport its vehicles to foreign markets, says Nakanishi Research Institute head Takaki Nakanishi.

Other automakers haven’t been so lucky. Suzuki Motor Corp. on April 5 said it’s freezing production at two car plants because of chip shortages. Stellantis NV, the parent company of Chrysler and Fiat, on March 26 said it plans to idle five factories in North America starting on March 29 through early to mid-April, while Ford Motor Co. is temporarily shutting its Dearborn, Mich., truck factory. General Motors, Honda, and Nissan have also had rolling stoppages.

“The semiconductor crisis is one that everyone in the world could have avoided,” Nissan chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta says.

The problem is many automotive companies didn’t rigorously manage their supply chains when it comes to Tier 3 or Tier 4 suppliers. “We often don’t know the risks down there,” he said. Nissan is now looking to improve its digital supply chain management tools. “Every expert is good at backward analysis,” Gupta said. “It’s harder to look forward. Nissan has learned from this.”

The chip shortage sneaked up on many of the world’s biggest automakers precisely because it originated several layers below the top, among the chipmakers and foundries that big chip manufacturers outsource production to.

Giant carmakers generally deal directly with only their first- and second-tier parts suppliers, which include major companies like Continental AG and Robert Bosch GmbH. Those big parts makers in turn communicate with smaller automotive-chip designers.

Toyota asks its Tier 1 suppliers to input detailed information about their most obscure parts and materials providers in a complex database that it maintains.

Using this system to glean information about, say, a single headlight Toyota purchases for one of its cars, it can get information as granular as the names and locations of the companies that make the materials that go into surface treatments used on those headlights’ lenses and even the producers of the lubricants used on the rubber pieces in the assembly, Toyota spokesman Shiori Hashimoto says.

These lines of communication alerted the company early on that it needed to stockpile chips. “The process of making semiconductors is complex, and the facilities used to create them are specialized,” Hashimoto says. “With that in mind we’ve needed to make sure there’s enough stock to cover a period of potential supply disruption.”

The auto industry has for decades embraced just-in-time inventory management, wherein many components reach assembly facilities only days or even hours before they’re needed. But the Tohoku earthquake’s aftermath pushed Toyota to increase flexibility, and the value of inventory Toyota carries has almost doubled since 2011.

Speaking at a briefing in February, Toyota chief financial officer Kenta Kon said as part of the company’s business continuity plans, it keeps as many as four months of stock for some crucial components such as chips. Toyota didn’t expect the semiconductor shortage to disrupt production in the near term, he said.

That show of optimism came just one day after Japanese rivals Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. disclosed they expected to sell a cumulative total of 250,000 fewer cars through March, in large part because of their inability to secure enough chips.

Toyota, by contrast, is likely to account for only a “minor” share of the roughly 500,000 units estimated to be knocked off Japanese automakers’ output amid the shortage, according to a report from Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co.

Toyota appears to be handling the shortages even better than it initially expected.

In an email to suppliers seen by Bloomberg last month, Toyota warned that plants in the Czech Republic, Turkey, and the U.K. might have to partially or completely shut because of a shortage of chips.

A Toyota official in charge of purchasing asked all suppliers using semiconductors to, as usual, “re-confirm their supplier delivery commitments are in place to secure supply in the coming months,” according to the memo.

He asked the suppliers to contact Toyota immediately if they encountered any difficulty. A month later, only the Czech plant has been forced to temporarily halt its operations.

This isn’t the first time Toyota has overcome a pandemic obstacle. In early 2020 the automaker quickly learned to maneuver through the lockdowns, implementing infection prevention measures and ramping up production in China, where virus-related disruptions dissipated relatively early on.

That helped it churn out a record number of vehicles each month since August, unseating Volkswagen AG to become the world’s top-selling automaker for the year. Toyota’s “ability to bounce back from supply crunches stands out,” Nakanishi says.

Chip shortages may cost the auto industry US$60 billion in sales this year. Toyota has avoided much of the disruption by closely managing suppliers.


Global automakers wary of China certification shift

                BEIJING: Some global automakers are worried that China is throwing its weight around as the world's biggest car market - by enforcing its own, often outdated, vehicle certification standards on foreign cars.

China previously allowed global brands to sell cars without local certification in many cases, as long they were approved under international standards. Chinese rules essentially apply older standards to features such as bumper strength, brake performance and the size and positioning of lamps and mirrors.

Global car makers say the move to enforce local standards more rigorously highlights the unpredictability of doing business in China, is a step back in technology and could mean costly re-designs and delayed new car launches.

In one instance, Chinese regulators made an issue of the position of a Nissan Motor car's fog lamps - something that has since impacted other automakers, people with knowledge of the matter said.

 CATARC.

Shifting a lamp by a few centimetres can mean re-designing exterior body panels, investing in stamping dies and lighting assemblies, and delaying planned launches by more than a year, said people close to the Japanese Automotive Manufacturers Association (JAMA).

"It's an inconvenient and sudden departure from the status quo," said an executive at a leading international automaker.

"We're essentially being asked to redo some aspects of new vehicles in China using outdated standards. This may cost us critical time and money." To be sure, compliance won't break the bank, but car makers are concerned they may be sacrificing technical advances as China's standards can lag global norms by as much as a decade.

"They can enforce whatever standards they want. The question is: are those standards high enough to protect consumers," said Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight. "People think China does not have proper standards and that's why the car quality here is lower."
As European certification standards - the de facto global norm - have evolved in line with advances in technology, China's have lagged behind. Foreign car makers say this is in part because China wanted to help protect its domestic automakers from competition.
Feng Yi, director of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center (CATARC), which oversees the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization, said there was no aim to protect local producers or hinder foreign automakers. In emailed comments to Reuters, he said local standards had lagged those from Europe, though China was now speeding up setting its own standards, based on European rules.

