News
News
The Automotive Industry in 20 Years' Time
Usership not ownership, new vehicle propulsion and all-new brands: automotive industry futurist Antonio Ferreira shares his vision of the future. If the automotive industry is poised to see more change in the next five years than it has in the past 50, what sort of future are we looking at 20 years down the line? There’s no crystal ball, but the trends at work today suggest a clear direction towards a shared economy and smart technology. Read more
miMOTIVE, Startup Out Of Silicon Valley Psyche, Embraces Automotive Expert Content
When miMOTIVE – a Founder Institute startup – was kickstarted as an idea a few months ago there was still some debate as to the real value of automotive content. Should automotive professionals really act as content providers? Is automotive expert content a legitimate investment? And don’t even mention the topic of ROI. Read more
New Delhi Auto Expo 2014 Review
As we publish this, the New Delhi Auto Expo is coming to an end. The biennial event was special in the sense that it was perhaps the first edition ever to be held in the face of a recession – the Indian passenger vehicle market hasn’t had a significant dip in the last 15 years. However, the year 2013 has been a disaster and 2014 hasn’t started off any better with January sales down 9.34% year-on-year. Read more
Japanese Automotive Industry Focuses on Luxury
Japanese vehicle manufacturers are raising sales and profits, helped by economic recovery in the US and Japan. Toyota, Nissan and Honda are focusing less on budget vehicles and more on luxury cars with higher profit margins. Takeshi Miyao – CARNORAMA Japan analyst – says a weakening yen and a recovering US economy will lift North American sales growth and be a key profit driver for the big three Japanese vehicle manufacturers this year. Further down the road, he says sales will come from markets much closer to home. Read more
Apple iOS in the Car Infotainment System
Apple’s answer is to put the phone into the infotainment system. Creatively named iOS in the Car, Apple plans to integrate your iOS device with your vehicle. Vehicle infotainment systems are nothing new. Over the last decade we’ve seen improvements to dashboard systems that control information and entertainment trickling down from luxury vehicles to economies of scale. Infotainment systems are now almost a commodity but in real-life testing proprietary automotive solutions are usually found lacking and deficient in common sense. Can Apple once again improve on the benchmarks and break the mould of vehicle infotainment? Read more
Android Powered Volvo Infotainment System
Automotive infotainment systems will grow to a market of almost 70 million units by 2020; with connected navigation, multimedia streaming, social media, in-car Wi-Fi, and many other features. True factory-installed automotive infotainment platforms always struggled to find momentum and match consumer demands and expectations (for example consortiums like GENIVI and CCC). The automotive industry has been forced to adopt modified smartphone platforms like Android to compensate for the existing gap between automotive hypothesis and consumer reality. Read more
Steering-by-Wire Reaches Nissan Production
Nissan plans to sell cars controlled by steer-by-wire technology within a year. Finally automotive x-by-wire reaches production stage, after decades of developments and delays. Now Nissan is taking electronic steering to its logical conclusion by eliminating any direct connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels, except in an emergency, with the first fly-by-wire steering system in a production car. Read more
Chinese Protests Impact Japanese Car Sales
Drama continues between Japan and China due to a territorial dispute they are having resulted in on-going anti-Japanese protests. These protests include boycotts of Japanese products all over China and profit margins have dropped sharply for Japanese businesses including Toyota, Nissan and Honda. Read more
Better Place board expels Shai Agassi as CEO
The board of electric car venture Better Place has removed founder Shai Agassi as CEO of the global company. He will be replaced by Evan Thornley, CEO of Better Place Australia, who has been appointed CEO of the global company. Agassi will continue as a board member and shareholder in the company he founded. Read more