China Automobile Industry, Technology (NEV, Driverless, etc): News & Images

[JSCh]

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD to provide 10 buses for Philippines
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-30 15:37:52|Editor: Yamei


MANILA, May 30 (Xinhua) -- China's battery and electric vehicle maker BYD announced on Wednesday that it will provide the Philippines with the first-ever 10 electric buses, which are expected to ply Manila's roads in July.

Two of the 10 electric buses have been delivered while eight more are expected to be delivered next month.

Liu Xueliang, vice general manager of the BYD sales, told Xinhua that BYD and Columbian Motors Corporation(CMC), one of the Philippines' largest bus manufacturers, signed the agreement in October 2017 to purchase the 10 e-buses from BYD.

Arsenio Yap, CMC president, said the 10 electric buses will be the first in the Philippines.

Yap said there are about 9,000 buses plying Manila's roads every single day. "With the all-electric buses, we will make the transportation in Metro Manila more environment-friendly, more convenient, healthier and safer," Yap said.

The 80-passengers buses can cover up to a 250-km trip on a single charge.

Manila is the capital and largest city in the Philippines with more than 12 million people.

According to studies, the traffic congestion in the Metro Manila is getting worse and is costing 3.5 billion pesos (roughly 70 million U.S. dollars) in lost opportunities every day, highlighting the need for new and modern infrastructure to ease the congestion.

The jeepneys remain the main transport for millions of people in Metro Manila.

However, old and rickety jeepneys are being blamed for polluting the air and causing traffic jams.

The Philippine government vowed to push through with its plan to ban jeepneys that are older than 10 years from the streets and replace the diesel-fuelled passenger cars with the electric jeepneys.

Liu said BYD has rich experiences in manufacturing electric vehicles and hopes to contribute to the Philippine government's efforts to modernize the jeepneys.

"We are working with our Philippine partners to help them develop battery-operated or electric-operated jeepneys provide," Liu said.

 

[JSCh]

31 May 2018 | 21:00 GMT
China's Alibaba Puts Solid-State Lidar in a Delivery Truck
That's one small step for delivery bots, but a giant one for solid-state lidar
By Philip E. Ross

Photo: Robosense​

China’s Alibaba says that it has built the world’s first self-driving vehicle guided by solid-state lidar. The vehicle’s a truck; the lidar comes from China’s Robosense.

That’s one small step for delivery bots but one giant leap for solid-state lidar.

A small step, because delivery bots are already out there, managing without lidar. A giant leap, because solid-state lidar has so far been mostly just a smile and a shoeshine. The one production car to sport lidar—the upcoming 2019 Audi A8—packs a mechanical form of the device and uses it only for traffic-jam assist and other functions below true self-driving.

--> China's Alibaba Puts Solid-State Lidar in a Delivery Truck - IEEE Spectrum

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese auto supplier in talks to buy out German partner Grammer
Xinhua, May 29, 2018

Chinese auto supplier Ningbo Jifeng Auto Parts Co. is in advanced negotiations to buy out its German partner Grammer AG, Grammer said Tuesday in a statement.

According to Grammer, Jifeng's indicative offer valued the German auto seats manufacturer at around 772 million euros (893 million U.S. dollars) including dividends. The proposal price is 17 percent higher than Grammer's closing price on Monday.

Grammer added: "At this stage it is uncertain whether the negotiations will be concluded successfully and a takeover offer will be launched," and adding that it's "assessing strategic options in the best interest of the company."

Jifeng has already been Grammer's largest shareholder with a 25 percent stake since 2017. Back then, the Grammer took Jifeng's investment to fend off stock purchases by Bosnian billionaire Hastor family.

Hastor family is Grammer's second largest shareholder with a 19 percent stake.

http://www.china.org.cn/business/2018-05/29/content_51530758.htm

 

[TaiShang]

Nation plans to phase out gasoline-fueled vehicles in near future

(China Daily) 13:46, June 05, 2018

An inspector in Nantong, a city in Jinagsu, tests hydrogen fuel cell. (Photo/Xinhua)

China, the world's biggest vehicle market, will phase out the production and sale of fossil fuel cars in the near future, which will give the new energy vehicle sector a major boost, according to experts.

