Connected Car News: Telsa, Ideanomics, Argo AI, Volkswagen, Local Motors, Innoviz, Pony.ai & Innovusion

In connected car news are Telsa, Ideanomics, Argo AI, Volkswagen, Local Motors, Innoviz, Pony.ai and Innovusion.

No More Bitcoin Payments from Tesla

Elon Musk Tweeted The Tesla has suspended vehicle purchases using bitcoin. We are concerned about rapidly increasing use of fosil fuels for Bitcoin mining and transactions especially coal which has the worst emissions of any fuel.

“Tesla will not be selling any Bitcoin and we intend to use it for attractions as soon as mining transitions to more sustainable energy. We are also looking at other cryptocurrencies that use less than 1% of the Clones points energy transaction.

Ideanomics Acquires US Hybrid

Ideanomics  has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of privately held US Hybrid in cash and stock consideration, the material terms of which are disclosed in the Company’s related 8-K filing. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions.

The acquisition of US Hybrid brings to Ideanomics the application of US-built technology, for use in its own vehicles, and significantly extends the company’s capabilities in zero-emission transportation. US Hybrid will continue to service its existing customer base, and Ideanomics will assist them in scaling their business operations within the Ideanomics Mobility business division. US Hybrid operates from locations in California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

Tactile Mobility’s First Tactile Gathering Project

Tactile Mobility, the leading tactile data and virtual sensing technology company for the automotive industry, municipalities and road authorities, insurance industry and more,  launched the world’s first nationwide tactile data gathering project in partnership with Union Motors, the official importer of Toyota in Israel. Tactile Mobility’s tactile sensing and data technology will be installed in hundreds of Toyota vehicles across Israel to collect road data in real time, enabling unmatched maps of pavement conditions, road slipperiness (grip estimation), distress locations and more – the first time this has been undertaken across an entire country.

Around the world roads are old and deteriorating, and the cost to maintain and repair them is steep — in the US alone, it could cost up to $1 trillion. Today, many road authorities rely on outdated, expensive practices to monitor the condition of their roads such as survey vehicles, patrols, or ‘manual’ citizen alerts. Many do not have the measures in place to keep their roads monitored at an adequate frequency to support adaptive maintenance, which leads to even larger, longer, more costly repairs. Tactile Mobility’s tactile sensing and data technology enables authorities to generate real-time tactile data, which provide unmatched insights about road safety and allow optimized preventative maintenance planning and ad-hoc corrective maintenance.

Red Hat Linux for Automotive

Red Hat, Inc., the world’s leading provider of open source solutions, announced its intent to deliver a functional-safety certified, evolving Linux operating system for the automotive industry. Built from the trusted components of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform, and in collaboration with exida, a leader in functional safety across multiple industries, this operating system will be designed for continuous updates throughout its lifecycle while still retaining crucial functional safety certifications. This brings greater flexibility to the automotive software ecosystem, enabling vehicle manufacturers and their partners to focus on innovative driving experiences with confidence in the behavior of the underlying foundation, which will be developed and maintained by Red Hat and continuously certified by exida.

As vehicles become increasingly more like mobile datacenters, from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to automated vehicles to infotainment, the operating system plays a fundamental role in the resulting software stack. Current automotive software is based on proprietary, limited and intentionally slow components to maximise risk reduction and minimize mistakes, enabling a safety argument to be constructed. Red Hat intends to add open innovation to automotive software while retaining this same commitment to functional safety, bringing expertise in both implementation of more secure computing at-scale and reliable Linux systems-building benefits to the automotive supply chain.

To do this, Red Hat has engaged with exida to help prepare for ISO 26262 certification, an international standard governing the functional safety of electronic systems on road-vehicles. The ISO 26262 standard is the adaptation of IEC 61508 series of standards to address the sector specific needs of electrical and / or electronic systems within road vehicles. The adaptation applies to all activities during the safety lifecycle of safety-related systems comprising electrical, electronic and software components.

