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Samsung to test self-driving cars on Californian streets

Samsung Electronics has obtained a permit to test self-driving cars in California, the home turf of Tesla, Google and Apple. On Thursday, the California Department of Motor Vehicles website showed that Samsung's name had been added to a list of more than three dozen companies with permits to test self-driving cars in the state. Names on the list included major carmakers, and also Apple, Baidu, Tesla and Waymo, which is owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet. Early this year, Samsung Electronics gained approval to test the technology on roads in South Korea.

On-road emission testing aims to avoid new scandals

The European Union has introduced new on-road car emissions testing as regulators strive to prevent a repeat of Volkswagen's diesel emissions scandal. The German carmaker admitted in September 2015 that it used software to cheat United States diesel emission tests. The new process, known as Real Driving Emissions, is designed to reflect everyday driving conditions and to narrow the disparity between road and laboratory test results. Until now only laboratory tests have been used as the benchmark for assessing vehicle emissions, with carmakers employing a variety of strategies to produce better results than possible on the road.

Frankfurt auto show to draw car, tech, software giants

The head of Germany's automobile association said the Frankfurt auto show is bringing together the Las Vegas electronics show and the Detroit auto show under one roof. Set to open to the public on September 14, the show will feature automated and connected vehicles, electric-powered cars and urban mobility. It might irritate some visitors, but will inspire and surprise the vast majority, said the association's chief Matthias Wissmann at a news conference. Besides automakers, software giants Google and SAP, chipmaker Qualcomm and a slew of startups will also be on hand.

Motoring - Agencies

(China Daily 09/04/2017 page19)