+++ AUDI has revealed it will move to level four driverless technology by 2021, with robot-taxis currently in development as a first step towards steering wheel-less level five capability. With the new-generation A8, Audi has moved from level 2 (or what it called ‘partial automation’) to level 3 autonomous driving, also known as ‘conditional automation’, that makes it the first to allow the driver to do something else within the car in certain circumstances with speed, road and weather caveats. Audi described level four as ‘high automation’ that would still require a steering wheel and pedals but with less regular driver attention, and the step up to level five permits the driver to be contactless with controls in all situations. While Audi head of development for automated driving Alejandro Vukotich is confident level 4 autonomous technology will come to market in the next 4 years, he could not place a timeframe on when to expect level 5. “The next step of bringing more level 3 and even level 4 systems (to market) will be occur around 2021”, he told at the international reveal of the Audi A8 in Barcelona, Spain, this week. “We have already finished with the level 5 definition; it’s a car that can deal with every situation, and that means the driver is no longer needed, with no steering wheel. That will take time”. Asked when Audi has targeted a production vehicle launch featuring level 5 autonomous technology, Vukotich replied: “To be honest, I’m not sure, I think that it’s more about having direction”. More critically, given Audi has unveiled its latest A8 with level 3 driverless technology that is not yet legal anywhere in the world, the head of autonomous driving admitted that “not everywhere” will have legislation that keeps up with the roll-out of level 4 and level 5 technology. Asked whether there was now a greater challenge in dealing with government law-makers than developing autonomous technology itself, Vukotich said: “I’d say that it’s 50:50. You have to validate the systems and convince the authorities that it’s safe, that it follows their rules, what you’re putting in the car in terms of sensors, the driver of the car, is he going to use the car or watch movies, or whatever”, he said. “We’re lobbying in the major countries: the US, Europe and also having discussions in China, which are on different levels to others. Some parts are more advanced than others”. Vukotich revealed that Audi had mapped a halfway point before selling production-model level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles to customers, in the form of a city-based taxi currently in planning inside Ingolstadt headquarters. “We are working on that”, he said of a driverless taxi program. “There is a company in Munich that we are developing it with. Financially, for a robot taxi, it makes sense because it does without the need for a driver, but if it’s your car, you have to toss up whether it makes financial sense or not. It’s also always a question of whether you want to own a car or use a car. A robot taxi doesn’t need to be perfectly designed, whereas if you own the car, you want it to look perfect because it’s yours”. The clear indication is that level 5 autonomous driving will require a substantial number of radars and sensors, potentially on the roof of the vehicle, that may not be cost effective or visually appealing for owners of Audi models. A so-called robot-taxi would also be confined to particular parts of a city, Vukotich suggested, an obstacle which owners of a driverless car would likely find restrictive. Meanwhile, the A8 has launched with new zFAS electrical architecture, incorporating a “supercomputer” and backup computer to ensure the Audi AI (or autonomous intelligence) system working with the mooted Traffic Jam Pilot function does not fail. Audi has said that, when approved for road use, the system would take insurance responsibility if the vehicle was driving occupants autonomously. However, although the A8 debuts a world-first laser scanner in its front bumper along with further sensors and radars for the technology, Vukotich made it clear that the step from the Audi upper-large sedan’s level 3 system to level 4 would require even more hardware. The A8’s level 3 technology is limited to sub-60 km/h autonomous driving on straight divided freeways only, and it cannot change lanes. “The A8 is capable up to 60 km/h or level 3”, he continued. “If we increase the speed, and therefore increase the car’s rating to level four, there will be hardware to go into the car to make it possible. If you drive at higher speeds with no car ahead of you, the safe-state during an emergency would be to change lanes and stop on the shoulder. That means there is significantly more for the car to think about: is there a shoulder on this motorway, is there not?”Audi will next launch its all-electric E-tron large SUV next year, followed by a coupe-style Sportback version in 2019, both of which have been confirmed to utilise technology from the new A8 upper-large sedan. +++
+++ DS will reveal its second SUV next year, which will rival the Audi Q2 and have an all-electric variant from the start of sales in 2019. Stéphane Le Guével, the boss of PSA (the parent company of DS, Citroën and Peugeot) in the United Kingdom, confirmed the arrival of the B-Segment SUV as the next model in DS’s brand offensive following the reveal of the DS 7 Crossback SUV earlier this year. Ultimately, there will be 4 SUVs within a 6-model line-up, said Le Guével. The company has previously stated it will launch a model a year for the next 4 years. This year, it is the DS 7 Crossback; the smaller SUV will arrive next year. Of the remaining 2 models due by 2021, one will be a standalone hybrid model, with no traditional diesel or petrol engines, according to DS UK development boss Arnaud Leclerc. The baby SUV could also indirectly replace the current DS3 supermini. Le Guével said: “The small car market is going towards; small SUVs rather than 3-doors. So there will be a different offering than the DS3″. Leclerc added that such a move would “make sense”. Talking about the design of the baby SUV, Le Guével said it would not look like a smaller version of the DS 7 Crossback and would instead have its own distinct look. When it goes in sale in 2019, it is expected to have 3 times the sales of the DS 7 Crossback, according to Leclerc. The DS 7 Crossback will be the first alternatively fuelled offering from the brand, with a plug-in petrol hybrid due shortly after launch. The new SUV will be the first DS to offer an all-electric model. Le Guével confirmed that larger models, such as the DS 7, will have plug-in hybrids, while smaller models such as the Q2-rivalling upcoming SUV will have all-electric. This tallies with PSA’s broader electrification strategy. For example, the Peugeot 3008 will have a hybrid while the smaller 208 will have an all-electric option. +++
