Wendy Williamson, chief executive of the Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF), has provided an extensive insight into the future of the automotive aftermarket in a speech delivered to a packed audience at the Aftermarket Theatre, Automechanika Birmingham 2018.
On Wednesday 18 April the Driven consortium demonstrated publicly for the first time the capabilities of its fleet of autonomous vehicles to interact and ‘talk’ to each other. From its headquarters at the RACE Building at the Culham Science Centre in Abingdon, Driven set two of its vehicles, a white and blue 2014 Ford Fusion Titanium hybrid and a 2017 Ford Mondeo hybrid on the roads to show assembled media the latest milestone in the project.
OEMs are driving the rapid deployment of autonomous vehicles and the growth of sensor types that underpin the technology. With this in mind, ABI Research analysts recently forecast that there will be 8 million consumer vehicles shipping in 2025 that feature SAE Level 3 and 4 technologies (where drivers will still be necessary but are able to completely shift safety-critical functions to the vehicle under certain conditions) and SAE Level 5 technology (where no driver will be required at all). This, in turn, will help drive the shipments of vital Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensors that underpin the technology. As many as 36 million LiDAR units are expected to ship in 2025, corresponding to a market value of $7.2 billion.
The answer to the question ‘how does the guy who drives the snowplough get to work?’ could soon have an answer, as snowploughs at airports may soon be autonomous.
Volvo Buses and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have signed a cooperation agreement on a research and development programme for autonomous electric 12-metre buses. For Volvo Group this will be the first autonomous application in public transportation. Volvo Group has also presented an autonomous, battery-electric, load carrier.
At the start of a new year it is customary to take stock of the previous year and look forward to the next 12 months. This was something we at Tyres & Accessories did with online readership figures in January and found that our you love tyre test coverage first and foremost. But this wasn’t the only subject being read. Coverage of various countries’ decisions to ban combustion engines during the next decade or two was a top story on tyrepress.com last year, and it was also talk of the wider automotive industry.
Delphi Automotive, which will soon to become Aptiv, has closed its acquisition of nuTonomy, a leading developer of autonomous driving (AD) software solutions.
The deal, which was first announced on 24 October, sees Delphi pay an upfront purchase price of US$400 million and earn-outs totalling approximately $50 million.
Are British drivers comfortable with the thought their grandchildren may never drive a car? Over a quarter (26 per cent) claim they are, believing the autonomous evolution is simply ‘part of life’ with the next generation having to embrace learning new skills, other than driving.
Goodyear announced that it is equipping Tesloop, a city-to-city mobility service that exclusively uses Tesla electric vehicles, with wireless sensors in its tyres to improve overall tyre management and maximise uptime for its growing fleet.
Having invested millions to develop automated driving technology, Continental may need to invest in winning drivers over to the advantages on offer. A survey undertaken on the company’s behalf suggests many of us would struggle to hand control over to the car.
Technology company and tyre maker Continental has agreed to acquire a minority share participation in French autonomous driving company EasyMile SAS, a firm currently focusing on the development of driverless electric shuttles. In addition to the equity investment, the companies plan close cooperation in the fields of environmental sensors, braking systems and driving safety technologies. The transaction’s completion is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.
Horiba Mira has joined forces with Coventry University to launch a new automotive research centre dedicated to developing intelligent, connected vehicle technology.
The Centre for Connected & Autonomous Automotive Research will pioneer and test new developments to support the rapid growth within the global intelligent mobility sector and address future transport needs. The centre is located on an existing site at the heart of Mira Technology Park – which is also home to test centres run by a number of different tyre manufacturers. Its core objectives are to:
Valeo’s Cruise4U autonomous vehicle recently completed 24 hours on the Paris Beltway, logging a total of 766 km – the equivalent of driving around Paris more than 20 times. Nearly 99 per cent of the distance and time was com-leted in autonomous mode, not counting breaks and changeovers.
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