Toyota Putting Muda to Work

Toyota Putting Muda to Work

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) announced last week that it will be building a fuel-cell power generation plant at the Port of Long Beach that will be powered by “bio-waste” from dairy farms in northern California, transforming the waste into water, electricity and hydrogen.

Nissan to Test Robo-Taxis in Yokohama

Nissan Motor Co. and Japanese e-commerce software giant DeNA Co. plan a public test in March of their Easy Ride self-driving taxi service in Yokohama.

Nissan Launches a New Leaf

Nissan Launches a New Leaf

While we’ve often pointed out in this space that one of the challenges of moving toward electric vehicles (EVs)—as in full, battery-electric vehicles, not “electrified,” which can be a 48-volt system or a hybrid or some variation there of—is that there needs to be the creation of an infrastructure.

VW Readies Electric Van for Ride-Sharing Service

Volkswagen AG has begun testing a fleet of 20 specially equipped versions of its T6 Multivan in a ride-sharing pilot program in Hannover, Germany.

Jailed VW Manager Says He Was Coached to Lie about Diesel Cheating

Oliver Schmidt, the Volkswagen AG manager found guilty of violating U.S. emission laws, says his superiors and “high-ranking” company lawyers coached him how to lie about the cheating.

BMW Partners with EVCard on Car-Sharing Service in China

BMW AG and Shanghai-based Global Car Sharing & Rental Co. (EVCard) have launched a car-share service in Chengdu, China.

Toyota Plans Large Hydrogen Generation Station in California

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to open what it describes as the world’s first megawatt-scale carbonate fuel cell power generation plant and fueling station at California’s Port of Long Beach.

U.K. Selects Site for EV Battery Development Center

The U.K. has chosen a site near Coventry to erect a complex that will develop manufacturing systems for next-generation electric car batteries.

“A lot of verification of functions is done by simulation with computer tools, but at the end you have to make sure that the driver benefits and that the system is safe, so you also have to still do road testing like we did in the past,” points out Karl Haupt of Conti. Looked at another way: someone could be a master at Gran Turismo Sport and not be able to drive out of their subdivision without running into a rubbish container or parked car.

The Evolution to Autonomy

According to Continental’s Karl Haupt, the move to automated driving is one that will come in increments, not sudden disruptions.

GM to Deploy Self-Driving Vehicles by 2019

General Motors Co. tells investors it expects to begin selling self-driving vehicles for use in urban areas, mainly as autonomous ride-share vehicles, by 2019.