On 6th March 2019, Waymo announced its entry in the automotive sensors market with the selling of laser-mapping sensors (LiDAR) to other companies. Waymo uses the same sensors in its driverless vehicles. As Waymo has a strong presence in self-driving cars, the move to foray in the LiDAR market can prove to be an effective business strategy for the company. The new sensor division will compete with Velodyne Lidar Inc, a leading player in the automotive LiDAR market.

Lyft’s recent announcement to introduce its IPO or initial public offering is likely to help the company gain an edge over its major competitor Uber. Lyft is estimated to go public with a valuation of USD 25 billion compared to a USD 120 billion valuation of Uber. With this development, Lyft will become the first mobility startup to go public.  

Recently, Tesla announced that they will include CCS adapter also in their Model S and X vehicles delivered in Europe, which implies that the buyers of a new Tesla EV in Europe will have access to the Tesla Superchargers as well CCS fast chargers. It should also be noted that, in November 2018, Tesla declared that Model 3 vehicles rolled out in the European market would come with a CCS combo 2 charge port. This will be a great boost for the exponential growth of the CCS EV connector market in the coming years.

What had initially started as a limited recall of cars in early 2013 by the key automotive manufacturers across the globe eventually became a global phenomenon until 2019. During early 2013, about 3.6 million vehicles were recalled due to the defective airbags manufactured by the Japanese Conglomerate named Takata Corporation, now Key Saftey Systems (China), led Takata to bankruptcy and eventually acquisition by a Chinese company that develops and manufactures automotive safety systems.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is a huge annual trade show for technology enthusiasts across various sectors. CES 2019, held at Las Vegas in January, showcased modern and disruptive technologies in different sectors. A key attraction at CES 2019 for the automotive industry was the demonstration of various automotive cyber security-related products and technologies. Companies such as Karamba Security, SafeRide Technologies, Trillium Secure, ZeroDayGuard, and Upstream Security showcased their automotive cyber security solutions. Upstream Security introduced a program that can provide protection inside and outside vehicles. It also enables transformational technologies under development. SafeRide Technologies launched vXRay, a behavioral profiling and anomaly detection technology for connected vehicles’ Security Operation Centers (SOC). It can be seamlessly integrated into customers’ connected vehicles’ SOC independently of vehicle architecture or ECU sourcing. Trillium Secure offered a full-scale experience of its mobility services platform at CES 2019.

Tesla Motors has announced that it would begin the deliveries of its long-awaited Model 3 Long Range Battery variant in Europe from February 2019. Tesla Model 3 car was initially launched in the US in July 2017. According to Tesla, “Model 3 is the best-selling car in the US in terms of revenue and the 5th best-selling car in terms of volume”. The Model 3 Long-range version delivers 338 miles under the latest Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) and goes from 0–62mph in 4.8 seconds. In Europe, Tesla Model 3 will be sold with a Combined Charging System (CCS) charging port, which would help access thousands of third-party fast charging stations across the region. The company has recently seen sales volumes comparable to more established players such as the German trio of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, despite its much narrower product range.

An electric vehicle (EV) uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. The advancements in battery technology have boosted the driving range of electric vehicles. At the global level, the sales of electric vehicles are increasing continuously, and are set to soar higher in the future.

China and the US are considered as the major markets for electric vehicles. The rising demand for electric vehicles in China is expected to help OEMs strengthen their distribution network and footprints in the global market. The country is now all set to explore market opportunities for electric vehicles in the US. In the recent news on 17th Jan 2019, Kandi Technologies Group, Inc. has announced its plans to strengthen its footprint in the US market by providing passenger electric vehicles. Kandi, which started making electric vehicles in 2013, and is hoping to ship two of its models to the US later this year. This is expected to help China become the primary global supplier for OEMs by building a business case to compete with foreign players.

The increasing environmental pollution and the threat of global warming have accentuated the need to replace petroleum-fueled vehicles with emission-free substitutes. After decades of R&D, the industry has found electric vehicles to be the best substitute of traditional-fueled vehicles.

MarketsandMarkets™ Point of View:

Ibrahim Rassiwala – Senior Research Analyst : Chemicals and Materials, at MarketsandMarkets™, shares his Point of View as mentioned below:

Recently, Volkswagen announced its plan to increase investments in electric vehicles in the US. As part of the plan, Volkswagen will invest USD 800 million in the production of electric vehicles at its plant in Chattanooga and Tennessee. Additionally, the company stated that electric vehicle production would begin in 2022 and it is looking to manufacture luxury Audi vehicles in the US. Moreover, Volkswagen has plans to add electric vehicle production facilities in Germany by the end of 2019.

The launch of a self-driving vehicle has become a decisive focal point of automotive stakeholders. They have invested billions of dollars and put their best resources for completing the task of making autonomous cars a reality. Currently, a vehicle is equipped with a variety of electronic components and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) to sense the environment around it and exchange signals with entities outside it. The entire process of communication with external entities requires a huge amount of data that is generated and used to implement machine learning with algorithms in the computer system of the vehicle. This is how OEMs and automotive Tier I suppliers along with non-automotive players plan to make autonomous vehicles a reality. Hence, reliable automotive software is the ultimate key to implementing AI and develop semi-autonomous and autonomous cars.

Varroc Group made an announcement to invest in the development of electronic fuel injection (EFI) system which are complaint with the upcoming Bharat Stage (BS) VI standard for two wheelers and three wheelers. To reap the market benefits based on the upcoming regulation, Varroc entered into a joint venture with Dellorto, an Italian company, for producing EFI systems and has already won a business contract from a key two-wheeler manufacturer in India. Further, it also plans to produce catalysts in partnership with Heraeus (Germany) to withstand the BS-VI requirements. These catalysts would be offered to the company’s key client—Bajaj—and some other Indian two wheeler manufacturers in the coming future.