"However, because it takes quite a long time to set up or update standards and prepare new auto products, new standards will still be one step behind compared with (Europe)," he said.

After a decade of double-digit growth, helped by subsidies and other policy measures, China's light vehicle sales slowed to single-digit growth last year, and research firm JD Power predicts that will likely be the norm for the next few years.

"We'll see more of this as the market slows ... to make sure state-owned and domestic automakers will be solvent," said John Humphrey, a JD Power consultant. "Without that, a lot of those companies won't be able to withstand the raw market forces."

A spokesman for Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely said he did not know if the shift was benefiting local car makers. "Geely Auto's design, R&D and production facilities fully comply with standards and certification in China and in overseas markets where our vehicles are sold," he said.

In another case, Honda Motor was told by Chinese regulators that sensor frequencies in one of the on-board diagnostic systems monitoring engine and transmission performance and tyre pressure on one of its new models did not meet their certification standards.

Spokespersons for Nissan and Honda declined direct comment, but said they support the JAMA playing a lead role on this issue. A Toyota spokesman declined to comment.

The JAMA sent a delegation to Beijing in November to voice its concern to the CNCA department that deals with automotive certification, three people close to the JAMA said. Feng at the CATARC said he was not aware of any such meeting.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), which represents firms including Volkswagen, Daimler  and BMW as well as top US manufacturers, says it prefers its car makers to try to resolve issues themselves case-by-case.

China representative DoMINIk Declercq said the ACEA welcomed signs of China embracing the rule of law, and "less arbitrarily" than before, but has concerns about the impact on future sales.

"It's not hard to see how (this) might be harmful to the introduction of innovative products to China," he said. "We do sense (global automakers) collectively may face new hurdles."


Science fiction or distant reality: Audi passenger cabin concept

                TURIN, Italy: An entirely electric, fully automatic concept for horizontal and vertical mobility has been imagined by Audi, Italdesign and Airbus.

Conceptual Pop.Up Next is not just a flight of fancy – A jointly developed passenger cabin concept that can be attached to a car or flight module is one future mobility solution system.

The “Pop.Up Next” modular concept could, in the distant future, transport people in cities quickly and conveniently on the road and in the air, at the same time solving traffic problems.

The ultra-light, two-seater passenger cabin can be attached either to a car module or to a flight module.

Audi is supporting the project with know-how on battery technology and automation.

The dominant interior feature is a 49-inch screen, while interaction between humans and the machine is performed by speech and face recognition, eye-tracking and a touch function.

“Creativity is needed where new mobility concepts for cities and people’s diverse needs are concerned. Italdesign is an incubator for innovative technologies and radical prototyping. Pop.Up Next is an ambitious vision that could permanently change our urban life in the future,” says Dr. Bernd Martens, Audi Board Member for Procurement and President of Italdesign.

Italdesign develops future-oriented vehicle concepts for Audi and customers around the globe.

A first version of Pop.Up already had its premiere at the Geneva Autosalon a year ago.

Pop.Up Next is significantly lighter than its predecessor, and the interior has been redesigned.


Geely debuts its first EV-focused architecture

                BEIJING: China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group today launched its first electric vehicle-focused platform to enable automakers to more efficiently roll out models for different purposes or markets.

As the global auto industry pursues electric and intelligent vehicles, the likes of Volkswagen AG to General Motors Co have introduced platforms for electric vehicles (EVs).

The co-called Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), will be able to accommodate smaller to larger passenger vehicles as well as light commercial vehicles, Geely said in a statement.

READ MORE: Fuelled by Volvo, China's Geely aims to make Proton cars on new BMA platform

Geely, which sold more than 2 million vehicles last year, will develop vehicles based on the SEA architecture under nine brands including Geely, Volvo and Lynk & Co.

Geely’s chairman Li Shufu said the Hangzhou-based automaker tends to share the SEA architecture with other automakers.

Geely said in the statement it is in talks with other automakers to share the platform. It is already building a car plant of its own using the EV architecture, construction documents on Geely’s website showed.

Geely and Volvo Cars, which it acquired from Ford Motor Co 10 years ago, have jointly developed the Compact Modular Architecture (CMA) and B-segment Modular Architecture (BMA) to allow them to develop, design and build different types of compact or smaller cars with similar mechanical layout faster than before - and at lower cost.


October vehicle sales down 14% to 47,879 units

                PETALING JAYA: Total vehicle sales in October 2016 fell 14.17% to 47,879 units from a year ago and the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) expects sales in November to be slightly better than October 2016.

Of the 47,879 units sold last month, the MAA said 42,522 were passenger vehicles and the remaining were 5,357 commercial vehicles.

MAA said sales volumes in October was 0.6% or 312 units lower than September due to consumers adopting a wait and see attitude pending announcement of the Budget 2017.

For the January-October period, sales were 466,208 units of which 413,393 were passenger vehicles and the remaining 52,815 units were commercial vehicles.

This was a 13.86% decline from 541,277 units in the same corresponding period a year ago.

“Sales volume for November 2016 is expected to be slightly better than October due to continuation of aggressive sales and marketing campaigns by car companies,” it said.

The MAA said vehicle production in October also declined, slipping to 53,084 units from 55,783 units a year ago. For the January to October period, production fell to 440,049 units from 519,171 in the previous corresponding period.


