Industry

TOKYO — Beyond its sleek space shuttle-like profile and minimalistic, Apple-gadget design aura, Hyundai’s new Staria people mover offers a peek at the automaker’s future. The van also captures Hyundai’s strategy for repositioning itself as a “smart mobility solution provider” for an era of ride-sharing, on-the-go workspaces, eco- delivery models and a whole new segment

Volvo has signed an agreement to provide cars to the autonomous driving technology unit of China’s top ride-hailing firm, Didi Chuxing, for its self-driving test fleet. Volvo will provide XC90 crossovers equipped with backup steering and braking systems that DiDi Autonomous Driving will integrate with DiDi Gemini, its new self-driving hardware platform, the automaker said

The city of Seattle wants to significantly expand its electric mobility options, and a broad citywide plan outlines how it would try to achieve that by 2030. In March, the city released an outline of goals to meet by the end of the decade: Convert to using electric bikes, scooters, taxis, Ubers and Lyfts. Make

Collaboration between the public and private sectors will be key to advancing smart cities of the future, industry leaders said during a panel portion of SAE International’s WCX Digital Summit this week. Public-private partnerships are key for mutually beneficial technology deployments and can help expedite these deployments, said Blaine Leonard, transportation technology engineer at the

SEOUL — Hyundai Motor Group said Friday it has formed a new mobility division to launch more service models and named an outsider as its chief following his tenure with global tech giants such as Apple Inc and Microsoft. Song Chang-hyeon will lead the newly established Transportation-as-a-Service division, which will oversee mobility business for Hyundai

Software-defined vehicles are becoming more and more commonplace — particularly as automakers seek to integrate more advanced driver-assistance systems and higher levels of automation in today’s cars. With that, Continental and Amazon Web Services are teaming up on a new, open automotive software development platform that they say will expedite the development of these automated

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.’s upcoming hands-free driver-assist system has a new name: BlueCruise. Previously referred to as Active Drive Assist, the feature will go live in the third quarter on Ford’s Mustang Mach-E crossover and F-150 pickup. Ford said Wednesday that BlueCruise software, activated through an over-the-air-update, will cost $600 for a three-year subscription,

Autonomous driving startup WeRide received a permit to test two passenger vehicles on California’s public roads without a safety driver in the front, California’s Department of Motor Vehicles said on Monday. WeRide, backed by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, is also testing its driverless vehicle in China’s southern city of Guangzhou, where the company has its

SAN FRANCISCO — Domino’s Pizza Inc. and Nuro Inc., a Silicon Valley startup, said on Monday they will launch robotic pizza delivery in Houston this week, seeking to capitalize on rising online orders caused by the pandemic. Nuro, founded by two former Google engineers in 2016, raised $940 million from the SoftBank Vision Fund and

NTSB: We’re still waiting for tech that can prevent car crashes A quarter-century has passed since the National Transportation Safety Board first recommended that collision-avoidance technology be required on all vehicles. The federal agency hasn’t given up hope that someday becomes a reality. NTSB members unveiled their annual “Most Wanted” list of transportation-related safety improvements

Uber Technologies Inc. said U.S. drivers on their ride-hail platforms should take advantage of pay hikes as trip demand temporarily outstrips driver supply, but warned the windfall will not last. Uber on Wednesday said it would invest an additional $250 million to further boost driver earnings and offer payment guarantees in an effort to incentivize

DETROIT — General Motors plans to build a battery-powered version of its top-selling U.S. nameplate — the Chevrolet Silverado — at an electric vehicle plant in Detroit. The pickup — designed and engineered as an EV from the ground up — will be powered by the automaker’s Ultium batteries with a GM-estimated range of more

Getty Images Drivers in crowded cities should think twice before buying a big SUV, says the head of a motoring organisation. Steve Gooding, from the RAC Foundation, said: “We should all choose the right vehicle for the right trip to cut the size of our carbon footprint. “It is right to question if suburban drivers

Even as vehicles are equipped with more advanced driver-assistance systems and detection technologies, pedestrian fatalities are growing exponentially, particularly in the dark. From 2010 to 2019, nighttime pedestrian fatalities increased by 54 percent, compared with a 16 percent increase in daytime pedestrian fatalities, according to a report last month from the Governors Highway Safety Association.