"Vehicle fumes account for over 80 percent of the country's emissions of carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons, and 90 percent of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions," said Sun Fengchun, vice-president of the Beijing Institute of Technology.

"The rapid development and popularization of new energy cars and the economically viable and socially beneficial solutions they offer mean it's only a matter of time before they fully replace fossil fuel cars."

Figures released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers show that sales of new energy vehicles topped 777,000 in 2016, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.

Meanwhile, in September, Xin Guobin, vice-minister of industry and information technology, told a forum in Tianjin that the ministry had started "relevant research" and was working on a timetable for China to cease the production and sale of gasoline-powered vehicles.

The move is similar to plans announced by France and the United Kingdom to outlaw the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 and clamp down on harmful emissions.

Also in September, the government issued a policy that will require automakers to produce an as yet unspecified number of new energy cars from next year, while gradually reducing the use of conventionally fueled cars. In June last year, the National Development and Reform Commission announced that it would not approve any new car projects that used fossil fuels, and would encourage the development of new energy vehicles.

"China is following the European countries' technological road map to develop new energy vehicles. The government's willingness to work out a timetable is further evidence of the move toward new energy vehicles," Sun said.

In October, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co announced that it would stop selling conventional cars by 2025, but would continue to produce hybrids.

Meanwhile, in December, Beijing Automotive Group announced that it would phase out the sale of its self-developed conventionally powered cars in Beijing by 2020, and also cease production and sales nationwide by 2025 as part of its new energy car campaign.

"There is no doubt that new energy cars are an inevitable trend and the future of transportation, but it's unlikely that customers will abandon gasoline cars overnight. It will take some time for new energy cars to really become part of people's daily lives," Sun said.

 

[JSCh]

Auto startup in $500m fundraising
By Hao Yan in Nanjing | China Daily | Updated: 2018-06-12 10:20

Visitors check out a Byton electric concept vehicle at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Beijing on April 26. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Investment to be funnelled into Byton's flexible vehicle manufacturing platform

Thanks to a recent $500 million B round of fundraising, automobile startup Byton will accelerate its production, and research and development of China's first vehicle to feature an all-screen dashboard.

Two-year-old Byton announced on Monday that the fundraising was led by its strategic partner FAW Group Corp and TUS Holdings Co Ltd. Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd and the Jiangsu Belt and Road Initiative Investment Fund were also among the major investors.

Carsten Breitfeld, CEO and co-founder of Byton, said the company was "very happy" to attract such names in the fundraising, and that FAW Group contributed more than half of the total amount.

"The majority of the funds will be invested into a flexible manufacturing platform. This will now put us in a position to move forward at a high speed to industrialize our product," he said.

The company's flexible manufacturing platform will be capable of producing at least three products, including its first SUV, a sedan and a multi-purpose vehicle, according to Breitfeld.

The startup's first three mass produced cars rolled off the assembly line on Monday at its Nanjing, Jiangsu province, manufacturing base, ready for crash testing in Tianjin in the next several days.

The first product, a fully electric SUV, will feature a 49-inch (124 centimeters) curved screen dashboard, gesture and voice control, and facial recognition technology. It will be capable of level-three eyes-off automated driving, which is mainly used on highways, and will later be upgraded to level-four, known as minds-off automation, according to the company.

New autonomous driving vehicle makers are enjoying enhanced reputations among Chinese customers, according to Andy Zhou, a Shanghai-based partner of Deloitte Consulting.

"Chinese consumers are pinning their highest hopes on new autonomous driving vehicle companies, with their trust based on their technologies' reputation. Their trust in new autonomous driving vehicle companies is about twice that for traditional carmakers," Zhou said.

However, Li Shufu, chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd, said last week at the Global Automotive Forum in Chongqing that a newly established automobile company might need hundreds of billion of yuan in constant investment to transform itself into a profound and renowned automaker.

