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This week in Automotive: Smart manufacturing of vehicles takes center stage as auto players get ready to unveil new electric lineup

Latest Industry Insights from Draup Braindesk

Companies are significantly improving fuel economy, performance, safety, and reducing emissions. 

  • Volvo Autonomous Solutions has formed a strategic alliance with Aurora to develop autonomous highway trucks. 

  • Equipmake launched a range of F1-bred electric motors for off-highway vehicles. 


Green transportation is swiftly growing, owing to which the logistics companies are converting their existing fleet into electric propulsion-based vehicles. 

  • Stellantis developed a hydrogen fuel cell light commercial vehicle partnership with Faurecia and Symbio. 

  • Lightning eMotors has signed an exclusive partnership with Soderholm Bus & Mobility in Hawaii to provide Lightning eMotors’ zero-emission powertrains for their commercial van and bus customers. 


OEMs actively seek solution providers to enhance their line of motorcycles with the ADAS suite and develop in-house capabilities. 
  • Harley Davidson developed the ‘Reflex Defensive Rider Systems’ ADAS suite with features including traction control, stability control, cornering ABS, and TPMS1. 

  • Harley Davidson teamed up with IBM and Panasonic to provide motorcycle connectivity service ‘H-D Connect’ that updates the rider with vehicle vitals, including range, battery health, charge level, and GPS assistance. 


Despite the effect of COVID-19 on car sales, the road to growth in the E.V. sector appears clear, with manufacturers investing billions of dollars and governments around the world supporting the industry. 
  • Volkswagen`s software company Car Software Organisation collaborated with Microsoft to build a cloud-based Automated Driving Platform (ADP) on Microsoft Azure and leverage its compute and data capabilities to deliver automated driving experiences even faster at a global scale. 

  • General Motors intends to exclusively offer electric vehicles, phasing out all diesel and gasoline-powered cars, trucks, and SUVs by 2035, and transition its entire new fleet to electric vehicles as part of a larger plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. 

Latest Reports Published in Draup

ADAS adoption by motorcycle OEM: The global motorcycle ADAS market is concentrated with a few solution providers such as Bosch and Continental, offering ADAS solutions bundled with an array of features. The global market is steadily adopting advanced self-driving technologies. Read More>>
Toyota account intelligence report: Toyota will position its future goals in enhancing its digital capabilities across its electric vehicle lineup portfolio. It is keen to be a global leader in the electric vehicle market by developing various autonomous mobility and electrification solutions. Read More>>

Key Funding Alert

Chinese lidar maker Hesai lands USD 300 Mn led by Hillhouse, Xiaomi, Meituan 

Hesai, a Shanghai-based lidar maker, will mass-produce its hybrid solid-state lidar for its OEM customers, the construction of its smart manufacturing center, and research and development on automotive-grade lidar chips. Read More>>

Startup Spotlight

Company – Electra Vehicles 
HQ Location – Greater Boston Area, US
Year of Inception – 2015
Total Funding – USD 4.07 Mn
About: Electra Vehicles, Inc. produces AI-based software solutions to the electric vehicle, electric fleet, and battery-electric industries to improve battery pack range, lifetime, and charging performance. Electra’s products fill the design and performance gaps. Read More>>

Key Insights and Signals in Automotive

Mergers and Acquisitions
Hyperdrive & BorgWarner Gateshead acquired by Turntide 
Incorporating the technology from these two companies with the Smart Motor System will allow Turntide to simplify the path to sustainable transport. Read More>>
TVS Group takes over Wilcox 
Total Vehicle Solutions (TVS) Group, the Wisbech-based manufacturer of commercial vehicle ancillaries, has expanded its portfolio by acquiring Wilcox Group Ltd, makers of aluminum rigid and trailer tipping bodies, and exclusive U.K. agents for CIFA Mixers. Read More>>
Goodyear Completes Acquisition of Cooper 
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that it completed its Cooper Tire & Rubber Company acquisition, finalizing the merger agreement made public on February 22. The company will offer options across the value spectrum, making it easier for customers and consumers to choose Goodyear- and Cooper-branded tires.  Read More>>
Volvo Penta acquires majority stake in ZEM, a Norwegian marine battery systems company 
ZEM has delivered battery solutions for many different applications, including ferries, offshore supply vessels, high-speed passenger ships, and lifeboats. Volvo Penta will support the firm’s growth through its established network. At the same time, ZEMs experience will help the former company accelerate its development projects, expanding its range and capabilities in marine electromobility. Read More>>
General Motors-backed startup Wejo going public  
Connected-car-data startup company Wejo is poised to go public through a reverse merger with Virtuoso Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company. The deal values Wejo at USD 800 Mn. Read More>>

