Industry

General Motors said on Wednesday it would hire more than 8,000 new technical staff this year, as the U.S. automaker accelerates its development of electric vehicles and software-driven services. The automaker hired about 3,000 tech people in 2021. GM said it is expanding teams that electrify cars, develop vehicle software and autonomous technology and engineer

Porsche is dialing up the capabilities of the infotainment system in some of its most popular cars and light trucks. The sixth generation of the Porsche Communication Management system — or PCM 6.0 — adds direct Spotify integration, allowing users to access the streaming service without having to connect via a smartphone. The infotainment system,

Some major automotive suppliers won’t just be rolling out new driver-assistance technology in the coming years. They also will be deploying health technology aimed at detecting COVID-19, alerting someone to signs of a heart attack and purifying the air in vehicles. “Our technologies make mobility cleaner, safer and smarter,” Valeo Deputy CEO Christophe Perillat said

Autonomous robots were a major focus this year at CES, from roaming device demonstrations on the exhibit floor to virtual presentations discussing emerging trends in the space. Autonomous-delivery startup Ottonomy used the Las Vegas event to spotlight its Ottobot, the company’s newly named delivery robot capable of navigating “crowded and unpredictable environments” and working indoors

When riders fled public transit during the early throes of the pandemic, Local Motors suffered from shelved orders for its 3D-printed autonomous Olli shuttle. When orders returned and then proliferated, the ongoing chip shortage stymied the company’s ability to fulfill them. The double whammy of the coronavirus and supply chain constraints emerged as two central

DETROIT — General Motors is expected on Tuesday to outline plans to invest $6.5 billion for EV projects at two sites in Michigan. The investment would create 4,000 jobs in Orion Township and the Lansing suburb of Delta Township in Eaton County, according to a Jan. 25 board meeting agenda for the Michigan Strategic Fund

Lidar technology startup Luminar said Thursday that it has established its latest automotive partnership with Mercedes-Benz. It will involve series production of sensors, enhancing the automaker’s automated highway driving systems. There’s not yet a timetable for when Luminar’s “Iris” lidar will be installed in passenger vehicles, nor specific vehicle models chosen. As part of the

Orion Township’s board of trustees on Tuesday approved a 12-year tax break for General Motors to launch a $1.3 billion expansion of its Orion Assembly plant for production of EVs and batteries. If GM decides to move forward with a new capital investment at the 39-year-old assembly plant, the automaker would get a 50 percent

Automotive technology supplier Aptiv on Tuesday named former Microsoft executive Sophia Velastegui as its new chief product officer. Velastegui will start on Feb. 1 and report directly to CEO Kevin Clark, said Aptiv spokeswoman Sarah McKinney. The announcement comes shortly after the company agreed to pay $4.3 billion for software firm Wind River, strengthening its

The mobility company Cerence showcased new technology at CES this month that reimagines the idea of an in-car voice assistant. The technology, Cerence Co-Pilot, uses artificial intelligence and continuous learning to provide more intuitive in-vehicle assistance, with the ability to even anticipate a driver’s needs before being prompted for assistance. Cerence Chief Technology Officer Prateek

U.S. truck fleet operator J.B. Hunt Transport Services and Alphabet Inc’s self-driving unit Waymo are expanding their alliance to deploy fully autonomous trucking operations in Texas in the next few years, the companies said on Friday. In June last year, the companies began testing self-driving trucks, with a driver and a technician supervising, to deliver

Self-driving shuttle manufacturer Local Motors will shutter operations on Friday, according to multiple executives. Though no formal announcement was made, several employees with the company, which produced the Olli shuttle — accessible for people with disabilities — among other vehicles, detailed the company’s demise on social media Thursday. Two Local Motors employees later confirmed the

Automotive technology supplier Aptiv said Tuesday it has agreed to buy software firm Wind River from private equity firm TPG Capital for $4.3 billion in cash as it seeks to capitalize on a surge in spending by automakers to digitalize their cars. The all-cash deal will expand Aptiv’s footprint in an area that is fast

he move to electrification is affecting every facet of the auto industry, including the contract manufacturers that marry chassis produced by automakers with their own proprietary bodies. One of the largest upfitters is J.B. Poindexter & Co., a company headquartered in Houston whose roots trace back to the early 1980s. It posted revenue of $2

