Every week, Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein shares his perspective on some of the burning issues affecting the auto industry.
Automakers are racing to make their vehicles more automated but drivers need a better understanding of what the systems can do.
NEW YORK -- Uber Technologies Inc. has quietly launched a service to give public health officials quick access to data on drivers and riders presumed to have come into contact with someone infected with COVID-19, company officials told Reuters.
The service, offered free of charge, could help burnish the image of the ride-hailing giant, which recently launched a new ad campaign spotlighting its “No Mask, No Ride” policy in the United States.
Now being promoted to government health officials in all the countries where it operates, the service provides health departments with data about who used Uber’s services and when and allows health agencies to urge affected users into quarantine, the company officials said.
Information on an individual can be accessed in a few hours, the officials said, with the company considering COVID-19 an emergency involving danger of death or serious physical injury.
Though Uber has provided the data for months now, it ha…
Join Automotive News Publisher Jason Stein for a daily podcast series about the coronavirus crisis. He’ll speak with industry experts, insiders and Automotive News reporters about how the virus is impacting and reshaping the automotive industry.
Larry Burns, a former vice president of R&D at General Motors, discusses the emerging trends that he believes will bring autonomous vehicles to market sooner.
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Irvine, Calif. July 16, 2020 – CU Direct, the nation’s leading developer of lending software technology for the credit union industry, has announced a new integration with VinSolutions automotive CRM.
As a result of the collaboration, CU Direct has expanded its CUDL auto lending platform’s DMS/CRM integration solution to include VinSolutions. The system integration with the CUDL platform minimizes the need for dealers to double enter data, better simplifying and streamlining the entire application process, allowing more opportunities for quicker financing solutions.
“Credit unions are an important conduit to financing options for many car buyers,” said Tracy Fred, VP of Operations, CRM Sales and Service, for Cox Automotive’s Dealer Software Solutions. “We stand with CU Direct in their commitment to giving credit union members all the benefits of a smoother, more efficient and enjoyable car buying experience.”
The new system integration …
More than four months after retiring as Ford Motor Co.'s automotive president, Joe Hinrichs has resurfaced on the board of a company pioneering a unique sensor for autonomous vehicles.
Hinrichs, 53, has joined the board of directors at WaveSense, of Boston, a startup that uses ground-penetrating radar to help self-driving vehicles better understand and navigate road environments.
"WaveSense is delivering the most precise and reliable vehicle positioning system at a cost that allows broad adoption," Hinrichs said in a statement. "Knowing where you are is fundamental to enabling the next-generation safety and performance features the automotive industry is looking for."
Two other veteran automotive executives are joining the startup's efforts to bolster its industry chops as it turns toward commercialization. Former General Motors CFO Chuck Stevens and former Continental Chief Technology Officer Kurt Lehmann have been appointed to WaveSense's advisory boar…
BEIJING -- Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors, backed by Alibaba Group Holding, said on Monday it has raised around $500 million in a new of round of funding.
As enthusiasm builds for more climate-friendly vehicles, shares of EV makers, including Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc., have surged in recent months and automakers are looking to the markets for funds.
Li Auto, Xpeng's rival, filed for a U.S. initial public offering earlier this month.
Investors in Xpeng's C+ funding round include Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse and Sequoia Capital China, six-year-old Xpeng said in a statement, without disclosing the company's valuation.
Xpeng, led by CEO He Xiaopeng, is making electric G3 crossovers and P7 sedans with autonomous driving capabilities in two Chinese plants.
The funding will enable Xpeng to further develop intelligent vehicle technologies. The company plans to have about 200 showrooms in China by the end of the year.
Xpen…
BEIJING/HONG KONG -- Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer Xpeng Motors, backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, said Monday it has raised around $500 million in its latest funding round.
As enthusiasm builds for more climate-friendly vehicles, shares of EV makers, including Tesla Inc. and Nio Inc., have surged in recent months and auto makers are looking to the markets for funds.
Li Auto, Xpeng's rival, filed for a U.S. initial public offering earlier this month.
Investors in Xpeng's latest funding round include Aspex, Coatue, Hillhouse and Sequoia Capital China, six-year-old Xpeng said in a statement, without disclosing the company's valuation.
