Automotive IT News and Facts
LAS VEGAS – Audi wants to pioneer the trend toward “connected cars in a connected world.” Hence it is investing heavily in the development of new infotainment systems, including improved multimedia interfaces (MMI), smarter driver assistance, and a more modular approach to integrating electronics in the car. At the center of this effort is Ricky [...]
LAS VEGAS – Ford on Friday unveiled a new Ford Focus Electric, raising the stakes in the battle between volume carmakers to get traction in the fledgling electric-vehicle market. It is Ford’s first fully electric vehicle. The US-based automaker wants to deliver five electric models to customers in North America and Europe by 2013. Unveiling [...]
GM’s electric-vehicle program got a boost this week when it signed a worldwide lithium-ion battery licensing agreement with a US government research laboratory. The automaker said it would make advanced batteries using a patent from the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory. The patented technology would help produce batteries that last longer between charges [...]
Renault said it had suspended three executives with “extremely strategic positions,” apparently for leaking secret information concerning the group’s electric-car plans. Christian Husson, general counsel of the French automaker, said in a statement that the company had conducted an investigation that had lasted several months. That investigation uncovered “a body of converging evidence demonstrating that [...]
Robert Bosch, Tata Consultancy Services and TomTom have joined GENIVI, becoming the latest new members of the growing global electronics alliance. GENIVI is an automotive and consumer electronics industry association driving the development and adoption of an open-source in-vehicle infotainment platform. “Our primary goal in this alliance is to lower development times and reduce development [...]
QNX Software Systems will showcase this week an in-vehicle mobile office integration of Bluetooth-enabled smartphones. The US-based software maker said in a press release that it will demonstrate the system in a BMW Z4 roadster at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The new technology is designed to alow safer and more convenient use [...]
With global competition in electric vehicles set to heat up, Honda is starting tests of its next-generation mobility products. The Japanese auto and motorcycle maker said its Electric Vehicle Testing Program, to be conducted in Saitama Prefecture, will include electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids, electric scooters and electric carts. The tests will be conducted in real-world [...]
IBM and Telvent are developing a set of traffic solutions that is customized for small cities. The two US-based IT service providers said the well-known congestion problems faced by bigger metropolitan areas tend to overshadow the traffic issues of smaller cities. In urban areas with populations of less than 500,000 people, drivers often waste up [...]
Frost & Sullivan predicts strong growth for car navigation systems in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. In a research report that looks at the prospects for car-navigation systems in these four Asian countries, the researchers put the spotlight on high-potential markets that are often overshadowed by the bigger growth markets China and India. Frost & [...]
