Urban Mobility
Sedans may no longer be the automobile of choice for Chinese families who believe they need more seats to fit in more family members now that the one-child policy is a thing of the past. At an ongoing auto expo in northeastern Chinese city Changchun this week, multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) and seven-seat SUVs are the stars of the show. At
Read moreDealership stockpiles in China averaged 47 days in June, up from 41 days in May, after automakers pushed extra vehicles on dealers to meet ambitious sales targets. Last month, dealership inventories of domestic Chinese brands jumped to 63 days from 52 days in the previous month, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association. Inventories of foreign-brand vehicles increased to 44
Read moreGermany’s Daimler has accelerated development of premium electric cars, Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said, adding he saw the vehicle segment gaining market share. “We are adjusting our planning in this field,” he told analysts on Thursday during a call on second-quarter results. His remarks to analysts come as rivals Tesla and Volkswagen’s luxury brand Audi prepare their own push to
Read moreMusk’s second master plan for the carmaker — released Wednesday — calls for the extension of Tesla’s electric vehicle lineup to “cover the major forms of terrestrial transport,” a Tesla-ish reference to trucks and buses. According to Musk’s blog post, the new vehicles will cut the cost of cargo transport, reduce congestion and “transition the role of bus driver to
Read moreThe Obama Administration has announced a series of actions from the Federal government, private sector, and states, as well as a new framework for collaboration for vehicle manufacturers, electric utilities, electric vehicle charging companies, and states, all geared towards accelerating the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and putting more electric vehicles on the road. Among the actions announced are:
Read moreSome of Europe’s largest truck makers have been hit with a record fine of €2.93bn after operating a price-fixing cartel for 14 years. Margrethe Vestager, EU competition commissioner, said the companies “colluded on the pricing and on passing on the costs for meeting environmental standards to customers” over a “very long time”, writes Peter Campbell. The companies are Iveco, DAF,
Read moreIndia’s top environmental court is taking aggressive action to curb air pollution in the country’s capital city. New Delhi authorities were ordered by the courts on Monday to cancel the registrations of diesel cars produced 10 or more years ago. The order from the New Green Tribunal (NGT) takes effect immediately. The sudden decision to ban older diesel cars from
Read moreResearchers at Carnegie Mellon University say widespread adoption of some of the building-block technologies needed for fully autonomous vehicles, short of the artificial intelligence, steering controls and advanced sensors they also use, can meaningfully and affordably reduce collisions and road fatalities. In particular, three partially automated crash avoidance features – blind spot monitoring, lane departure warning and forward collision-warning systems
Read moreBeijing-based Zhiche Auto, founded by Shen at the end of 2014 with a team of 100 people, plans to apply the innovation model of the smartphone to the country’s auto industry. The start-up will complete its second round of financing in September, raising several hundred million yuan to develop a smart car equipped an independently-developed intelligent driving and safety system
Read moreAmazon is offering people with a car and a bit of spare time a way to earn some extra cash – by delivering parcels. In an Uber-style employment model, the online retail giant is willing to pay people up to £15 an hour for getting packages to customers. The scheme, called Amazon Flex, will be piloted in Birmingham this month
Read more