+++ APPLE is scaling back its plans to build self-driving cars, focusing instead on the software and technology for autonomous vehicles. In June, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told Bloomberg News the company was “focusing on autonomous systems” but didn’t go into details. Apple’s pivot after years of work on the so-called Project Titan came after complications caused by the sheer size of the self-driving-car project and lack of a clear vision for the end product. After longtime Apple hardware executive Bob Mansfield took over the Titan project last year, he shifted its focus from building a car to the technology behind it. Apple plans to test its technology with a self-driving shuttle van between its Silicon Valley campuses. +++
+++ LG Electronics said that it will spend about $25 million to build a factory for ELECTRIC car parts in the Detroit suburb of Hazel Park as the company seeks new engines of growth while it reels from losses at its once-lucrative mobile business. In a statement, LG said its new U.S. plant will produce battery packs for electric cars. It will expand into other key components later. The company began supplying parts to General Motors’ Chevrolet Bolt EV (Opel Ampera-e) last year, produced mostly in its South Korea plant. For LG, the Michigan plant will be its first vehicle-components factory in the U.S. The Seoul-based company already has existing production facilities in 5 countries, including China, Vietnam and Brazil. The new investment, which the company says will create about 300 jobs, comes amid expectations of rapid growth in the U.S. electric-vehicle market. +++
+++ FORD and Zotye have signed a memorandum of understand to begin investigating and laying the groundwork for an all-new Chinese brand, which will exclusively market and develop electric vehicles. According to Ford, China is the world’s fastest growing market for electric vehicles. Spurred by government incentives, the American firm believes sales of “new energy vehicles” will hit 6 million per year by 2025. 4 million of these cars are expected to be pure electric models. It’s not known when the first joint venture models will go on sale, with the partners yet to complete their preparatory work, sign a definitive agreement or gain government approval. If this joint venture does come to fruition, Zotye would become Ford’s third Chinese manufacturing partner after Changan and Jiangling. It would also represent quite a coup for the Chinese automaker. Last year the brand attracted plenty of negative media attention with its SR9 cross-over, a model which very closely resembles the Porsche Macan, both inside and out. It’s not the only model in Zotye’s range that borrows liberally from the designs of others. There’s also the SR7 (Audi A3), Cloud 100S (Suzuki Alto), T600 (a Volkswagen Touareg and Audi Q5 mashup), Damy X7 (Volkswagen Atlas), and Damy X5 (Volkswagen Tiguan). That said, the company does use drivetrains licensed from Mitsubishi, and has bought tooling and the rights to a number of platforms from Fiat. Unlike many of its native counterparts, Zotye doesn’t currently operate a joint venture manufacturing, design or engineering operation with a foreign automaker, a requirement if overseas companies want to make cars in China. Last Zotye sold just over 300,000 cars in China. Of these, around 16,000 were the Smart ForTwo size E200 EVs. Ford says this potential joint venture is part of its “societal goals of improving air quality and addressing climate change”, and has outlined plans to invest US$4.5 billion in electric vehicle development, with 13 electrified models due to be released over the next 5 years. Among this will be a new small electric cross-over aimed at Asia, North America, and Europe. The Blue Oval has also stated it wants 70 percent of its Chinese sales to feature “electrified powertrain options” by 2025. +++
+++ HYUNDAI is finally going the pick-up muster. According to Reuters, the company’s US product boss confirmed the long-expected rumour that the 2015 Santa Cruze concept will enter production. The Santa Cruz concept was based on the Tucson, as Hyundai believes a smaller, more urban focused pick-up is what it needed to avoid competing directly with the popular Ford, Chevrolet and Ram full-size offerings. “The car researched very strongly in the US and no doubt it will sell well there, in a market where customers’ needs for bigger pickups are well serviced by the Big Three”, according to a spokesman. There are also indications that Hyundai is working on a proper HiLux-rivalling 4×4 pick-up, however details of that vehicle are still mostly unknown. “It’s being planned, it’s being prepared”, an insider says. “I do know that Hyundai is taking it very seriously and there’s a model code allocated to it and there’s some work under way, but what the time frames are as far as I’m aware, there’s no commitment”. Hyundai US also confirmed that 2018 will see the introduction of a new generation Santa Fe and is likely to add a new 7-seat SUV offering to its range. The move to expand Hyundai’s SUV line-up comes as crucial North American sales have slipped almost 11 per cent for the end of July 2017. +++