Bugatti Baby II limited edition in production

                MOLSHEIM, France: The reimagining of the original Bugatti Baby has gone into series production and was developed in partnership with The Little Car Company.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some orders were cancelled and a few build slots for the limited run of 500 units have become available and will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis.

The original Bugatti Baby was born in 1926 when Ettore and his son Jean decided to build a scaled-down Type 35 for Ettore’s youngest son, Roland, on the occasion of his fourth birthday.

While the original Bugatti Baby was a 50% scale version of the car that brought Automobiles Ettore Bugatti to fame in the 1920s, the Bugatti Baby II offers more in terms of size and considerably more in terms of performance.

Eight-year olds would struggle to fit in the original half-scale Baby, whereas at 75% scale and designed for ages fourteen and above, the Baby II has definitely become more of a young adult.

The Bugatti Baby II is available in three versions:

> Base model with a composite body and a 1.4kWh battery pack

> Vitesse model with a carbon fibre body, 2.8kWh battery pack and an ungraded powertrain including a Speed Key like its big brother, the Chiron

> Pur Sang model, targeted at collectors. The Pur Sang offers the same powertrain as the Vitesse but with beautiful, hand-formed aluminium bodywork. Using the same traditional coachbuilding techniques as the original Bugatti Type 35, each aluminium body takes more than two hundred hours of skilled craftsmanship to create.

The Baby II’s performance has grown, too. Still rear wheel drive, all versions of the Baby II have a limited slip differential, high performance hydraulic brakes and selectable driving modes.

The Base model comes with two modes; Novice which is limited to 20kph (12mph) and 1kW (1.3bhp) of power, and Expert which is limited to 45 kph (30mph) and 4kW (5.4bhp) of power.

The Vitesse and Pur Sang versions include the Novice and Expert driving modes, but also offer extra performance from an upgraded powertrain, unlocked by the legendary Bugatti Speed Key.

This enables you to deploy up to 10kW (13.4 bhp) and with an all up weight of just 230kg, the Vitesse & Pur Sang models will try and spin their rear Michelin tyres from standstill, on the way to a 70kph (42mph) top speed.

Depending on the weight of the driver, 0-60 kph is dispatched in just six seconds.

When it comes to range, the lithium ion battery packs combined with regenerative braking will also surprise clients used to the original Baby.

When driven carefully, the Base model can achieve 25km of range on a single charge.

The larger battery pack in the Vitesse and Pur Sang models doubles that, meaning a driver can achieve more than 50km, though not if they decide to unleash the full performance of the Baby II.


Ken Block gets down and dirty in 'Terrakhana'

                What's Ken Block up to lately?

If you ask the American rally driver, he will have plenty to tell in his latest uber-thriller project called Terrakhana. It's basically Gymkhana on a dirt trail.

The man is famous for his many Gymkhana videos and the latest of his exploits shows him do a series of breathtaking stunts in Swing Arm City, an open recreation area for Off Highway Vehicles and All-Terrain Vehicles near Caineville, Utah. The over 4-min long video, posted on Tuesday, has attracted over 250,000 views so far, and climbing.

His vehicle of choice was a 600bhp Ford Fiesta ST RX43 with all-wheel drive and launch control. The opening scene sets the tone and the blast up a hill is an amazing display of driving skill.

"This is one of the wildest things I have done in a rally," said Block of the climb.

Click the video to watch Block and his Fiesta swing it in Utah.


Traffic jams just a maths problem, says AI firm

                TEL AVIV: Israel’s traffic congestion ranks near the worst among developed economies but an algorithm can help, says one of the country’s IT firms engaged in the auto and mobility sector.

ITC, or Intelligent Traffic Control, was one of the artificial intelligence players at Tel Aviv’s recent EcoMotion showcase where high-tech and AI firms hope to make transport more efficient and cleaner.

Its AI software collects real-time data from road cameras and then sends instructions to manipulate traffic lights based on vehicle flows.

“ITC managed to prove mathematically that many traffic jams can be prevented – if you intervene early enough,” said its co-founder and chief technology officer Dvir Kenig, citing a 30% drop in traffic at the two junctions using their system.

The company says road congestion is a global scourge, calculating that the average driver spends three days a year stuck in traffic, also pumping out greenhouse gas emissions.

The problem is acute in Israel where, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says, “transportation infrastructure lags significantly behind” most member countries and “road congestion is one of the worst in the OECD”.

Military innovations

EcoMotion’s founder Meir Arnon told AFP that surging global interest in smart mobility had made Israel an auto industry player, even though it doesn’t make any cars.

“Cars changed,” said the industrialist turned investor. “Cars were metal and wheels and a radio. Today these things don’t matter, they’re all mass produced by the same companies for everyone.

“What differentiates car manufacturers today is the driving experience... the vehicle’s ability to adapt itself to the driver,” he said.

Systems developed by Israel’s army and private defence industry – notably surveillance, communication and sensory technology – have become central to automakers, Arnon said.

With over 600 startups in the field – “second only to Silicon Valley” – Israel has become a “centre of mobility”, Arnon said, noting that 35 global auto companies have operations in the country, including General Motors.

“The future of vehicles lies outside vehicles – in the cloud, our phones, in the cars to some extent, and all these elements create an open platform,” said Gil Golan, head of GM’s local technical centre.

“This open platform is a place for innovation and creativity, which Israelis are good at.”

Engineers needed

Also at EcoMotion was Rider Dome, whose cameras mounted on the front and back of motorcycles use artificial intelligence to warn riders of nearby dangers.