CES, the annual technology showcase in Las Vegas, made a partial in-person return this year. Several companies switched to online reveals and briefings due to the rise of the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Here’s a rundown of the automotive and mobility technology news from the show, both live and virtual: Cadillac’s

Automotive tech company Aptiv showcased at CES how it is positioned for the wider adoption of software-based vehicle technologies. Aptiv’s virtual and on-site presentation at the Las Vegas event included a demonstration of several use cases for the company’s software applications in vehicle architecture, such as using artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance Aptiv’s

Join Automotive News at noon EST Friday, Jan.7, for a live chat about the most significant developments at CES 2022. Tune in to our LinkedIn and Facebook pages to be part of the discussion with Executive Editor Jamie Butters and Staff Reporters Pete Bigelow, Vince Bond Jr., John Irwin and Hannah Lutz. These reporters have

Cadillac’s vision for the future is a reputation based on the experience of the journey rather than the vehicle itself. “We were designing cars, but now we design experiences,” Frank Saucedo, director of General Motors’ Advanced Design Studio in California, told Automotive News. “The technology is making this [customer] experience basically effortless.” Cadillac showcased the

Getty Images The RAC has accused petrol retailers of ripping off motorists by refusing to pass on wholesale price cuts. The motoring organisation said unleaded petrol fell by 2p a litre, but should have come down by 12p. It estimated drivers were overcharged by £5m a day in December as retailers made an average of

The U.S. Department of Transportation has set six guiding principles for balancing the federal government’s role with ongoing innovation in the transportation sector. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg unveiled the principles Thursday during a virtual keynote at CES. “As policymakers, we have to prioritize,” Buttigieg said. “We need to assess which important innovations will develop

Reuters US car giant General Motors has lost its title as America’s top car seller for the first time in 90 years. Japan’s Toyota claimed the top spot, selling more than 2.3 million vehicles last year, up 10%. GM said its sales, which fell 13%, were hurt by the widespread shortage of semiconductor parts that

Getty Images Sales of electric vehicles soared last year, but the market as a whole failed to recover from the Covid pandemic. More electric cars were registered in 2021 than in the previous five years combined, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Yet the industry body said much more investment is

Concerns over range anxiety have been well documented among prospective electric vehicle owners. Cases of range excess? Those are more difficult to find. On the way home from a road trip designed to test the range limits of a prototype battery, that’s exactly what an engineering team from Michigan startup Our Next Energy Inc. encountered.

Stellantis said it is linking with Amazon to help spearhead its vehicle software push and get the electric Ram ProMaster van on the road next year to make deliveries in a series multi-year agreements. Amazon will be the first commercial customer for the battery electric ProMaster, which will expand the company’s sustainable delivery network that

Mobileye, Intel’s autonomous driving unit, is partnering with a number of automakers on driver assist and autonomous vehicle technologies expected on production vehicles in the coming years. The technology company said it has inked a deal with Volkswagen Group to use its mapping data on upcoming models; is partnering with Ford Motor Co. to enhance

Mercedes-Benz has revealed a 620-mile-plus EV concept that the luxury automaker claims is its “most efficient and aerodynamic vehicle.” The Vision EQXX, which Mercedes said can drive from New York to Cincinnati on a single charge and is as aerodynamic as a football, showcases long-distance efficiency through advancements in energy density, aerodynamics and lightweight design.

CES, the annual technology showcase in Las Vegas, makes an in-person return this year, at least partially. Several companies have switched to online reveals and briefings due to the rise of the omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19. Here are the automotive and mobility technology updates from the show, both live and virtual:

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co.’s commercial vehicle arm, Ford Pro, sees charging services as a key revenue opportunity as it prepares in the coming months to launch its first electric vehicle targeted at business owners. Officials on Thursday laid out a number of charging initiatives they hope capture more than $1 billion in revenue by

It’s been a busy year for self-driving technology company Aurora Innovation Inc. and its CEO, Chris Urmson. The company entered into partnerships with Volvo, FedEx and Paccar to load big rigs with its technology and received a $400 million investment from Uber — whose ATG autonomous vehicle division Aurora acquired. It’s had to weather a

AUSTIN, Texas — DHL Supply Chain has placed a U.S. order for 100 trucks equipped with TuSimple‘s self-driving technology and manufactured by Navistar to further expand its understanding of driverless trucks in its supply chain. DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post AG, in a statement said that while the partnership was currently in its infant