cross pond high tech

[Google translated from local Donga website]

 

Apple invests 4 trillion won in Kia…

 

Promotion of a “Apple Car” cooperation agreement this month Prospects of building exclusive production facilities through investment Kia's Georgia plant targets production in 2024 100,000 units per year… Up to 400,000 units “Hyundai Glovis will take on a significant role” Hyundai Motor Group's “Apple Car (tentative name)” cooperation theory is heating up the industry with the start of the new year. Amidst various rumors and news coming out steadily, a puzzle about the cooperation of Apple Cars was put together, centering on the group's major affiliate, Kia.

 

As previously known, Kia takes over the Apple Car project and production takes place at the Kia Georgia plant in the United States. Both Kia and Apple are refraining from expressing their official positions, but it was confirmed that they have entered the contract process. Apple car development cooperation, which was full of rumors and speculation, is making progress.

 

Overall, Kia and Apple plan to sign a formal contract worth 4 trillion won for Apple car production this month. Practical coordination for a formal contract has been underway since last month, and a specific contract schedule has been set. Initially, the contract date was set at the beginning of February, but it was delayed once and the schedule was changed to February 17. However, it is reported that the contract schedule on February 17 may change depending on the internal circumstances of each company. In particular, on the day of the contract, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Eui-sun Eui-seon said that the plan was scheduled to attend the contract ceremony. Recently, the news that Chairman Chung met a senior Apple official on a business trip to Singapore last month. The facts have not been confirmed.

 

The contract is expected to contain specific details related to the production of Apple cars. Apple is planning to invest 4 trillion won in Kia. With the aim of launching in 2024, the number of Apple cars produced by Kia is initially around 100,000 units per year, and can be expanded to a maximum of 400,000 units.

 

The 4 trillion won that Apple invests in Kia is expected to be used for building exclusive facilities for Apple car production and vehicle development. This large-scale initial investment is also a way Apple often uses in the process of driving major product production. When promoting the production of existing flagship products such as iPhone and iPad, Apple has invested trillions in LG Display (LGD) and supplied OLED panels produced in dedicated facilities. Likewise, Kia, which has attracted investment from Apple, is expected to build a dedicated line for Apple's electric vehicle production.

 

With Kia leading vehicle production in the Apple Car Project, attention is also being drawn to the role of Hyundai Glovis. An industry official said, "Glovis, which has several subsidiaries in the US, will play a significant role in the Apple Car business." Glovis operates 4 subsidiaries and 4 offices in the United States, including Glovis America and Georgia subsidiaries, Alabama subsidiaries, and GET subsidiary of local land transportation. In addition to logistics, which is its flagship business, the possibility of promoting electric vehicle-related businesses is predicting. According to the industry, from Apple's point of view, Hyundai Motor Group is the best partner for entering the electric vehicle market. It is analyzed that it is because it has its own electric vehicle platform (E-GMP), has a production facility in the United States, and has both the ability and requirements to actually produce new cars in accordance with the planned period (2024). The vision of the future proposed by Hyundai Motor Group, such as electric cars, hydrogen cars, and flying cars, may have been an attractive factor for Apple seeking innovation.

Many US Roads Need To Be Drastically Improved In Order For Self-Driving Cars To Have The Widespread Impact That Many Are Currently Predicting, Argues 3M Global Government Affairs Manager Dan Veoni In A Recent Op-Ed In The Hill.States And Localities Aren’t Making The Investments To Solve This Problem, And The Federal Government Isn’t Stepping In.Public-Private Partnerships Could Provide The Necessary Funding, But They Won’t Spring Up Overnight.

More than 200 manufacturers, including Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, Daimler, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Mitsubishi and U.S.-listed electric vehicle start-up NIO, transmit position information and dozens of other data points to government-backed monitoring centers, The Associated Press has found. Generally, it happens without car owners’ knowledge.

 

The automakers say they are merely complying with local laws, which apply only to alternative energy vehicles. Chinese officials say the data is used for analytics to improve public safety, facilitate industrial development and infrastructure planning, and to prevent fraud in subsidy programs.

 

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According to national specifications published in 2016, electric vehicles in China transmit data from the car’s sensors back to the manufacturer. From there, automakers send at least 61 data points, including location and details about battery and engine function to local centers like the one Ding oversees in Shanghai.

Data also flows to a national monitoring center for new energy vehicles run by the Beijing Institute of Technology, which pulls information from more than 1.1 million vehicles across the country, according to the National Big Data Alliance of New Energy Vehicles. The national monitoring center declined to respond to questions.

Those numbers are about to get much bigger. Though electric vehicle sales accounted for just 2.6 percent of the total last year, policymakers have said they’d like new energy vehicles to account for 20 percent of total sales by 2025. Starting next year, all automakers in China must meet production minimums for new energy vehicles, part of Beijing’s aggressive effort to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources and place itself at the forefront of a growing global industry.