The sales volume of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars surged by 125.6 percent in May from a year earlier to 102,000 vehicles. Total sales of new energy vehicles rose to 328,000 units for the first five months of the year, up 141.6 percent on 2017, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Released on Monday, the association's data showed the Chinese auto market continued its expansion in May by 9.6 percent year-on-year, with 2.29 million vehicles sold. Total vehicle sales in the first five months of the year climbed 5.7 percent year-on-year to 11.8 million units.

 

[JSCh]

Byton EV startup opens its global headquarters in Nanjing
New China TV
Published on Jun 12, 2018

Byton has officially opened Monday its global headquarters in Nanjing, China, making further progress in the company's strategic effort to establish a global presence.

 

[JSCh]

BYD-ADL continues to lead London's electric bus fleet
China.org.cn, June 22, 2018

The Enviro400EV double-decker bus. [Photo courtesy of BYD]​

The winning partnership of China's BYD and Britain's Alexander Dennis Ltd. has scooped up the largest part of London's first order for fully electric double-decker buses. Thirty seven BYD ADL Enviro400EV buses will enter service with the Transport for London (TfL) operator Metroline in the second quarter of 2019.

Using the proven combination of BYD electric technology and ADL's stylish bodywork and passenger-friendly interior, the Enviro400EV is a new concept as the U.K.'s double-decker market leader. The vehicle is a joint BYD-ADL product and was designed between ADL's facility in Scotland and BYD's R&D Centre in Shenzhen, China. The finished buses will be assembled in Britain by ADL.

The 10.9-meter-long electric double-deckers will feature ADL's urban style body with a glazed staircase built to TfL's comprehensive specification. They will use BYD's Iron-Phosphate battery technology, which enables the buses to run all day on a single charge by using cost-effective off-peak electricity.

The buses, to be based at Metroline's Holloway Garage in north London, will serve the intensive Route 43 running through the heart of the city from London Bridge in the south to Friern Barnet in the north.

Holloway Garage was opened in 1907 as a tram depot, later switching over to trolleybuses and later still to diesel buses. The charging stations will enter service in the middle of this year, managed by BYD's smart-charging battery management system. They will service not only the new double-deckers but also Metroline's fleet of 23 10.8-meter single-decker BYD ADL Enviro200EV buses.

In October 2015, BYD supplied Metroline with five Chinese-built double-deckers – the first in the world. These pilot vehicles have performed well on TfL's Route 98, spanning the length of Oxford Street. They are estimated to have provided over 100,000 miles of service, saving 140 metric tons of emissions.

Metroline's CEO, Jaspal Singh, said, "Operating zero-emission all-electric buses on Route 43 confirms Metroline's continued commitment to London, our customers and Transport for London. The 37 new BYD ADL Enviro400EV's have very impressive environmental credentials." He added that this latest investment by Metroline "underscores our resolve to lead the industry and continually deliver the very best service for London."

Isbrand Ho, managing director of BYD Europe, commented that the joint team has already made impressive progress in the employment of single-decker buses along TfL routes, but that with 6,800 double-deckers driving on the streets of London, full electrification is crucial to maximizing positive impact on air quality. "We are delighted, in the face of intensifying competition, to win the largest first order for electric double-deck buses in London and to retain our position at the top of the electric bus sales league," she stated.

According to ADL's CEO Colin Robertson, "So far the Enviro200EV single decks have delivered in excess of 1.5 million miles of zero emission transport in the U.K." He said that the new contract "takes the BYD-ADL collaboration to a whole new level," adding, "We look forward to continuing our journey of improving air quality, while responding to the operational demands of our customers and the requirements of their passengers."

 

[JSCh]

BYD builds world's largest battery plant
By Zhang Rui China.org.cn, June 28, 2018

​

Du Dezhi, vice-chairman of Qinghai provincial committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC); Niao Chengyun, deputy director of standing committee of Qinghai Provincial People's Congress and party secretary of Haidong city; Wang Xiao, member of the standing committee of CPC Qinghai provincial committee and party secretary of Xining city; Wang Chuanfu, president and chairman of BYD and Wang Liming, vice governor of Qinghai province, attend the opening ceremony of the factory in Nanchuan Industrial Park, Xining, Qinghai province, June 27, 2018. [Photo/China.org.cn]

New energy company BYD launched a 24GWh power battery factory on Wednesday in Qinghai province, prepared to increase total production capacity to 60GWh by 2020.

