Author: Ersin Kara

Apple’s announcement last night that it is investing $1 billion in Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-sharing company, is just the latest signal that the future of cars will be radically different from anything we have imagined for more than a century. The collision of Silicon Valley technology and the car industry is a tectonic technological transition. (Let’s call it a TTT.) It is perhaps the most consequential encounter yet between disruptive, Valley-based technologies and a meaningful, enormous, deeply established, and highly functional industry. Meshing software and a two-ton hunk of steel and mechanical engineering that people’s lives depend on is much harder than meshing software and, say, editorial content. It’s also much less predictable. In the hours since Apple and Didi announced the investment, pundits have posited all kinds of reasons for the investment, all kinds of consequences, and all kinds of conclusions about Apple—and there are, in fact, good and obviousreasons for Apple to invest in Didi, and for Didi to welcome the Cupertino giant as a potential partner. Apple is actively exploring the car business, which is entirely in keeping with the company’s mantra of trying to use technology to improve service in sectors that are technologically backwards and unfriendly to consumers. You can argue about whether cars are currently optimized for consumers; the traffic on the Brooklyn Queens Expressway this morning suggests not. But there’s no question that until the last three or four years, the car business was primarily focused on milking its existing paradigm as fully as it could. (Why, for instance, do car dealers still exist?) But now GM, Ford, Toyota, and many other leading car manufacturers acknowledge that their future will be radically different from their past. Apple believes it belongs somewhere in the midst of that radical transformation. This is one of those exciting, terrifying transitions where everyone is scrambling into an undetermined future. But the rush to predict exactly what this investment means is foolhardy. So is the rush to predict a winner in the battle between Uber and Lyft, or the result of Lyft and Uber being regulated more strictly in Austin, or the success or failure of Ford’s partnership with Google and Uber to promote autonomous cars. This is one of those exciting, terrifying transitions where everyone is scrambling into an undetermined future. Recently, I’ve been speaking to executives at the leading mobility companies in Detroit and Silicon Valley, and most have eventually told me, in these very words: “Everyone is talking to everyone. None of us know where this will all end up.” Here’s the equation that will determine the future of the car business: Ride sharing + car sharing + ride-hailing apps + electric motors + autonomous vehicles + unforeseeable developments in software, manufacturing, distribution, and consumer preferences = what, exactly? The desire for clear answers is deeply understandable. Investors are worried about the impact of this transition on some of the most widely held stocks in the world. Environmentalists can’t wait for the mainstreaming of electric cars. Also wondering nervously about the future is anyone employed by the broadly defined auto industry, including the 640,000 people employed by Detroit’s Big Three and the millions of people now driving for Uber, Lyft, Didi, and other such services around the globe. Those Big Three employees are faced with statistics like this: Barclay’s analyst Brian Johnson believes that nearly half of GM and Ford’s 30 auto factories in the U.S. and Canada will close in the foreseeable future as car ownership dwindles. Unfurl those kinds of consequences across the rest of the automobile supply chain—all those companies making seats and tires and rearview mirrors—and you’re looking at big changes throughout the economy. And all those ride-sharing drivers? They’re simply faced with the possibility of being replaced by the software that will guide autonomous cars. Limo and taxi drivers may well go the way of the milkman and the teletype operator. Unfortunately, clear answers are hard to come by. As much as we want to quickly understand a certain strategic partnership or a certain technological shift, each development needs to be examined as but one piece of a complicated web that will be spun out over several years. How complicated is this web? Well, here are a dozen questions that the various players are busy trying to figure out: How widely and how quickly will autonomous cars be accepted? As hard as it might be for an urbanite to imagine, many people love their cars. And if early autonomous vehicles cause a few well-publicized accidents, fear of the unknown could slow the trend, even to a halt. Is owning a car factory an advantage or a disadvantage? In the minds of many from Silicon Valley, “Detroit” is a euphemism for inept. They believe the most important part of a car is its software, and they’re probably right. But isn’t a century’s worth of expertise worth something? And don’t get carried away about Tesla: Last year it delivered 50,580 cars, approximately one quarter of 1% of Detroit’s output. Is ride sharing a commodity product? In Brooklyn, I can use a car-hailing app to get Uber, Lyft, Juno, or a taxi. I don’t see any significant difference between any of the services, each of which arrives quickly, charges similar fares, and offers clean cars and knowledgeable drivers. Selling a commodity tends to be a pretty awful business. How long can ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft take a loss on many of the rides they provide, in their race to garner riders and drivers?“There’s never been a market as subsidized as this,” one venture capitalist told me. “We’ll only know the winners and losers after that settles down.” Will governmental regulations slow or speed this transition? The environmental benefits of electric vehicles and fewer cars on the road are clear. Yet cities like New York, Austin, Berlin, and Paris have at different times threatened to strangle car sharing with regulations. Look at the airline business: Governments like regulating travel, for better or for worse. What kind of “driver” or “passenger” insurance will be required? The average American driver now pays a bit less than $1,000 per year for auto insurance. But who is responsible when driverless cars collide? Will we continue to personally own cars, or will we instead have monthly subscriptions to companies that will provide all the rides we need?Subscription services seem likely, but if my current subscriptions—to companies like Time Warner Cable and Verizon—are any model, quality suffers and prices creep up. Why is it so difficult to design a driver-friendly dashboard? Mapping services and accurate engine diagnostics are welcome additions to the information a driver can see, but more data has resulted in cluttered screens using interactive controls designed for phones or laptops. Steve Jobs understood that the user interface was the most important part of any consumer technology. Can Apple solve this problem? Are Uber and Lyft drivers employees or contractors? This is an issue of short-term importance but is caught up in a broader societal concern: how to define those who participate in the so-called “gig economy.” Who has the most important leverage? The company that designs a car’s software? The manufacturer? Or is it Uber, whose app is used by so many consumers? As with any nascent transition, it’s hard to know what will emerge as the most important bottleneck. Can any ride-sharing company become a truly international brand, or will local services trump those ambitions? Uber is losing billions of dollars trying to snare a leading market share in Asian countries. No one knows exactly how much resistance it will face from governments that prefer local providers. How strong are the network effects that Uber gains by being such a well-funded first mover? Benchmark VC Bill Gurley likes to point to this tweet as a key reason that Uber will continue to thrive. But if car sharing has as much subsidization and government interference as the airline industry, will those network effects hold true? There are many more such questions. Even the simplest may have unlikely repercussions. For instance, the battle over the employment status of ride-share drivers obscures the societal good that will occur if autonomous cars get so good and reliable that ride-sharing prices plummet. In a city like Detroit, which is ill-served by mass transit, low prices could make getting to and from jobs much easier for the city’s poorest residents. Uber’s network effects are remarkably strong, but fears of the societal cost of letting them play out will likely prompt regulatory resistance for years, especially in countries like China. What makes all of this even harder to understand, of course, is that in a culture that prizes perception almost as much as achievement, every company will be busy positioning itself as a leader, primarily via the hot air of a thousand press releases announcing a million and one terribly important developments, partnerships, and “innovations.” Take it with a grain of salt. As one venture capitalist recently told me: “You’ve got to look past the press release.” He’s right—even about his own company’s many announcements. Source: Apple’s $1-Billion Bet On Didi Chuxing, & 12 Big Questions About What’s Next For Cars | Fast Company | Business + Innovation