Through this collaboration, Red Hat and exida will work towards the continuous certification of the intended Red Hat automotive Linux offering. exida serves as a world-leading accredited certification body specializing in automation and automotive systems with more than 500 work years of cumulative experience in functional safety and cybersecurity. Over nearly two decades of operation, exida maintains extensive relationships with many premium automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and many more automotive suppliers globally. exida maintains the largest database of failure mode information on all component parts used in safety related applications with over 400 billion operating hours of real world field data.

Red Hat’s open hybrid cloud solutions already power a vast array of critical, global workloads, from hospital information systems to worldwide financial networks. Underpinning all of these systems is Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which acts as a more stable, more secure and highly-reliable foundation for even the most sensitive applications. Red Hat intends to take this expertise and apply it to operational technologies, starting with automotive systems, with the potential to also encompass manufacturing equipment, robotics and more.

Goodyear Acquires Cooper Tire

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company today announced that it has commenced a private offering to eligible purchasers of $1.45 billion aggregate principal amount of 8- and 10-year senior notes. The notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the company. Issuance and sale of the notes is subject to market and other customary closing conditions.

Goodyear intends to use the net proceeds from this offering, together with cash on hand and borrowings under its revolving credit facility, to fund the cash portion of the consideration for the acquisition of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company and to pay fees and expenses in connection with such acquisition and the other transactions related thereto.

RAN Wireless

RAN Wireless is saving business owners thousands of dollars with its integrated fleet tracking technology. The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of fleet tracking more than ever as fleet services were determined to be essential with e-commerce experiencing exponential growth, increasing the need for trucking and deliveries.

According to a recently released study, the Smart Fleet Management Market was estimated at USD 525 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 900 billion by 2026. Smart fleet management – or fleet tracking – involves vehicle tracking, safety management, speed management, vehicle maintenance and more.

While many companies have adopted some type of fleet tracking technology, RAN Wireless is disrupting the industry by simplifying large enterprise operations with a full spectrum of managed data services. Whereas most fleet tracking companies only track or run diagnostics of vehicles, Department of Transportation-certified RAN technology provides a full array of hardware and a free app to track assets and receive field reports. RAN offers DOT and IFTA reports, E logging, temperature sensors and more, in addition to tracking and running vehicle diagnostics.

“The best thing about this technology is it’s a one-stop shop. Most business owners have to get their tracking information from one company, and then they get their reporting from another vendor. It’s burdensome to track all these different bills and data,” says RAN Wireless CEO Marc DeCarlo. “In addition to offering companies thousands of dollars in savings with our technology, we make their businesses more productive and efficient by simplifying the overall fleet tracking process.”

One of RAN’s customers, A to Z Trucking, has been able to optimize routes while saving $100,000 in the past year.

Wise Systems AI-Driven Dispatch and Routing

Wise Systems today announced that its AI-Driven Dispatch & Routing software is now available on SAP^® Store, the digital marketplace for SAP and partner offerings. Wise Systems’ software integrates with SAP S/4HANA^® and delivers dynamic AI solutions for last-mile operations.

“In today’s fast-moving transportation industry, dynamic solutions that enable fleets to maximize fleet efficiency, reduce carbon footprint, and improve customer experience are needed now more than ever,” said Chazz Sims, CEO and co-founder of Wise Systems. “Integration with SAP S/4HANA and availability on SAP Store extends the reach of our powerful AI platform to the extensive network of companies that use SAP technologies and equips them with a competitive edge in last-mile operations.”

Wise Systems brings a relentless focus on optimizing the delivery experience and outcomes with its extensive suite of AI-driven routing and dispatching capabilities for delivery recipients, drivers, dispatchers, and managers. The company’s real-time, fully automated system is already powering delivery and service operations for a wide variety of customers ranging from multi-billion dollar global enterprises, including Anheuser-Busch and Lyft, to market leaders across food, beverage, parcel, courier, field service, and other industries.