“A driving assistant that has become a standard in nearly every car does not exist in motorcycles,” chief executive Yoav Elgrichi said. “That’s why we decided to found Rider Dome.”

But some observers warn that Israel’s technology sector, including smart mobility, could run out of steam.

The Israel Innovation Authority says the tech sector, which accounts for half the country’s exports and one in 10 jobs, is “maturing” and the number of new startups is on the decline.

Israel needs more engineers, argues Lisya Bahar Manoah, a partner at Catalyst Investments, if it wants to keep pace with the growing mobility sector that is expected to “double in size” globally over the coming years.

“The way that we can overcome the problem is – like in Europe, especially in Germany and Austria – they are creating professional schools,” she said.

“Israel needs to stop and think now about a way to create more engineers in order to support the startup system. We need to adjust our education system accordingly.”


2020 Renault Megane range includes plug-in hybrid

                PARIS: The 2020 Renault Megane now comes with a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain - a first for Renault in this segment.

The new Megane PHEV has a 160hp E-Tech plug-in hybrid powertrain with an energy-recovery system drawn from Renault's Formula One expertise.

Available initially on the new Megane Sport Tourer, the E-Tech plug-in engine will subsequently later be offered on the hatchback version.

The E-Tech plug-in hybrid powertrain uses a four-cylinder 1.6-litre petrol engine with two electric motors and an multi-mode clutch-less gearbox which optimises shifts.

With its 9.8kWh (400V) battery, the Megane PHEV can run on full-electric mode for 48km in mixed cycle (WLTP) and 64km in urban cycle (WLTP City).

As for internal combustion engines, the new Megane still offers the Alliance 1.3-litre TCe FAP 140hp petrol-powered engine and a 1.5-litre Blue dCi diesel engine, mated to either a six-speed manual transmission or dual-clutch seven-speed EDC automatic transmission.

The new Megane has a redesigned front bumper and lower grille, and now features fog-light surrounds with a chrome trim and air deflectors at the front of the wheel arches for improved aerodynamics.

The headlights now feature LED Pure Vision technology. Available from the entry-level, it replaces the previous model’s halogen lights.

These new headlights improve and increase the headlamp beam by nearly 30 per cent, offering greater visibility, safety and driver confidence.

The headlamps, tail lights and fog lights are now all LED.

Inside, the new Megane has a new 9.3-inch screen for the multimedia system and a 10-inch digital instrument cluster.

The MY Renault smartphone app, the brand-new Renault Easy Link multimedia system, is an essential part of the new Megane’s Easy Connect offer, which includes a whole set of connected apps, platforms and services.

For instance, it allows remote interaction with the vehicle, including vehicle location, door-to-door navigation with journey instructions sent to the vehicle and, ultimately, remote locking and unlocking of doors and remote activation of lights and horn.

As an option on the petrol and PHEV variants, the new Megane offers Renault Easydrive driver-assistance systems, including Highway & Traffic Jam Companion, a Level 2 autonomous driving feature, for a safer driving experience.

Highway & Traffic Jam Companion combines adaptive cruise-control (fitted with automatic Stop & Go) with Lane Keep Assist.

Activated between zero and 160kph, the system features in all vehicles with EDC automatic transmission.

It regulates the speed of the vehicle and maintains a safe distance from other vehicles ahead while providing lane centring assistance.

This driver-assistance system is particularly handy during heavy traffic and on motorways, since it allows the new Megane to stop and start automatically within three seconds without any action by the driver.

The Highway & Traffic Jam Companion still requires drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road.


Facelifted VW Tiguan Allspace gears up for May 12 world premiere

                WOLFSBURG: The VW Tiguan was given an update back in autumn last year, and now the countdown has started for its equally successful brother.

The Tiguan Allspace is celebrating its premiere on May 12. In addition to a fresh new design for the exterior, the long version also boasts advanced technical features: new control and assist systems tout even more convenience and the Tiguan Allspace now has a wide range of online-based services and functions on board thanks to the MIB3 Infotainment system.

Since its introduction in 2007, the Tiguan has gone from a newcomer to one of the best-selling SUV models on the market.

One of the main factors for this success is the 2017 launch of the Tiguan Allspace, a 22-centimetre longer version of the Tiguan. Around 1.5 million of the Long Wheel Base variant (LWB) have been sold worldwide since its market launch in 2017 until the end of March this year.

The technical and visual update of the Tiguan in autumn 2020 opens the next chapter of the success story. The Tiguan Allspace has received the same treatment and now dazzles with a sharper look, digital cockpit and comprehensive connectivity.

The Tiguan Allspace is the long version of the best-selling Tiguan and offers even more space with a luggage compartment volume of up to 1,920 litres. With its optional third row of seats, it also offers

The long version will be built at two different sites. The Tiguan L for the Chinese market will be manufactured in Shanghai, while, the LWB (long wheel base) Tiguan versions for North and South America and the Tiguan Allspace for Europe will be made in Puebla, Mexico.

Volkswagen has hit the mark with the LWB version worldwide, as a remarkable 55% percent of all Tiguan models rolling out of production have a long wheelbase.


Gordon Murray Design cuts vehicle body weight in half

iStream Superlight reduces vehicle body weight.
LONDON: We often hear about cutting-edge technology and materials that are going to change the motor industry, but what does make it into production is normally at the very high end of the market and if we're lucky, one day it will filter down into the mainstream.

