A Look at How Waymo’s Self-Driving Test Fleet Safely Traveled 2.7 Million Miles in San Francisco Last Year

​Autonomous driving developer Waymo plans to launch its autonomous ride-hailing service soon in San Francisco. In preparation for the service, Waymo announced that its fleet of self-driving vehicles has traveled 2.7 million miles on city streets, mapping the city and collecting valuable data to improve its autonomous driving technology stack called the “Waymo Driver”. In a new blog post, Waymo shared how it safely accomplished this.

Baidu & Geely’s New Smart Electric Vehicle Company JiDU Raises $400 Million in Series A Round

Newly formed intelligent electric vehicle company JIDU announced that it has closed on $400 million in Series A financing. The funding round was backed by China’s internet giant Baidu Inc and its strategic partner automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group ("Geely"). JIDU is committed to creating a revolutionary electric vehicle that combines “intelligence and emotion”, which it says will lead to a profound change in personal transportation.

Volkswagen & Bosch Are Working Together on a Standardized Autonomous Driving Software Platform for Volume Production

​Automotive supplier Bosch and the Volkswagen Group’s automotive software subsidiary CARIAD have agreed to form an extensive partnership to jointly develop a state-of-the-art, standardized software platform for future Volkswagen vehicles. The goal of the new partnership is to make SAE Level-2 and 3 autonomous driving capabilities for vehicles sold under the Volkswagen Group brands suitable for volume production.

General Motors is Investing $7 Billion to Build EVs in Michigan, the Largest Manufacturing Commitment in the Company’s History

GM announced today its investing more than $7 billion in four Michigan manufacturing sites to build electric vehicles and batteries. The massive investment will significantly increase GM’s production capacity for electric vehicles. The $7 billion investment is the single largest investment announcement in automaker's 100+ year history.

Connected Vehicle Software Platform Developer Sibros Raises $70 Million in Series B Funding Round

Silicon Valley startup Sibros, a developer of a connected vehicle software platform for automakers, announced it closed on a $70 million Series B funding round led by investment firm Energy Impact Partners (EIP) with participation from Fontinalis Partners, Google and others. The company said the funding will be used for its expansion to meet strong global demand and deliver large deployments of its vertically integrated vehicle software platform.

General Motors is Investing $154 Million in Western New York for the Production of EV Motor Components

General Motors announced plans on Friday to invest nearly $154 million in its Lockport Components plant in Western New York. The investment will be used to renovate the facility and purchase and install new machinery and equipment used in the production of stator modules, a key component for the electric motors of EVs.

Ford’s Bronco Gets a High-Performance Makeover With the Launch of the 400+ HP ‘Raptor’ Edition

Ford Motor Co unveiled the Bronco Raptor on Monday, the newest version of the resurrected Bronco SUV, which was one of the biggest vehicle launches for the automaker in 2021. The Bronco Raptor comes with a twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine that was specifically tuned to meet the high standards of Ford Performance with a target of 400+ horsepower.

Electric Cars Overtake Diesels in Europe in 2021

This new data only focuses on all-electric vehicles and not electrified cars like hybrids and plug-in hybrids. It marks the first time battery-powered electric cars have outsold diesels in Europe.

Porsche Introduces New Taycan Sport Turismo Models for European Market

Porsche is only bringing the GTS Sport Turismo to the U.S., but consumers in Europe will be able to purchase the vehicle in Taycan, Taycan 4S, Taycan Turbo, and Taycan Turbo S trims.

IIHS Creates New Guidelines to Test Semi-Autonomous Driver-Assist Systems

Not a single Level 2 semi-autonomous system available on the market today meets the institute’s new guidelines, but the IIHS hopes that automakers will use it to improve systems going forward.

GM to Start Deliveries of the Electric Cadillac Lyriq 9 Months Ahead of Schedule

General Motors want to get the new Cadillac Lyriq electric SUV on the market as soon as possible, so the automaker has accelerated its timeline to begin deliveries to customers. General Motors President Mark Reuss said in a LinkedIn post on Thursday that the pre-production version of electric Lyriq has been assembled and the final production version is expected to be delivered to customers in just a few months.

Honda Invests in Software Startup Helm.ai to Strengthen its Computer Vision and AI Development

Honda Motor Co. has made an investment in Silicon Valley-based software company Helm.ai in order to strengthen its software development in the fields of computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI). Helm.ai has been collaborating with Honda since 2019 through its "Honda Xcelerator," a global open innovation program that supports startups working on innovative technology.

Computer Vision Technology Developer StradVision Announces New North American Headquarters in Michigan, Expands U.S. Business

​South Korean company StradVision, which is developing AI-powered computer vision processing technology for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), announced that it has established a new North American Headquarters in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The company says its new U.S. office will help it to better develop new market opportunities in the automotive industry in the United States.

Toyota-backed Startup Pony.ai Builds Autonomous Driving Computing Unit Built on the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin Processor

​Autonomous driving technology developer Pony.ai, which is planning to launch a robotaxi service in China using a fleet of self-driving Toyota Sienna minivans, announced the development of a complete autonomous driving computing unit built on NVIDIA’s powerful Orin system-on-a-chip (SoC). The processor is Pony.ai’s 6th generation autonomous driving system and is designed for automotive-grade mass production.

Mercedes-Benz to Partner With Luminar on LiDAR for Autonomous Driving

​Luxury car maker Mercedes Benz today announced its is partnering with lidar developer Luminar Inc to supply lidar for its future autonomous driving systems. Mercedes-Benz will leverage Luminar's lidar technology with the aim to scale the technology and integrate it into series production vehicles.

California Startup Parallel Systems Emerges From Stealth, Aims to Disrupt the Rail Freight Industry with its Electric & Autonomous Platform

​A new California startup named Parallel Systems founded by former SpaceX engineers has emerged from stealth after announcing a $49.55 Series A funding round. The company is developing an electric rail platform for shipping containers, which replaces diesel powered locomotives and converts each freight car into individually self-propelled, autonomous and electric vehicles that can be linked together.

XPeng Motors Valued at Over $8.4 Billion Files for U.S. IPO, the Company is Backed by Alibaba and Xiaomi

As existing shareholders continue to increase investments in EVs and related technologies, new participants are optimistic about China's growing electric vehicle market. As a result, electric vehicle startup XPeng Motors has strong financial backing and stamina for future development. The company has cash reserves of 8.2 billion yuan (US$1.19 billion), and is ramping up its investment in R&D.