Tag: self-driving cars

  • Audi teases an electric A8 successor with Grand Sphere concept

    It was only a week ago that Audi Senior Vice President Henrik Wenders posted a video to his personal LinkedIn page teasing a trio of electric concept cars destined to debut within the next 12-18 months.

    Now we have the first details on one of them, the Audi Grand Sphere, which is scheduled for a world debut at the new mobility show taking place in early September in Munich, Germany.

    The Grand Sphere is a large fastback similar to the A7 but on a bigger scale. It also has an interior that is not only spacious but also extremely comfortable, particularly for the driver. This is important, according to Audi, as the concept is designed with Level 4 self-driving capability in mind, meaning, in certain situations, the driver can lean back and let the car do the driving.

    Teaser for Audi Grand Sphere concept

    Teaser for Audi Grand Sphere concept

    There’s also the Sky Sphere, which is a sports car, and the Urban Sphere, which is most likely a crossover or minivan or a combination of the two body styles. The Sky Sphere is due to be revealed in mid-August during Monterey Car Week, while the Urban Sphere will be revealed in 2022, possibly at an event in China.

    The concepts were developed by Audi’s Artemis skunkworks team which was established in 2020 to help accelerate vehicle development in an attempt to compete with more agile startups in the electric-vehicle race. The responsibilities for Artemis were scaled back considerably in June, but at least one of the vehicles it was developing is due in 2025. The vehicle will be based on the Grand Sphere concept and serve as a replacement for the A8.

    Similar models are being developed for Bentley and Porsche, all under the Landjet code name. For Bentley, the Landjet will serve as a new model line, its first electric vehicle, due in 2025. It isn’t clear where the Landjet vehicle would sit in the Porsche hierarchy. The most likely bet would be a replacement for the Panamera, as the current generation will be due for renewal as we approach 2025. Stay tuned.

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  • Toyota and Aurora partner on self-driving cars

    Toyota and Aurora announced on Tuesday plans to collaborate on self-driving car development.

    The two companies said they formed a long-term partnership to build and deploy self-driving cars at scale. Japanese automotive supplier Denso is also involved in the partnership.

    We won’t have to wait too long to see the first fruits of the partnership. A fleet of Toyota Sienna minivans equipped with a self-driving system developed by Aurora will start testing on public roads in the United States by the end of 2021. Aurora is currently testing prototypes in California, Pennsylvania and Texas.

    Toyota has been developing self-driving cars on its own for several years and has also worked with Uber on the technology. Toyota is also a shareholder of Uber.

    However, Uber sold its self-driving car division, known as Uber Advanced Technology Group, to Aurora late last year. Uber in the future will license a self-driving system from a company like Aurora.

    Aurora on Tuesday said it will be ready to introduce its self-driving system to ride-hailing fleets operated by Uber, as well as Toyota, within the “next few years.” Aurora wants to offer a full service to companies operating self-driving fleets, by covering the financing, insurance and maintenance aspects, as well as the actual self-driving technology.

    “By combining our expertise and know-how in vehicle control systems, mass-production, connected car technology, and our advanced safety support systems with Aurora’s industry-leading approach to self-driving technology, we aim to commercialize and deliver safe, high-quality, and affordable autonomous ride-sharing vehicles and services,” Keiji Yamamoto, Toyota’s operating officer, said in a statement.

    Aurora was established in 2016 with Chris Urmson, one of the early heads of the Google Self-Driving Car Project, now Waymo, among the co-founders. Another co-founder, Sterling Anderson, was in charge of development of Tesla’s Autopilot system in its early years. Aurora’s first product will be a self-driving system designed specifically for trucks, the company said.

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  • Uber reportedly wants to offload self-driving division

    Uber is looking to sell its self-driving technology division known as Uber Advanced Technology Group, according to media reports.

    Citing three people familiar with the matter, TechCrunch reported last week that Uber is in talks to sell the Uber ATG division to Aurora Innovation, a much smaller rival in the self-driving technology space.

    Uber ATG as recently as 2019 received a $1 billion investment from a consortium of Japanese firms that included Toyota and automotive supplier Denso. At the time, Uber ATG was valued at $7.5 billion.

    But the division, which in 2018 saw one of its prototypes hit and kill a pedestrian, has been burning through cash as it seeks to develop a self-driving system, to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, which could potentially be too costly for Uber as the ride-hailing giant continues to deal with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

    As for Aurora, the company was established in 2016 with Chris Urmson, one of the early heads of the Google Self-Driving Car Project, now Waymo, among the co-founders. Another co-founder, Sterling Anderson, was in charge of development of Tesla’s Autopilot self-driving system before he quit to join Urmson at Aurora.

    While the company initially made headlines with deals with Volkswagen Group and Hyundai, things have been quiet recently and VW Group and Hyundai have since gone on to establish more substantial deals with rival self-driving technology companies Argo AI and Aptiv, respectively.

    Unlike Uber, Aurora doesn’t plan to offer a self-driving service. Instead the company wants to sell or license its self-driving system to other firms. As a result, any deal between Uber and Aurora could see Uber end up using a self-driving system from Aurora in the future.

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