However, the world-leading British design and engineering company Gordon Murray Design has now unveiled the latest version of its ground-breaking iStream automotive manufacturing system, and this one is aimed specifically at mainstream car production.

iStream is a system which revolutionises the way cars are made, and iStream Superlight brings Formula One-derived construction and technologies to mainstream car production by combining a high-strength aluminum frame with advanced carbon fibre composite panels.

The result is a new chassis system applicable to all vehicle segments that can reduce body weight by as much as 50%, and also promises to be the lightest, strongest and most durable platform for the foreseeable future.

Even for those who are not especially well versed in vehicle construction technology and techniques, it's not difficult to predict the advantages of a system that can reduce vehicle weight by such a large percentage. As well as improved performance, the system and its massive weight reduction also means higher levels of safety, improved handling, increased durability, reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions.

And as if those benefits are not enough to make this an incredibly exciting development, due to its modular nature, the iStream Superlight chassis core platform can be adapted for every imaginable segment of the auto industry, from supercars and ultra-fuel efficient city cars to SUVs and light commercials.

Company boss and the man responsible for designing the McLaren F1, Professor Gordon Murray, says of the system: "The new iStream Superlight approach to vehicle manufacturing is a paradigm-shifting innovation for the global automotive industry. It is a breakthrough that will deliver the lightest chassis technology for decades to come. The Gordon Murray Design team has created a unique, adaptable and cost-effective way for manufacturers around the world to dramatically improve vehicle performance and efficiency."

iStream Superlight uses a simple high-strength aluminum thin-wall tubular frame and honeycomb recycled carbon-composite chassis panels to replace the stamped metal used in the majority of mass-market vehicle production. As well as achieving new levels of rigidity, durability and platform flexibility, iStream Superlight's lightweight design delivers a structure that's up to 50 percent of the weight of traditional stamped metal.

The first car to use the technology is the Gordon Murray Automotive T.43 sports car, which is an everyday usable coupe that along with delivering exceptional performance also boasts class-leading ergonomics, visibility, and cargo capacity.


Flying taxi startup Lilium gets US$90mil cash horde to realise ambition

                FRANKFURT: Lilium, a German start-up with Silicon Valley-scale ambitions to develop a 5-passenger “flying taxi”, has raised a second, US$90mil (RM384mil) round of financing from top tech investors, making it one of the best-funded electric aircraft projects to date.

The company has emerged as one of Europe’s hottest start-ups as it looks to create a new category of aircraft capable of both vertical take-off and electric-powered jet flight.

Lilium said today the new funding, led by Chinese internet giant Tencent, also includes Liechtenstein-based LGT, Europe’s largest family-owned investment firm; European venture firm Atomico; and Obvious Ventures, whose co-founder, Evan Williams, is a co-founder of Twitter.

Long the stuff of science fiction and futuristic cartoons such as “The Jetsons”, aviation and technology leaders are now racing to develop new types of electric-powered flying vehicles, dubbed “flying cars”, including Airbus, Uber and a range of start-ups including one backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, called Kitty Hawk.

In April, Lilium said it was developing a five-seat "flying taxi" after mounting successful test flights of a full-size, two-seat jet capable of a mid-air transition from hover mode, like drones, to wing-borne flight, like conventional aircraft.

Wing-borne, electric-powered flight allows commuter aircraft to travel five or six times the distance of drones, a Lilium executive said. A 20-km trip from Manhattan to JFK Airport could take as little as five minutes, he estimated.

“The concept goes far beyond what you typically see from German start-ups,” said Remo Gerber, the former European managing director of online taxi firm Gett, who was named Lilium’s chief commercial officer last month.

Lilium said it plans to use the new funds to expand hiring and carry it through the next development stages of its 5-seater electric jet, buying it time to meet stringent regulatory approvals.

The 70-employee company has roughly as many outstanding job postings as current staff, and plans to rapidly scale up hiring of aeronautical engineers, physicists, computer science and electric propulsion experts, Gerber said.

Lilium, which was founded in 2015 by four graduates from the Technical University of Munich, is shooting for a manned test flight of its five-seat aircraft around 2019, and to roll-out “flying taxi” commuter services, subject to regulatory approvals, some time in the next decade.

The lightweight aircraft will be powered by 36 electric jet engines mounted on its wings via 12 moveable flaps. With a range of 300km and cruising speed of 300kph, Lilium will be the only electric aircraft capable of both vertical take-off and jet-powered flight, the company said.

Combining these two features is what separates Lilium from rival start-ups working so-called flying cars or taxis that rely on drone or helicopter-like technologies, such as German rival Volocopter or European aerospace giant Airbus.

The Larry Page-backed Kitty Hawk is an all-electric personal aircraft that can be operated over water without a pilot's licence, which the Silicon Valley company said in April it plans to launch this year.

Airbus aims to test a self-piloted flying car in 2017 and is exploring a helicopter-style vehicle capable of carrying multiple passengers over cities.

Volocopter GmbH, a startup based south of Heidelberg, has won certification for an electric-powered two-seat helicopter to conduct manned flights tests in Germany. It plans autonomous air taxi test flights in Dubai later in 2017.

“Autonomous transport will come faster in the air. There are fewer objects to navigate, requiring less complex sensors and software than when compared to a car operating in an area with pedestrians,” Volocopter chief executive Florian Reuter said in a recent interview.


Canberra remains Australia's roadkill capital for third year

A kangaroo leaping through the air as it moves along a roadside near Sydney in this file pic. — Reuters
CANBERRA: Canberra has been named the roadkill capital of Australia for the third consecutive year after about 200 collisions between drivers and animals were reported in 12 months, Xinhua news agency reports, quoting insurance company data.