The number of electric cars on Britain’s roads has more than doubled in the last year, according to new government data. There were 45,326 plug-in and hybrid cars on the streets at the end of last year compared to just 20,522 the year before – a 120 per cent increase. This compares to just a two per cent rise in the sales of traditional cars over the same period. It represents a phenomenal growth since 2010, when there were just 134 electric vehicles on the roads, according Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency (DVLA) data. Growth has accelerated rapidly since the Government introduced the plug-in car grant scheme at the start of 2011, which offers up to £4,500 off the price. However, the number of electric vehicles is still just a tiny fraction of the 31 million petrol and diesel engined cars in the UK. The best-selling fully electric car in the UK is the Nissan Leaf, 11,219 on the road but this is dwarfed by the hybrid Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV with 16,100 models. Edward Jones, electric vehicle manager at Nissan GB, believes the UK electric vehicle market is at a ‘tipping point’. Get lazy money working for your business UK small and medium businesses have around £100bn in surplus cash, mostly sitting around doing nothing instead of earning serious interest. Open a Savings Account in under 15 minutes at Aldermore “Each year we see thousands more motorists switched on to the capability, performance, andreliability of pure electric motoring,” he said. “With current electric vehicle ranges enabling more than 90 per cent of daily driving needs, we believe the UK is at a tipping point for mass EV adoption.” Richard Hudson, sales director at BMW UK, said advances in technology are overcoming the drawbacks of electric motoring. “Range anxiety is subsiding due to increased battery capacity – the latest i3 has 50 per cent more capacity than the original – and there is an increasing number of charging stations and other incentives. “As an example, the 330d PHEV is already sold out until next year. We expect this trend of greater take up of electric and PHEVs to continue.” * Top ten selling electric and hybrid cars (number of licensed vehicles recorded by the DVLA that are eligible for a plug in grant): Top 10 selling electric cars Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV 16,100 Nissan Leaf 11,219 BMW i3 3,574 Renault Zoe 3,327 Tesla Model S 2,086 Toyota Prius Plug in 1,501 Volkswagen Golf GTE plug in hybrid 1,359 Vauxhall Ampera Plug in hybrid 1,250 Audi A3 e-tron 1,218 BMW i8 1,022 Source: http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/10-selling-electric-cars-Britain/story-29282931-detail/story.html  