Partnerships
Pioneer and Cerence enter strategic partnership to develop conversational A.I. infotainment solutions that transform mobility experiences 
Pioneer, in-car equipment and mobility services, and Cerence, a provider of conversational A.I. to mobility OEMs and automakers, will combine technologies to accelerate innovation and develop products and services that enhance mobility experiences for drivers and passengers globally. Read More>>
Oculii partners with leading Chinese automobile manufacturer Great Wall Motors 
Oculii’s AI-driven software technology allows any radar to dynamically adapt and dramatically increase the resolution of any commodity radar by over 100X. Oculii and Great Wall Motors recently partnered to showcase a fully autonomous ground vehicle platform at the Great Wall Motor smart factory marathon. Read More>>
eSync Alliance welcomes Aptiv as a new member 
The Alliance is based around eSync, a platform of cloud and embedded software solutions that provide a secure data pipeline between the cloud and electronic end devices in vehicles. Read More>>
China’s COSCO teams up with Tesla to digitize logistics 
Chinese state-owned shipping company COSCO Group expects to help unsnarl the mess that international logistics has become amid the pandemic. The tie-up also calls for COSCO to share its shipping data with Tesla so the E.V. pioneer can put the system through its paces at a Shanghai port. Read More>>
Renault, Plug Powers new JV Hyvia to focus on hydrogen-based mobility 
HYVIA integrated hydrogen technology will complement Renault’s E-TECH technology, increasing the vehicle range to 500km with a rapid recharging time of 3-minutes. Read More>>
Executive Movement 
U.S.-China supercar startup hires former Ferrari, BMW exec Roberto Fedeli 
Former Ferrari and BMW executive Roberto Fedeli has joined a U.S.-Chinese startup company to build supercars in Italy and China. Fedeli is the new chief technology officer at Silk-FAW, a joint venture between Chinese automaker FAW and Silk E.V., a U.S.-based automotive engineering and design company. Read More>>
Top Tesla executives Guillen departs 
Jerome Guillen, a longtime executive who led its heavy trucking division, is leaving the company. In 2007, he founded Daimler’s Business Innovation Group, which he led until surprisingly joining Tesla in 2010 as Model S program director. Read More>>
Union rep becomes the first woman on VW board 
German automobile giant Volkswagen has appointed Daniela Cavallo to serve on its executive committee. In these two powerful roles, Cavallo will be the first woman to influence the automaker’s strategy. Read More>>
CEAT names Tolani chief executive of specialty tires unit  
Amit Tolani, who has been with CEAT since 2004, most recently as chief marketing officer, was named chief executive of CEAT Specialty, the tire maker’s business unit dedicated to off-road specialty tires. Read More>>
Douglas L. Davis appointed to Oshkosh Corporation’s board of directors 
With the appointment of Mr. Davis, Oshkosh Corporation will have 11 board members. Mr. Davis served as Senior Vice President of the Automated Driving Group at Intel Corporation, where his most recent responsibilities included the initial formation and strategy of the automated driving business. Read More>>
Center setup and expansion
Bosch opens USD 1.2 Bn chip plant in Germany 
The plant will handle front-of-the-line processing, or wafer fabrication, in the semiconductor manufacturing process. The 77,500 sq-ft plant will run on what Bosch calls AIoT, a term that combines artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to denote a fully connected and data-driven system unique to the facility. Read More>>
G.M. establishes USD 45 Mn Racing & Performance Development center in Charlotte, North Carolina 
The new center will support G.M.s racing efforts across all the series it competes in, from sports car racing at Le Mans to stock car racing in NASCAR to open-wheel racing in IndyCar. G.M. also intends to facilitate knowledge transfer between racing teams and production vehicle development. Read More>>
Tesla supplier CATL plans a major battery plant in Shanghai 
CATL hopes to rapidly expand that relationship, aiming to become its biggest supplier soon by providing half of the battery cells Tesla uses globally in electric vehicles and roof energy storage, said a senior source at the Chinese company. Read More>>
Volvo India expands footprint with new Digital Technology Hub 
Volvo has a new Digital Technology Hub in Bangalore, which will help expand its digital footprint in Bengaluru, India. It inaugurated its spare parts warehouse in Mumbai and initiated its CKD operations in Bangalore for its luxury cars in 2018. The new Digital Technology Hub is the next phase of its plans to expand in the Indian market. Read More>>
Nissan to invest USD 1.8 Bn in new electric-vehicle battery plants with the Chinese partner 
According to a report, Nissan will invest more than 200 Bn Yen (USD 1.8 Bn) in building new electric-vehicle battery plants in the U.K. and Japan. The Japanese automobile giant and a Chinese-owned battery maker aim to deliver batteries to power 700,000 electric vehicles a year from two plants as early as 2024. Read More>>
Deals and Deal Renewals
Apple in talks with Tesla supplier CATL for a battery supply deal 
Apple has begun preliminary discussions with Tesla, Inc.’s battery supplier, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, and Warren Buffett-owned Chinese automaker BYD Company Limited to source battery for its E.V. Read More>>
Toyota Motor selects Nutanix Cloud Platform to realize a new way of working 
Toyota will leverage hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) to build a VDI environment that can support high-performance applications and run 3D CAD software. The Nutanix cloud platform stood out for its ability to support Virtual Graphics Processing Unit (vGPU) functions required to render 3D graphics in HCI virtual environments. Read More>>
BorgWarner to supply power system for Hyundais electric vehicles 
The Hyundai Motor Group selected BorgWarner’s integrated drive module (iDM) for its power electric system, which will be used in the upcoming A-segment electric vehicle production. With its state-of-the-art electric motor, gearbox, and integrated power electronics, BorgWarner’s new iDM supports global automakers in their mission to produce cleaner and more efficient vehicles. Read More>>
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