According to data from claims made to insurance company AAMI, the Canberra suburbs of Majura and Fyshwick had the highest number of collisions between drivers and animals in the country, with 98 recorded between March 2018 and February 2019.

Nationally, kangaroos accounted for 96% of insurance claims involving collision with an animal while wombats and wallabies made up 1% each.

The kangaroo collisions from the nearby areas of Kambah, Greenway, Deakin and Belconnen, among others, brought the total for Canberra, Australia's capital city, to about 232.

AAMI spokesman Ashleigh Paterson told Fairfax Media on Thursday that collisions with animals were more common in the winter months.

"As the days shorten, motorists are sharing the road with animals for longer periods of time as they are most active during dawn and dusk.

"Simple things such as being aware of your surroundings, driving to the speed limits and being extra vigilant at dawn and dusk can help keep you and our wildlife safe," she said.

The Australian Capital Territory government culls eastern grey kangaroos in parks and grassland around Canberra between May and July every year in order to control the population and prevent it from over-grazing.

The government expects that more than 4,000 kangaroos will be shot during the 10-week programme in 2019, twice as many as in 2018.


Hyundai may develop 'lifestyle pickup', says exec

                SEOUL: Hyundai Motor Co is considering development of additional pickups for the US market, including a "lifestyle" truck, according to Jose Munoz, the Korean automaker's global president.

"I don't see us competing in the full-size pickup market," Munoz said last Friday at an industry conference.

Hyundai is already selling the Santa Cruz in the US. The Santa Cruz is Hyundai's first pick-up truck, priced from US$25,450 (RM115,000).

The automaker introduced the long-awaited compact pickup aimed at urban dwellers in April 2021.


Ford uses recycled plastic bottles as underbody shields in vehicles

                DETROIT: When you recycle plastic bottles, do you ever stop and think about where that plastic ends up? One answer: Ford vehicles.

Ford is helping to play a major role in promoting environmentally friendly auto parts, and one way they’re doing that is by using recycled plastic bottles for underbody shields on all cars and SUVs, and wheel liners on F-Series trucks.

“The underbody shield is a large part, and for a part that big, if we use solid plastic, it would likely weigh three times as much,” said Thomas Sweder, design engineer, Ford Motor Company. “We look for the most durable and highest performing materials to work with to make our parts, and in this case, we are also creating many environmental benefits.”

In the past decade, aerodynamics has driven the need for underbody shields, and the use of plastics in vehicle parts is used globally, and has grown exponentially – Ford uses about 1.2 billion recycled plastic bottles per year – about 250 bottles per vehicle on average.

When plastic bottles are thrown into a recycling bin, they are collected with thousands of others, and shredded into small pieces. That’s typically sold to suppliers who turn it into a fibre, by melting the bottle and extruding it. Those fibres are mixed together with other various types of fiber in a textile process and used to make a sheet of material – which is formed into the automotive parts.

Due to its light weight, recycled plastic is ideal for the manufacture of underbody shields, engine under shield and front and rear wheel arch liners that can help improve vehicle aerodynamics. These shields also help create a significantly quieter environment on the all-new 2020 Ford Escape.

Environmentally, using recycled plastics on vehicle parts helps reduce the amount of plastic that can end up in dangerous situations, such as the Pacific gyre, for example – a floating mass of plastic bigger than the size of Mexico in the Pacific Ocean.


Blinding sunset? Do these three things when driving towards a low sun

Other than wearing sunglasses and pulling the sunshade down, a driver can do more. — dpa
BERLIN: Driving off into the sunset may sound like the rosy end of a Hollywood film, but it's actually a pain. It can be near impossible to see properly when driving towards a low sun, and folding down a blind can only do so much.

Even at 30kph, you cover about two car lengths in a second when the sun dazzles you. Road safety experts suggest doing these three things when the sun is low.

> Keep it high: Raise your seat if you can, and fold down the blind if you haven't already done so. Ideally, you should also have a pair of sunglasses ready for such situations.

> Keep your distance: Squinting your eyes might feel like it helps, but it's only reducing your vision. That's why you should always be ready to brake and try to keep a bit more distance to cars ahead of you.

Traffic accident reports show the risk of a crash when the sun is low is significantly higher when turning and merging. That means it's better to check twice whether another car, cyclist or pedestrian is entering your path.

> Keep it clean: Cleaning your car isn't just a cosmetic matter. Streaks on your windscreen will only make things worse in such situations as they increase the sun's glare effect.


2018 Singapore Motorshow: Subaru introduces new Outback 2.5i-S with Eyesight

                SINGAPORE: Motor Image, the exclusive distributor of Subaru vehicles across nine countries in Asia, today launched the new Outback and XV at the Singapore Motorshow 2018.

The new Outback offers customers an experience of responsive handling and luxurious comfort with rugged exterior and refined plush interiors.

Built on the new Subaru Global Platform, the Subaru XV now comes equipped with EyeSight for improved safety levels.

“2018 marks another milestone for us as we introduce Subaru’s award-winning EyeSight technology in the region and we are excited to unveil the new Outback and XV here at the Singapore Motorshow,” said Tan Chong International managing director Glenn Tan.

The new Outback will be introduced to the Malaysian market in the second quarter of 2018 along with its new front bumper and hexagonal grille and lightweight turbine-shaped wheels.

It also comes equipped with STABLEX-Ride System for improved steering stability and ride quality as well as X-MODE which optimises the engine, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive (S-AWD) and brakes to help drivers traverse over most terrains.