+++ HYUNDAI is struggling to keep up with demand for the Ioniq Electric and is reportedly facing a shortage of batteries from LG Chem. Hyundai initially ordered 7,000 batteries from the Chinese company but following unexpected demand for the electric car, has apparently asked LG Chem to provide it with more batteries. “The company has difficulties in production as the demand of the Ioniq EV turned out to be 2 times higher than expected due to the EV syndrome at EV contests held by local governments earlier this year. In particular, LG Chem is seeking to boost production to meet the growing demand, but it is struggling to supply batteries to Hyundai Motor as well as other automakers”, a spokesman said. Since launching in South Korea, the Ioniq Electric has quickly become the nation’s best-selling electric vehicle and waiting lists have stretched out to around 5 months. This has led Hyundai to boost production of the EV from 1,200 units a month to 1,800 but a lack of batteries is preventing it from expanding production further. Released at the start of 2016, the Hyundai Ioniq is available in Hybrid, Plug-In and Electric guises. The latter of the three uses a 28 kWh lithium-ion-polymer battery and electric motor with 120 p and 300 Nm of torque. The automaker quotes a range of over 250 km as well as a 165 km/h top speed. +++
+++ Adding the final touch to its full sport utility vehicle lineup, KIA rolled out its new compact SUV Stonic, which Korea’s second-largest automaker hopes will revive lagging sales. Kia’s SUV lineup now ranges from the full-size Mohave and mid-size Sorento, to the Sportage, hybrid Niro and compact Stonic. With the Stonic, Kia aims to target consumers in their 20s and 30s, who prioritize price, fuel economy and design, the company said. Kia’s subcompact SUV Stonic went on sale in the domestic market, with the aim of boosting the company’s sales by meeting the growing demand for crossover vehicles worldwide. Preorders of the model reached 1,500 units since June 27, when the company first introduced the model. Kia aims to sell 6,000 units of the Stonic in Korea this year and 18,000 units in 2018. It will launch the gasoline-powered Stonic here before the end of this year, it added. According to Kia, the B-segment SUV market in Korea has grown rapidly since 2013, with 110,000 units sold last year, a 28 percent on-year increase. The Stonic comes with a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 1.6-liter diesel engine with 110 horsepower. Its fuel economy is said to reach an average of 17 kilometers per liter. The vehicle is priced between 19 million won ($16,700) and 23 million won, depending on the options chosen. Kia also plans to export the Stonic to overseas markets such as Europe and the US, where demand for small SUVs is rising fast. Kia plans to sell both the gasoline- and diesel-powered Stonic in Europe within the second half of this year, according to the company’s Marketing Director Seo Bo-won. The timeline for US-bound shipments, however, has not been decided. The size of the global B-segment SUV market continues to grow, posting annual sales of 1.1 million units, which make up 7 percent of all vehicles sold around the world, according to Kia Europe. Annual sales of B-segment SUVs are forecast to reach 20 million units by 2020. +++
+++ LAMBORGHINI has patented the name Urus ahead of the model’s official reveal on December 4 at Sant’Agata. The new Urus will be Lamborghini’s first SUV, if you forget about the LM002 which wasn’t really an SUV anyway, with the company currently updating its factory in order to double the production capacity. Lamborghini expects to build 3,500 examples of the Urus in its first full year, in 2019. The company sold 3,457 cars last year. The new Lamborghini Urus is built on the same platform with the Bentley Bentayga, Audi Q7 and the 2018 Porsche Cayenne and is expected to become the company’s first plug-in hybrid model as well. A twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 with around 650 hp will also be on offer, for those that don’t want to plug their new Lambo to a charger. The first customer cars are going to be delivered in mid-2018 while the starting price will be almost the same with the Huracan in Europe. +++
+++ Reports about a new rotary-powered sports car from MAZDA refuse to die and a couple of months after hopes were revived, a Japanese publication has speculated that the new vehicle could debut at October’s Tokyo Motor Show. If the new car, reportedly dubbed the RX-9, were to debut in October, it would come 50 years after the Mazda Cosmo premiered and debuted the famed Wankel rotary engine. Levolant Boost reports that the RX-9 will be heavily inspired by the RX-Vision that premiered in Tokyo 18 months ago and tip the scales at between 1,300 and 1,350 kg. Few specifics have been offered about the car’s powertrain but the rotary engine could be dubbed ‘Skyactive-R’ and debut with forced induction to produce approximately 450 hp. The RX-9 may also be priced at around 8 million yen ($71,000). As exciting as this news is, I’m taking it with a handful of salt, not just a grain. While it would be fitting for Mazda to celebrate the rotary engine’s 50th anniversary, the company has never said it is planning a new sports car and only admitted to continuing development of the Wankel hoping to find a breakthrough. +++
+++ PORSCHE is cooking up the next level of performance for its 718 range: the new Boxster GTS. Compared to the regular 718 Boxster, the GTS will get a new front fascia incorporating an A-wing design similar to what we see on the 918 Spyder hypercar. There will also be a new lip spoiler below the front fascia. We can expect the car to be introduced for 2018. A 718 Cayman GTS should be introduced alongside it. The previous Boxster GTS came with a more powerful version of the engine fitted to the Boxster S. We’ll likely see Porsche do the same with this 718 Boxster GTS, meaning a 2.5-liter turbocharged flat-4 should be sitting behind the cabin. The engine delivers 350 horsepower in the 718 Boxster S, so something between 365 and 375 horses is reasonable for the 718 Boxster GTS. Along with the extra power, Porsche should add top-end chassis options as standard. Think standard Sport Chrono and Porsche Active Suspension Management. Note, the 718 Boxster GTS won’t represent the pinnacle of the 718 range. Successors to the awesome and uber-collectable Boxster Spyder and Cayman GT4 are coming—and both are expected to come with naturally aspirated flat-6 engines. +++