The factory, equivalent to the size of 140 soccer fields, will be the largest in the world after it completes construction in 2019. It is BYD's third battery factory in China, with the first two in Shenzhen and Huizhou.

"As several countries have announced a deadline to end the sale of internal combustion engine cars, new energy vehicles (NEVs) are the inevitable direction. I believe electric vehicles are on the cusp of another boom," said Wang Chuanfu, president and chairman of BYD, at a ceremony held in Nanchuan Industrial Park, Xining where the factory is located.

Qinghai is lithium-rich -- more than 70 percent of China's lithium resource reserves are found in this province. The technologically advanced Qinghai factory employs the use of a first-rate Manufacturing Execution System, smart logistics, driverless automatic guided vehicles, and a seamless information integration. This will enable production efficiency to reach the top level of the industry in the world.

​

The world's largest power battery factory is launched in western China's lithium-rich Qinghai province, June 27, 2018. [Photo courtesy of BYD]

"All our batteries come with a unique identification code," said He Long, BYD battery division CEO. "We can troubleshoot any problems simply by scanning the QR code on the battery, which gives us the battery's technical specifications and necessary manufacturing information." More importantly, with live data analysis, possible abnormal situations can be prevented ahead of time.

BYD, one of China's largest privately-owned enterprises, was the number one seller of NEVs in the world between 2015 and 2017, with sales in more than 200 cities in 50 countries and regions.

With more than 23 years of continuous innovation, the company offers a wide variety of battery products, such as consumer 3C batteries, power batteries, solar cells and energy storage batteries, and has a complete battery ecosystem. In addition to applications in NEVs and rail transportation, BYD's battery products are widely used in solar power stations, energy storage power stations, and many other new energy solutions.

A photo shows BYD batteries with QR codes. [Photo courtesy of BYD]

 

[JSCh]

China to build R&D platform for new energy smart vehicles
Xinhua Finance in www.cfbond.com
2018-06-28 09:24

China is expected to set up a national innovation platform to promote the research and development (R&D) for new energy smart vehicles, according to the Economic Information Daily on Wednesday.

A system will be built in the future, which consists of technological innovation, industrial ecology, regulations and standards, product stewardship, information security, and among others.

Recently, supportive policies for new energy and smart vehicles have been increasingly intensified.

In January this year, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved the establishment of nine centers within this industry, including those related to the key components of new energy vehicles, intelligent networks, reclamation of batteries, etc.

The move is to deal with the choke points for industrial development and to promote the innovation of common critical, leading, modern and disruptive technologies.

Analysts said those centers would improve the ability of R&D and enhance the collaborative mechanisms of industries, universities and research.

Apart from the policies from the national level, the industry has seen preferential policies from the local governments as well.

Since early this year, 15 provinces and cities in China have issued subsidies and encouraging policies for new energy smart vehicles such as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Guangdong and Heilongjiang, are among them.

As a result, the country has seen a rapid growth in both new energy vehicle enterprises and car parks. Meanwhile, the development of the industry has increasingly turned to high quality and technological advancements.

Meng Wei, an official from the NDRC, said that on the one hand, China had made more progress in the technological development of new energy vehicles and seen an expansion of the market, but on the other hand, phenomena exist in that some investors have blindly pursued the hot spots.

"In this status quo, it is necessary to increase the awareness of the enterprises and perform the regulatory duties of the government to avoid following the trend aimlessly," he said.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1014337063737409537

Baidu Inc.‏Verified account @Baidu_Inc 29m29 minutes ago
A new milestone in #autonomousdriving as we begin volume production of China’s first commercially deployed fully autonomous bus 'Apolong' powered by @ApolloPlatform & @KingLongBuses, with 100 units ready to hit the road today! #BaiduCreate2018 #Mobility #DriverlessCars

 

[JSCh]

BYD wins largest electric bus order in the Americas
China.org.cn, July 4, 2018

​

BYD pure electric bus operating Metbus Line 516, covering Santiago's main arteries. [Photo courtesy of BYD Co. Ltd.]