Inside, improvements includes USB ports located in the back-centre console, additional microphones for better voice recognition response, a new 8.0-inch high-resolution infotainment system with smartphone connectivity which includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Outback's engine uses an improved 2.5-litre boxer engine with a new alternator to help improve fuel economy and has helped to shave 8% off the vehicle's weight.

It also uses a continuously variable transmission (CVT) with seven virtual gears when in manual mode.

The CVT now uses a short pitch chain to reduce noise levels from entering the cabin while also helping to improve fuel efficiency by about 3% compared to its predecessor.

Throttle response has also been revamped to provide better feel of acceleration.

 Subaru's latest driver-assist technology, dubbed EyeSight

For safety, in addition to EyeSight, the Outback has been fitted with steering responsive headlights and cameras on the both front grille and side mirrors.

The Outback now comes in new colours of Wilderness Green Metallic, Crimson Red Pearl and Oak Brown Pearl.

As for the Subaru XV, which now comes with Eyesight driver assist technology, it now adds a 2.0i-S variant with 156PS at 6,000rpm to the existing 1.6-litre variant currently available in Singapore.

As for key features, it also possesses the Japanese carmaker's symmetrical all-wheel drive system which comes with X-MODE, a set of 18-inch wheels and steering responsive headlights

The 2.0-litre Boxer Engine has been revamped, making the new engine approximately 12kg lighter and the CVT Lineartronic transmission provides 7.8kg of additional weight savings while providing an auto-step shift control and seven-speed manual mode function.

"Both models (Outback and XV) are now equipped with EyeSight and we are confident that they will exceed expectations and deliver an unparalleled driving experience,” added Glenn.


Mesra Bonanza is Petronas biggest campaign this year

                KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Dagangan Berhad (PDB) has launched its biggest nationwide campaign to date - Mesra Bonanza - to reward its loyal customers who spend a minimum of RM30 on fuel and Kedai Mesra items in a single receipt.

Winners will be picked every month and 1600 winners stand a chance to win exciting prizes from cash and Mesra points to holiday packages, scooters, gadgets and many more worth over RM3.5mil.

The campaign, which runs from April 16 to Dec 31, 2018 will offer 165 monthly prizes and 44 grand prizes every two months.

 Launch of Mesra Bonanza campaign. From left, Nabil, Abang Jimmy, Aadrin, Scha and Awal.

The grand prize includes an all-expense paid overseas trip to catch the upcoming F1 races, RM50,000 cash, holiday packages of choice including destinations such as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong and even an Umrah package as well as Yamaha scooters and Samsung Smart TV.

For the all-expenses paid F1 live viewing overseas, the prize is exclusive to Petronas Primax 97 customers who fuel up RM500 within two months, over and above the other grand prizes.

The campaign will also offer monthly prizes comprising of Samsung S9 phones, GoPro Hero6 Black, Lego Speed Champion set, RM500 worth of Lazada and Watsons shopping vouchers as well as RM1,000 worth of Mesra points.

“I’m sure Mesra Bonanza will be the most anticipated campaign for our customers as it has been designed based on their feedback and wish list. Furthermore, it is the biggest campaign and easiest to participate: just spend and swipe your Mesra card to stand a chance to win. Ultimately, we want our customers to be rewarded as they spend at our stations,” said PDB’s head of retail business, Aadrin Azly.

Also present were PDB head of retail marketing, Abang Jimmy Abang Mordian and local celebrities such as Scha Al-Yahya, Awal Ashaari and Nabil Ahmad.

To be in the running for the monthly prizes, customers need to spend a minimum of RM30 in a single receipt for any purchases made on fuel and Kedai Mesra items.

For the bi-monthly grand prizes, customers need to accumulate RM500 worth of purchase of any fuel and items at Kedai Mesra within two months.

The Mesra Bonanza campaign is supported by PDB’s wide-ranging partners including CIMB, Maybank, Watsons, Lazada and Samsung.

For more details, visit www.mymesra.com.my.


Mercedes' new S-Class can literally massage you 10 different ways

                STUTTGART: Mercedes has unveiled the latest edition of its most prized car, a new S-Class that sees the luxury sedan yet again growing in size and its range of digital features.

To allow for more legroom and luggage, the car's wheelbase has been stretched by 7 cm, while it's also 5 cm longer.

With sales set to start at the turn of the year, the sedan will still be offered in two lengths of 5.18 and 5.29 metres and will be slightly lighter than its predecessor.

Because air resistance has also been reduced and the engines are more efficient, thanks in part to mild hybrid technology, Mercedes is promising significantly reduced fuel consumption.

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The most efficient S-Class will achieve frugal fuel consumption numbers of 6.6 litres for diesel (163 g/km CO2) and 7.8 litres for petrol (178 g/km). Even more efficient will be the plug-in hybrid, which will be offered a few months later and will have an electric range of 100km.

In the first few months, the S-Class will initially be available as the S 350d with a 3.0-litre diesel with 286 hp, as the 400d with the same engine but with 330 hp and with a six-cylinder, 3.0-litre petrol engine, which will increase to 367 hp in the S 450 and 435 hp in the S 500.

All four engines allow a top speed of 250kph and are offered with four-wheel drive, although you have to pay extra for this in the weaker diesel.

Among the most important innovations in the luxury saloon is Mercedes' next-generation MBUX infotainment system with a new display design, a digital 3D cockpit, a huge head-up display and a smarter digital assistant.

Say you want to adjust a mirror: The car's system can now tell which mirror you're looking at and will activate the corresponding switch.

The rear axle steering system allows steering angles of up to 10 degrees, giving the S-Class the feel of the A-Class when manoeuvring.