Last November, the EV maker raised $400 million from investors including Xiaomi Corp. Sources told Reuters at the time that investors valued the company at nearly $4 billion.
Xpeng, led by CEO He Xiaopeng, is making electric G3 utility vehicles and P7 sedans with autonomous driving capabilities in two…
PARIS -- Former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn took a swipe at his old employers in a newspaper interview on Sunday, calling the Renault and Nissan results "pathetic," and driven as much by a lack of joint leadership as by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ghosn, who was also the chairman of Mitsubishi Motors, was arrested in Japan in late 2018 on charges of underreporting his salary and using company funds for personal purpose -- charges he denies. He fled to Lebanon from Japan.
"There is a market confidence problem in the alliance. Personally, I find the results of Nissan and Renault pathetic. The two companies are looking inwards. There is no longer any real mix of management between Renault and Nissan, but a distrustful distance, " he told Le Parisien newspaper.
Ghosn compared the share price fall from November 2018 to June 2020 of competitors General Motors and Toyota of 12 percent and 15 percent respectively to Nissan dropping 55 percent and Rena…
Ford Motor Co. is laying the underpinnings for a future that involves a trove of new and enhanced driver-assist features.
The automaker said Monday it has expanded a preexisting relationship with computer-vision supplier Mobileye, which is owned by Intel Corp., to offer capabilities that enable improved collision warnings, pedestrian and cyclist detection and lane-keeping functionality.
Mobileye will provide its EyeQ computer chips and vision-processing software to enhance features within Ford's Co-Pilot360 technology package. The two companies have worked together before, but this marks the first time Ford will use the supplier's technology for the entire life cycle of its next-generation vehicles across the globe.
Michael Ramsey, senior research director at global technology consulting firm Gartner, says the deal signals Ford's commitment to spreading advanced safety features throughout its lineup and advancing efforts to deploy a system that can be u…
Mercedes-Benz will finally offer an electric range that is competitive with Tesla when it launches the EQS next year.
The Daimler subsidiary says its full-electric rival to the Model S will travel more than 700 km (435 miles) on a single charge, based on the WLTP testing cycle.
“The EQS will set the benchmark,” Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius told the company’s shareholders earlier this month. “When it comes to luxury, comfort and safety, the EQS is in the same league as the S-Class.”
The long-range version of Tesla’s flagship sedan can travel 609 km (378 miles) on a single charge, based on the WLTP cycle.
Currently, the best range Mercedes offers is 471 km (293 miles) in the EQC midsize crossover, but that figures is based on the less stringent NEDC testing standard. On the WLTP cycle the EQC's range would be significantly less.
The EQS, slated to be built in Daimler’s state-of-the-art Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, near Stutgart, will be underpinned by…
For quite some time, banks, credit unions, lenders, and even automotive dealers themselves have been discussing the need for more consumer-facing online shopping and borrowing options. Considering the current pandemic landscape we are all facing, it seems the automotive industry recognized the need for intelligent processing procedures before those in various vertical markets.
While many were discussing the need for more sophisticated lending solutions, very few were acting on implementation. However, there are several tools available to lenders to simplify the lending process and help pivot strategy in times of economic uncertainty or a shift in shopping habits. For those lenders that feel they are at risk of losing borrowers to more established competitors, it is more important than ever before to take action.
Similar to the way that dealer management systems helped automotive dealerships to shift many of their paperwork processes online, th…
On the heels of the relative market success of its peers that sell used cars online, Shift announced it would go public this quarter. But the link with Vroom and Carvana is correlative, not causal, said company co-CEO Toby Russell. And there is plenty of room for more disruption.
"We had been planning for years to build a public company," he said. "I think Vroom's IPO is a strong indication of the incredible interest that public market investors have in online commerce for used auto."
Indeed, past news coverage shows Shift had anticipated becoming a public company at least as far back as 2018.
Vroom went public in June at $22 a share. Its stock closed Friday, July 17, at $46.70. Carvana's initial public offering in April 2017 was priced at $15 per share; its stock closed Friday at $141.23.
Shift announced last month it would be going public through a reverse merger with Insurance Acquisition, known as a special purpose acquisition company, which…