Electric vehicles may soon be everywhere. Traditional automakers and newer startups alike intend to deploy nearly 100 new battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models over the next three years. While some of the challenges in a transition from internal combustion engines to electric powertrains are well-discussed — range anxiety remains a chief one — other aspects,

*Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly indicated that Lyft was involved in the selection process for the Ioniq 5. That choice was made by Motional. Motional, Lyft Inc. and Hyundai are teaming up on a robotaxi that will arrive in some U.S. cities in just two years. Driverless-vehicle company Motional has selected

Aurora’s self-driving truck program continues rolling. Two months after inking one big partnership, the company has added another. On Tuesday morning, Aurora and Volvo Group unveiled plans to commercialize trucks in a hub-to-hub service operating across North America. There is not yet a specific time frame for deploying fleets of the Class 8 trucks. Volvo

Optimus Ride and Polaris Inc. plan to bring fully autonomous GEM vehicles to market by the second half of 2023 — a move that expands upon the two companies’ standing collaboration. Optimus, the Boston self-driving shuttle company, and Polaris Commercial, a Minneapolis unit of the maker of snowmobiles and off-road vehicles, will jointly develop Polaris

Electric vehicle batteries cannot be recharged at consistently high rates of power because of a phenomenon that occurs when a cell is stressed, known as lithium plating. Nanoscopic needlelike formations called dendrites grow, and over time they can puncture the separator, causing a short circuit in lithium ion batteries that use conventional liquid-based electrolytes. StoreDot,

Getty Images A car that became the byword for a certain type of British motorist will be phased out next year after 29 years in production. The Ford Mondeo was launched in the UK in 1993 and has sold five million since on the back of popularity with both families and executives. But demand has

Free2Move is expanding to the West Coast this year — a move that signals the company feels confident in its business model, despite pandemic-related disruptions to the shared mobility space. Free2Move, the short-term vehicle rental operation of Stellantis — the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France’s PSA Group — operates a fleet for its

Self-driving truck startup TuSimple Holdings Inc. filed for a U.S. initial public stock offering on Tuesday, joining a clutch of companies looking to capitalize on rising investor interest in the sector. The company did not disclose the number of shares it plans to offer to investors or the price range for its offering. Dozens of

Getty Images China’s biggest carmaker Geely is launching a premium electric car brand it hopes will take on Tesla. The Chinese company, which owns Volvo and Lotus, announced its Zeekr brand on Tuesday to tap into China’s demand for electric vehicles (EVs). It comes as Elon Musk goes on the charm offensive in China praising

Continental’s supervisory board said last week that it has approved the spin off of its powertrain business to create Vitesco Technologies in the second half of 2021, after it was delayed by a year because of the pandemic. The delay gave the company more time to prepare to become a standalone specialist in electrified drivetrains,

Taco Bell running out of Nacho Fries is a bad reason to dial 911, as a recent TikTok video showed. But police in Ann Arbor, Mich., say residents can go ahead and call if someone abandons a rental scooter in front of their home. A City Council member said he’s heard complaints about electric scooters

It’s still possible to get a live person on the phone at Tesla. But it’s not easy. There will be menus and waiting and recordings to endure. And you might be transferred down a blind alley only to be left frustrated. It didn’t used to be that way. Tesla once won rave reviews for its

Amazon has added another California city, San Francisco, to its testing program for electric delivery vans made by Rivian. Last month, Amazon began testing Rivian’s van in Los Angeles, the first of 16 cities nationwide where the giant online retailer will be piling on miles and learning how the Rivian vans perform in real-world conditions.

From big rigs to buses, millions of American workers currently earn a living driving vehicles. Someday, self-driving systems could make their jobs obsolete. Whether the transition from human drivers to automated ones results in severe layoffs that occur in a short time frame or as smaller disruptions over decades is a simmering question, the answer

Baidu, the Chinese internet giant and a leading autonomous driving technology developer, is poised to become the first company in China to demonstrate paid robotaxi services.  The program, approved by local traffic authorities, will dispatch 35 self-driving vehicles to pilot rides in the north China city of Cangzhou, Baidu said.  The company obtained clearance after

Canadian electric-vehicle maker ElectraMeccanica will build its three-wheeled, single-seat commuter car for the U.S. market at a factory in Mesa, Ariz. The company will also build an engineering technical center in the city near Phoenix. When fully operational, the new plant is expected to be capable of producing up to 20,000 Solo vehicles per year and create up