Oct 13th, 2017 News of the Day: Baidu plans to mass produce Level 4 self-driving cars with BAIC by 2021

author: Lydia   

Baidu plans to mass produce Level 4 self-driving cars with BAIC by 2021

Baidu, China's internet technology giant, hopes to be in the business of mass producing autonomous cars by 2021, thanks to a partnership with BAIC Group, a Chinese automaker which will handle the manufacturing part of that equation. BAIC Group is one of Baidu's many partners for its Apollo autonomous driving program, and it'll use the open platform to produce vehicles with Level 3 autonomous features by 2019 before moving on to fully self-driving Level 4 cars by 2021, the companies announced today.

Tesla is expanding its insurance program to the US and Canada

Tesla is working on a new car insurance program, which it started offering to its customers in North America after the similar program launched in Australia and Hong Kong last year.

It's called InsureMyTesla and it features custom insurance plans for the automaker's electric vehicles underwritten by insurers partnering with Tesla. Tesla says that InsureMyTesla is ‘designed for Tesla cars'. When talking about the program in Asia earlier this year, Jon McNeill, President of Sales and Services, said that they work with insurers to develop insurance products based on "Autopilot safety features and the maintenance costs of the cars."

Uber files appeal against London license loss

Uber has today filed a notification of its intention to appeal the London transport regulator's decision to withdraw its license to operate in the market. 

Despite being judged unfit to operate and having licensing withdrawn by the local regulator, Uber can continue to operate in London during the appeals process.

Reuters is reporting that a hearing is likely to take place on December 11, citing a spokesman at Britain's Judicial Office.

Oil giant Shell accelerates electric vehicle effort with acquisition of network with over 30,000 chargers

Shell has been making a push to expand its services to electric vehicles over the last year. They announced that they would start deploying electric car charging stations in Britain and the Netherlands and we even saw their first Shell-branded charging station last month.

But the oil giant is really accelerating its electric vehicle effort this week with the acquisition of a major charging network.

NewMotion, Europe's largest electric charging partner with over 30,000 charging points and 80,000 electric car owners using their network, was acquired by Shell for an undisclosed amount.

Lydia

Lydia is the project manager of audience development and social media at Futurecar. Lydia started her career in Tokyo at a Fortune Global 500 company before moving to Silicon Valley. Lydia put her bilingual skills to the test by covering the automobile industry and entrepreneurship. Her other journalism experience includes a sports reporting internship at Titan Media and numerous freelance writing gigs. Her professional skills include content optimization, business innovation, and working with industry trends in technology sectors. Lydia holds an M.A in Public Policy from Hitotsubashi University and B.A. in Arts Journalism from Fudan University.