+++ Details of JEEP ’s long-awaited Wrangler-based ute have leaked, including its likely name. Enthusiast website JeepScramblerForum.com claims to have uncovered the name and powertrain details of the crucial new model from the American brand. As has long been suspected, the Scrambler name will be used for the new 4×4 ute according to infomation sourced from Jeep’s North American dealer network. Though not a familiar name for Australian Jeep fans, Scrambler has been used previously for a pick-up-style variant of the Wrangler’s predecessor overseas. Engine details for the new model has also been revealed via the dealers. The Scambler is set to be powered by the latest-generation of Jeep’s current 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 equipped with start-stop, according to the dealer leak. The V6 turbo diesel is also set to feature on the regular Wrangler. The information makes no mention of either petrol power, or a smaller 4-cylinder engine, however with the American market primarily petrol focused expect at least one engine that uses unleaded to join the diesel. Details of the new pick-up’s frame and axles have also surfaced with suggestions that the Scrambler will be built atop a ladder chassis that measures approximately 5.210 mm in length, giving it a considerable advantage over the current Wrangler Unlimited’s 4.370 mm frame. Underneath the Scrambler new 12-bolt front and rear axle and differential assemblies from drivetrain specialist, Dana Incorporated, will allow additional carrying capacity compared to the current Dana 44 axle used in the current Wrangler. The Scrambler will also apparently hang onto the Wrangler’s iconic removable roof, with a choice of 3 options including a black or body-coloured three piece hard top roof, or a black ‘sunrider’ soft top option. +++
+++ Despite the failed talks between SKODA , on behalf of Volkswagen, and Tata Motors, and the subsequent termination of the MoU signed in March, the Czech car maker has not given up plans to develop a budget car for emerging markets. Skoda is aiming to roll out a low-cost product by 2020. VW Group’s Head of Strategy, Thoman Sedran, said Skoda has developed a series of ideas for a cheap car for the Indian market. The upcoming Skoda budget car could subsequently find its way into Brazil and Iran. In March, the Volkswagen Group and Tata Motors signed an MoU for the exploration of joint development of products. As VW’s MQB was deemed too expensive for the Indian market, Volkswagen tasked Skoda with exploring the possibility of using Tata’s AMP (Advanced Modular Platform) for their next-gen car range. The platform was to underpin products for cost sensitive and emerging markets. However, concluding that substantial investments on the AMP was required to optimize it to meet future crash test and emission requirements, VW took the decision to call off the partnership. If recent media reports are to be believed, Volkswagen is back evaluating MQB for India as the alternative path, and the board will make a decision next month. If VW does go through with the rationalization of the modular platform for India, it will open the door for the arrival of the new generation Polo. Other products underpinned by this platform, like the Volkswagen Virtus and the T-Cross, could also make it to India. +++
+++ The Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Centre for Accident Research & Road Safety (CARRS-Q) has released the results of a new study detailing which driver groups are the worst SPEEDING OFFENDERS . The study has moved its creators to declare speeding, the most common traffic offence, as dangerous as drink-driving. “Would you get behind the wheel drunk? Would you travel 65 km/h in a 60 zone? The impact on driving performance is roughly the same”, reads the CARRS-Q study, prepared for Queensland Road Safety Week 2017. Angela Watson, doctor at QUT, said: “When it comes to speeding we know that it is a major factor in serious and fatal crashes and travelling just 5 km/h over the limit in urban areas, and 10 km/h in rural areas are enough to double the crash risk”. “This is roughly equivalent to the increase in risk associated with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05. While many drivers could put hand on heart and say they would never drink and drive, the same cannot be said for drivers who exceed the speed limit”, she said. QUT’s data shows that certain groups of drivers are overrepresented in speeding offences and road fatalities caused by excessive speeds. “For example, younger drivers, particularly younger men, are at a higher risk of committing a speeding offence and of being a repeat speeding offender”, Watson said. “Males are generally over-represented in speed-related fatality statistics. We also know that people who have committed two or more high-range speeding offences (more than 30 km/h above the speed limit) are more likely to have committed other driving offences and have a criminal history”. “This tells us that people often drive as they live: risky on the roads, risk-takers in life”, she added. To combat the problem, Watson proposed mandatory speed limiting devices for repeat offenders, along with intelligent speed adaption that notifies drivers when they are over the limit or restrict them from exceeding the limit. “At CARRS-Q we want people to understand the consequences of speeding and to gain a greater understanding of the impact it has on themselves, their families and the community in a crash”, she said. +++