The autonomous revolution is nearly upon us, and General Motors is entering the fray properly with this, the Cruise AV. The fruit of GM’s $1 billion acquisition of Cruise Automotive back in March of 2016, the Cruise AV is a properly driverless car. That is to say, it has no steering wheel, no pedals and no real driver controls at all — aside from a touchscreen — and GM says it’ll hit the road in 2019.
The European Union’s top court has ruled that Uber should be regulated like a transportation service. That means the ride-sharing service must comply with tough rules that govern traditional taxi associations. Uber had argued that it’s a technology platform that connects independent drivers with passengers. The landmark ruling will require Uber to treat its drivers more like employees. The decision cannot be appealed.
The use of oil in the road transportation sector will increase even as the sale of electric vehicles is expected to rise, according to the annual long-term outlook from OPEC. If a quarter of the world’s cars have batteries, global oil demand would reach a plateau of about 109 million barrels a day during the second half of the 2030s, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in its annual World Oil Outlook.
Using smartphone behind the wheel can be dangerous. Even a 2-second distraction can increase the risk of accidents by 20%, claims a study by driving analytics company Zendrive. The US-based study examined sensor data from more than 3 million drivers and 5.6 billion miles of trips and found that drivers are using their phones on 88% of their journeys. According to WHO (World Health organisation), car crashes accounts for 1.2 million people deaths and over 50 million disabilities every year.
Volkswagen has become one of the world’s biggest carmakers with a full range of makes and models, including highly engineered vehicles that compete with the world’s best. Now it is returning to its roots with a simpler people’s car, only this time the people are the teeming billions in China, India and other emerging markets.
Volkswagen India’s automotive offerings are actually over delivering for the Indian market, according to Steffen Knapp, director of passenger cars, Volkswagen India. As told to the Economic Times (ET), the company will now be looking to develop more region-specific offerings from sub brand Skoda Auto.
Tesla fired hundreds of employees following what the company said is an annual performance review process, the company told TechCrunch. The news was first reported by The Mercury News.
“Like all companies, Tesla conducts an annual performance review during which a manager and employee discuss the results that were achieved, as well as how those results were achieved, during the performance period,” a Tesla spokesperson said. “This includes both constructive feedback and recognition of top performers with additional compensation and equity awards, as well as promotions in many cases. As with any company, especially one of over 33,000 employees, performance reviews also occasionally result in employee departures. Tesla is continuing to grow and hire new employees around the world.”
Car sales in the UK were down 9.3 per cent in September. The figures that have just been released are worse than the situation in the last six months, that has seen a constant decline.
Chris Bosworth, director of strategy at Close Brothers Motor Finance, commented about the situation blaming Brexit, and therefore the uncertainty in the EU, for this decline.
Tesla has been one of the greatest cash burners in history. The stock price is based on the assumption that electric motors in cars will soon replace internal combustion engines and that this change will mean huge revenues and profits for Mr Musk. Investors believe that their money should be in stocks that have the potential for future capital gains. There is a problem with this theory, and that is that other car manufacturers can relatively quickly put electric cars on the road.