Wise Systems’ platform combines a powerful, AI-driven optimization engine with intuitive user experiences for delivery recipients, drivers, dispatchers and managers. With integration to SAP S/4HANA, Wise Systems pulls orders from the SAP system into the platform, creates optimal routes, and then synchronizes the routing data back to SAP S/4HANA to improve the efficiency and service of last-mile operations.

Toyota BEV Lineup

Toyota is on the path to an electrified future and the company is committed to making battery electric vehicles (BEVs) a key part of its lineup. Earlier this year, Lexus unveiled the LF-Z, a conceptual look at the future of BEVs in the luxury segment. That was followed by the debut of the Toyota bZ4X concept, a battery electric SUV that will go into production in 2022.

Toyota expects BEVs and FCEVs will make up 15% of its U.S. sales by 2030, and along with the company’s hybrids (HEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), 70% of the Toyota and Lexus combined sales mix will be electrified by 2030. On a global basis, Toyota expects to sell approximately 8 million electrified vehicles by 2030, of which 2 million will be BEVs and FCEVs.

JuiceBar Partners of UFODRIVE

Furthering its dedication to sustainability, JuiceBar, the U.S. based leading manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) chargers, is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with UFODRIVE, the first all-digital, all-electric car rental company. The partnership is focused on bringing significant benefits and cost savings to the fast-growing electric vehicle fleet performance.

JuiceBar’s flagship Gen 3 chargers are designed to accommodate the demands of fleet owners. JuiceBar’s unique open protocol smart network offers real time connectivity to UFODRIVE’s eMobility platform with complete capabilities. As the most powerful Level 2 EV chargers on the market, the Gen 3 series with 32-, 40-, 48- and 80-amp power levels eliminate installation and maintenance worries for fleets, are better quality charging stations and offer a more reliable and flexible infrastructure for fleets.

Hyundai Presents 2022 IONIQ 5

Save the date as Hyundai will present the all-new 2022 IONIQ 5 to the North American market on Mon., May 24 at 12:00 p.m. PT. IONIQ 5 introduces advanced technology, innovative use of interior space and a new global electric platform. During the virtual presentation the following executives will share insights about the IONIQ 5.

• José Muñoz, Global Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor Company | President and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America | President and CEO, Hyundai Motor America
• Simon Loasby, Hyundai Vice President, Head of Hyundai Styling
• Olabisi Boyle, Vice President, Product Planning and Mobility Strategy, Hyundai Motor North America

IONIQ 5’s progressive design explores a new freedom offered by a dedicated battery electric vehicle platform. IONIQ 5 is also a power source on wheels. The innovative Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) function allows customers to freely use or charge electric devices, such as electric bicycles, scooters or camping equipment out of the vehicle. During the debut, Hyundai’s leadership will discuss commitment to electrification, IONIQ 5 design, North American product attributes and other major announcements.

Lion Electric Selected by Heritage Romeo Power Fleet

The Lion Electric Company  leading manufacturer of all-electric medium and heavy-duty urban vehicles, announced today it has been selected to participate in the Heritage-Romeo Power Fleet Electrification Program.

The Heritage-Romeo Power Fleet Electrification Program is a collaboration between Heritage, a leader in environmental, sustainability and recycling services, and Romeo Power, an energy technology leader delivering advanced electrification solutions for complex commercial vehicle applications, to execute on Heritage’s fleet electrification strategy.

Heritage will initially purchase five Lion Electric battery-electric trucks for the 2021 fleet electrification validation program consisting of Class 6 and/or Class 8 vehicles. Subject to the validation program’s success to target specifications with operational excellence experienced, Heritage anticipates purchasing an additional 100 Lion Electric production trucks equipped with Romeo Power battery packs over a four-year period.

The production mix is expected to include 80 Lion8 vehicles and 20 Lion6 vehicles. Upon a successful validation program, production is expected to commence in 2022 with completion in 2025.

Macronix Int’l Proactive Renesas R-Car Consortium