New-energy technology company BYD has signed a deal to deliver 100 "pure electric" K9FE buses to Chile's capital city of Santiago. The collaboration with Chilean energy distributor ENEL will see the delivery of the e-buses and commencement of their operation by Transantiago, Chile's public transport system, in late November.

ENEL and BYD introduced two pure electric buses in Santiago last November as Chile moves towards electrifying its public transport system. The buses, which are presently operating along eight of the city's most important road arteries, have earned official recognition.

The additional fleet set to arrive in Chile at the end of the year will also operate on Santiago's main avenues, such as Grecia, Vicuña Mackenna and Alameda under the Metbus system. The vehicles will be equipped with BYD's latest battery technology, customized for the Chilean market and for compliance with local transport regulations.

The move to incorporate an all-electric bus fleet into their public transportation system makes Chile a regional pioneer in electrified urban mobility, serving as a model that can be implemented in other markets. Its operation is expected to have a positive impact on overall quality of life in the city.

BYD Chile spokeswoman, Tamara Berríos, said, "Operating a BYD pure electric bus is equivalent to reducing carbon emissions from 33 cars. In addition, BYD pure electric buses are safe, quiet and can reduce operating costs by as much as 70 percent. Moreover, a BYD pure electric bus only requires 70 Chilean pesos to run per kilometer, compared to 350 Chilean pesos per kilometer for internal combustion engine buses. We believe that we can deliver on both quality and safety."

Since its inception in 1995, the Shenzhen-based BYD Company Ltd., one of China's largest privately-owned enterprises, has positioned itself as an industry expert in rechargeable batteries and an advocate of sustainable development. Its creation of a zero-emissions energy ecosystem -- comprising affordable solar power generation, reliable energy storage and cutting-edge electrified transportation -- has made it a global leader in the energy and transportation sectors.

With a presence in more than 200 cities around the world, BYD is listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, and was ranked by the Chinese Passenger Car Association as the number one seller of new energy vehicles in the world between 2015 and 2017.

BYD pure electric buses operated by Transantiago in Chile’s capital. [Photo courtesy of BYD Co. Ltd.]

 

[Kai Liu]

 

[Kai Liu]

 

[JSCh]

US-China Trade Tiff Inspires German Auto Firms to Build More Plants in China
DATE: TUE, 07/10/2018 - 17:11 / SOURCE:YICAI

US-China Trade Tiff Inspires German Auto Firms to Build More Plants in China​

(Yicai Global) July 10 -- The brewing trade tensions between China and the US may disrupt the production lines of car importers, a national car industry data chief says. German luxury car makers will be one of the first ones hit by extra tariffs and the top three are following US and Japanese car firms' suit and moving production to China.

The tariff increase will drag down the competitiveness of imported cars and maybe affect how the market develops in the future, said Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, while referring to these German brands which are majorly manufactured in the US. BMW already said it will have to raise its US-made vehicles' prices in China because of the additional tariffs.

The US started levying an extra tax on USD34 billion worth of Chinese goods last Friday as its latest salvo in the trade dispute. China has responded by imposing a 25 percent duty on cars brought from the US.

China has imported more than 280,000 vehicles from the US since the beginning of this year, making up 10 percent of the total number of such cars. Mercedes-Benz sold the most at 340,000 vehicles in China, and Audi came second with 306,000 vehicles. The sales gap between Audi and BMW narrowed to less than 10,000 units, according to data from May. More than half of the 187,000 BMWs shipped to China last year were produced in US factories.

One way for car companies to hedge against the tariff hike is moving production to China, and all the three are doing just that. This year, BMW has started joint ventures with two Chinese partners, the Great Wall Motors and Brilliance Automotive Group Holdings, to make BMW-branded vehicles in three local factories next year. Daimler, the parent of Mercedes-Benz, expanded its investment with state-owned BAIC Group in February to build another plant for producing luxury electric cars. Audi acquired a 1-percent stake in SAIC Volkswagen last month to also start making its cars locally.