In addition, Mercedes promises new levels of luxury and safety, including 10 massage programs, a sound system with seat vibration and a front airbag for rear seat passengers.

And we haven't even got to the autonomous driving function yet. If your local laws allow it, you'll be able to take your hands off the wheel on certain roads at speeds up to 60kph.

In practice, this means you'll be able to send emails and answer messages when you're stuck in traffic jams. In the car's home market in Germany, this function will be available in the second half of 2021 at the earliest.

Mercedes is also promising at least one souped-up AMG version and a stretched Maybach, which will again be available as a roaring 12-pot beast.

But the model range will not be quite as broad as it has been recently, and as things stand at present, there's no plans for a coupe or convertible.


Google launches company to tackle city life woes

                SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Wednesday unveiled a company devoted to making a thriving business out of solving big-city problems such as overpriced housing and traffic-snarled streets.

Sidewalk Labs based in New York City was described as an “urban innovation“ firm with a mission to develop technology that makes living and running big cities better.

“Sidewalk will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage,” chief executive Larry Page said in a post at the Internet titan’s Google+ social network.

Sidewalk will be headed by Dan Doctoroff, a former chief executive of  Bloomberg LP and New York city deputy mayor of economic development under then Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

“We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities,” Doctoroff said in a release.

“We hope that Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technology products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world.”

While financial details were not disclosed, Page described Sidewalk as a “relatively modest investment” in building a business that is not only different from Google’s core Internet operations but which could improve people’s lives.

He put Sidewalk on par with Google (x) lab headed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, and known for‘moonshots’ like self-driving cars.

“Making long-term, 10X bets like this is hard for most companies to do, but Sergey and I have always believed that it’s important,” Page said in his Google+  post.

“And as more and more people around the world live, work and settle in cities, the opportunities for improving urban environments are endless.”


Kia names new global president to drive its electric and autonomous ambitions

                SEOUL: Kia Motors today named Ho-sung Song as its president.

Kia's global operations division chief replaces Han-woo Park, who will move on to an advisory role in the company.

In his new capacity, Song will lead the advancement of "Plan S", the company’s mid- to long-term strategy aimed at establishing a leadership position in the future automotive industry.
 Song.
Kia said in a statement that Song’s extensive experience across the automotive value chain as well as his expertise in overseas operations will be tremendous assets in the company’s transition to future businesses, which will include electric vehicles and mobility solutions.

Song had previously been the president of Kia Motors Europe
and Head of Kia Motors Corporation Export Planning Group.

Kia’s Plan S strategy targets a shift towards electric and autonomous vehicles from a business system based on internal combustion engine vehicles.

By the end of 2025, the company plans to offer a full line-up of 11 battery electric vehicles.

With these models, Kia is looking to achieve a 6.6% share of the global EV market (excluding China), while also attaining a 25% share of its sales from its eco-friendly cars.


Hyundai teases new Veloster

                SEOUL: There now seems to a new trend emerging where manufacturers begin teasing their new vehicle designs covered in the kind of camouflaged wrap we normally only used to see in illicit spy photographs.

Hyundai did just that recently with images of its all-new, redesigned Veloster, although it has to be said, the camo used was considerably more attractive than the usual black and white. Now the South Korean automaker has gone a little further, but only just, by now releasing a video that reveals not a great deal more than the still images.

On top of the shots circulating of the Veloster in its multi-coloured camo, we've also seen some genuine spy shots from non-Hyundai sources. But now the company has released a teaser video that shows the new Veloster in its camouflage accompanied by some enticing engine noise, but this time in the dark.

It's expected that the new version of the Veloster turbo will feature the same 201hp 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine and gearbox already found in the likes of the Elantra GT and the Kia Soul. And now that Hyundai has its new N performance division, it's probably safe to assume there will eventually be a Veloster N with the 271hp engine from the i30 N.

The thing is though, the car in the new video appears to have a hint of a rear spoiler, and the engine used for the soundtrack certainly doesn't sound like a 201hp 1.6-litre turbo-four. The spoiler could be an option, of course, but the front grille also doesn't appear to conform to what's been seen testing at the Nurburgring. And anyway, it's highly unlikely the Veloster N would be available right from the start.

But regardless, the new Veloster looks pretty impressive, and if there is a version that comes out sounding like the car in the Hyundai video, a lot of people will probably be very happy.


Hyundai and Grab Indonesia team up to introduce Ioniq Electric in 2020

JAKARTA: The Indonesian subsidiary of the Korean automaker Hyundai Motor and app-based ride-hailing firm Grab Indonesia plan to debut the Hyundai Ioniq Electric in Jakarta early next year, reported VNA.

Hyundai and Grab launched the programme on Dec 13, marking a step forward in their collaboration for electric vehicle development announced a year ago.

Under the initial stage of the partnership, Grab Indonesia will operate 20 electric cars as part of its fleet.

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Indonesia president director Yoon Seok Choi said the firm is committed to electrification under its 2025 Strategy with a focus on presenting products and services that customers want.

Last November, Hyundai pledged to strengthen the Indonesian automotive sector and explore opportunities to produce battery-based electric vehicles in the country.

The carmaker said it would assess how the Ioniq Electric fare in Indonesia before releasing the car to the general populace.

Grab first used Hyundai’s electric cars early this year when it deployed 200 Kona EV models in Singapore.

Grab Indonesia managing director Ridzki Kramadibrata said his company wanted to develop an electric vehicle ecosystem and redefine the mobility market of the future, not only in Indonesia but around South-East Asia.