Short torque

Volkswagen, Tata look to Indian market

Volkswagen AG is in advanced talks to partner with Tata Motors Ltd as the German automaker once again attempts to cash in on India's fast-growing demand for cars. A deal that would see Volkswagen and Tata jointly develop vehicles for emerging markets could be announced at the Geneva International Motor Show in early March, but there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached. Volkswagen is exploring - with its brands and "potential partners" - ways to "enlarge the product portfolio with tailor-made solutions" in India, the company said in an emailed statement on Wednesday, adding that it's "premature to make any further disclosures at the moment."

BMW, Mobileye partner over mapping data

BMW AG will use chips and cameras made by Mobileye NV to collect mapping data for autonomous driving in its vehicles starting in 2018, the two companies announced. The German carmaker will also allow data to be merged with information collected from competitors' fleets to speed the development of high-definition maps that are critical to enable autonomous driving. The announcement comes a week after Mobileye said it had signed a similar agreement with Volkswagen AG to collect and share mapping data for self-driving cars.

PSA aims to build top European car with Opel

Chairman and CEO of French carmaker PSA Group Charles Tavares wants to create a "European car champion" with the potential purchase of General Motors' European car business, and pledged to work with governments and unions that are worried about job cuts.After reporting a near-doubling of the group's 2016 profits, Tavares lauded the benefits of a deal that could reshape the continent's car market and see PSA leapfrog the Renault-Nissan Alliance to become Europe's No 2 carmaker behind Volkswagen. Tavares said in Paris on Thursday that PSA's ambition to buy GM's loss-making German subsidiary Opel and its British brand Vauxhall is rooted in his company's remarkable financial turnaround.

GM bill is self-driving and could harm rivals

With states across the United States seizing the initiative on shaping the future of self-driving cars, General Motors is trying to persuade legislators across the country to approve rules that would benefit the automaker while potentially keeping its competitors off the road. The carmaker denies trying to exclude other brands, but legislators in four states say GM lobbyists asked them to sponsor bills that the company's competitors argue would do just that. The bills set a blueprint for the introduction of fully self-driving cars that are part of on-demand, ride-sharing fleets, but they must be owned by an automaker.

Hyundai launches new tech research centers

Hyundai Motor, South Korea's largest car manufacturer, has launched new research centers to develop core technologies and focus on autonomous driving systems. Hyundai said it established the Strategic Technology Research Institute, an integrated research center to develop core future technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, new materials, and information and communications technology, to develop self-driving systems. Based on the newly developed technologies, Hyundai plans to create new business models in a bid to shape the self-driving car market.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 02/27/2017 page19)