BMW released its first China-made BMW X3 sport utility vehicle a week ago, which dropped the model's price significantly to USD63,000 at its lowest. The X3 now directly competes with domestically made Mercedes-Benz GLC and Audi Q5.

China decided to ease foreign-ownership restrictions in April, which means that the foreign automakers can eventually buy out their local partners and take full control of their operations in the country.

 

[qwerrty]

baidu made the right choice to open their self-driving tech. now their apollo is becoming more and more like android of autonomous vehicles. google didn't see that coming

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Hyundai Motor agrees partnership with AI startup and signs deal with Baidu on driverless tech

June 29, 2018 by David Edwards

Hyundai Motor has agreed a new partnership with Chinese startup DeepGlint, which provides artificial intelligence products and solutions for the security and transportation market

https://roboticsandautomationnews.c...gns-deal-with-baidu-on-driverless-tech/17921/
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Ford, Baidu Tie-Up to Put AI on the Road

Jun 28, 2018 09:42 PM

Baidu Inc. has struck a deal with Ford Motor Co. under which the second-largest U.S. carmaker will incorporate the search engine company’s artificial intelligence (AI) solutions into its Chinese vehicles.

Ford and Baidu will jointly explore cooperation across a variety of domains, including connectivity and digital services, AI, and digital marketing, according to a joint statement released Wednesday.

https://www.caixinglobal.com/2018-06-28/ford-baidu-tie-up-to-put-ai-on-the-road-101287166.html
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Honda joins Baidu's autonomous driving alliance

TOKYO -- Honda Motor is joining a consortium led by Chinese tech giant Baidu aimed at advancing autonomous driving technology, hoping to carve out a share as China races to become the world’s largest market for self-driving vehicles.

The "Apollo Plan," launched in July 2017 by the internet service company, receives state funding as a critical national AI project. Road testing of commercial vehicles will start this year, with passenger vehicle test runs slated to begin next year.

Honda is the first Japanese automaker to join the initiative, which counts Ford Motor and Daimler, as well as U.S. technology companies Nvidia and Intel, among its roughly 100 members. From Japan, consumer electronics maker Pioneer and semiconductor maker Renesas Electronics are also taking part.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Companies/Honda-joins-Baidu-s-autonomous-driving-alliance
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BMW to join board of Baidu's autonomous driving platform Apollo

July 10, 2018 / 5:36 PM / Updated 5 hours ago

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Baidu to join its autonomous driving platform Apollo as a board member, BMW said on Tuesday.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...na-as-trade-war-hits-car-makers-idUSKBN1JZ1AK
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Suning Logistics Signs Strategic Partnership with Baidu Apollo to Accelerate Self-Driving Technology

NANJING, China, July 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Suning Logistics, a subsidiary of Suning Holdings group, today revealed it has signed a strategic partnership with Baidu Apollo to accelerate the commercial application of self-driving technology which could see the mass production of unmanned delivery vehicles as early as 2020.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...lerate-self-driving-technology-300678305.html
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Valeo Joins Baidu's Apollo Autonomous Driving Platform
Jul 05, 2018 1:47 PM PT

Valeo today announced Wednesday that it has entered into strategic cooperation with Apollo, the open autonomous driving platform created by Baidu, China's largest Internet search provider.

http://www.futurecar.com/2440/Valeo-Joins-Baidus-Apollo-Autonomous-Driving-Platform
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Baidu enters Japan's self-driving bus market with SoftBank

July 03, 2018 18:01 JST

BEIJING -- Chinese internet search leader Baidu is tying up with SB Drive, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group, to enter Japan's autonomous vehicle market.

Baidu's Apollo project to develop a platform for autonomous vehicles includes Ford, Honda Motor and approximately other 100 global companies as partners. Its alliance with SB Drive will involve use of the Japanese company's operations management system among other technologies.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Bu...Japan-s-self-driving-bus-market-with-SoftBank
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