Kocaeli Merkez Toyota Bayi KOCAELİ KAYA, Toyota Bayi, Toyota Kampanyası, Toyota paketleri, Toyota Avantaj Toyota Türkiye’nin “En İyi İşvereni’’ Seçilen Tek Otomobil Markası Oldu Toyota Türkiye Pazarlama ve Satış A.Ş, Great Place to Work Türkiye’nin her yıl yayınlanan “Türkiye’nin En İyi İşverenleri 2016” listesine giren tek otomotiv markası oldu. Toyota, araştırmanın 50-500 kişi aralığında çalışan sayısının yer aldığı kategoride, otomotiv sektöründe “En İyi İşveren” olmayı başardı.

Yerli otomobil tartışmaları arasında Toyota, Adapazarı’nda CH-R adını verdiği ve ülkemizde üretilecek olan ilk hibrid araç için yatırım kararı aldı.Yeni modelin benzinli ve dizel motor seçenekleri de olacak. Türkiye’de hibrit otomobillerin üretimine başlanıyor. Hibrit otomobiller geleceğin ulaşım sisteminde adından çokça söz ettireceğe benziyor. otomobil.mynet.com’un haberine göre, Toyota’nın iki yıldır üzerinde çalıştığı yeni B crossover aracının dünyadaki tek üretim merkezi Türkiye-Adapazarı fabrikası olacak. Toyota Türkiye için dönüm noktası olarak açıklanan yeni karar için Türkiye’de 450 milyon dolarlık (350 milyon euro) yatırım yapılacak ve en az 1000 yeni personel alınacak. Yeni model ilk kez Cenevre Otomobil Fuarı’nda gösterilecek. Halen CH-R adıyla anılan araç benzinli ve dizel motor seçeneklerinin yanı sıra hibrit motor seçeneğiyle de üretilecek. Böylece Türkiye’de üretilen seri üretim ilk hibrit araç olacak. Haberin devamı için tıklayın Toyota Türkiye’de Hibrid Otomobil Üretecek Yerli otomobil tartışmaları arasında Toyota, Adapazarı’nda CH-R adını verdiği ve ülkemizde üretilecek olan ilk hibrid araç için yatırım kararı aldı.Yeni modelin benzinli ve dizel motor seçenekleri de olacak. Türkiye’de hibrit otomobillerin üretimine başlanıyor. Hibrit otomobiller geleceğin ulaşım sisteminde adından çokça söz ettireceğe benziyor. otomobil.mynet.com’un haberine göre, Toyota’nın iki yıldır üzerinde çalıştığı yeni B crossover aracının dünyadaki tek üretim merkezi Türkiye-Adapazarı fabrikası olacak. Toyota Türkiye için dönüm noktası olarak açıklanan yeni karar için Türkiye’de 450 milyon dolarlık (350 milyon euro) yatırım yapılacak ve en az 1000 yeni personel alınacak. Yeni model ilk kez Cenevre Otomobil Fuarı’nda gösterilecek. Halen CH-R adıyla anılan araç benzinli ve dizel motor seçeneklerinin yanı sıra hibrit motor seçeneğiyle de üretilecek. Böylece Türkiye’de üretilen seri üretim ilk hibrit araç olacak. Source: Toyota Türkiye’de Hibrid Otomobil Üretecek | Alternatif Enerji

ilk Murat 124 ve ilk Murat 131

Tofaş, ilk çeyrek bazında, son 6 yılın en yüksek ihracatını gerçekleştirdiğini açıkladı. Tofaş, ilk çeyrek bazında, son 6 yılın en yüksek ihracatını gerçekleştirdiğini açıkladı. TOFAŞ, Ar-Ge sürecine liderlik ettiği ve 2015’te üretimine başladığı Fiat Egea/Tipo’nun kazandırdığı ivmeyle, 2016 yılına hızlı bir başlangıç yaptı. Yılın ilk üç aylık dönemi baz alındığında  2010 yılından bu yana en yüksek ihracata imza atıldı. Aynı dönemde binek otomobil ihracatını yüzde 131 oranında arttıran TOFAŞ, hafif ticari araç ihracatında ise yüzde 8 oranında büyüme sağladı. Mart ayında 3 vardiyaya geçilen TOFAŞ’ta, ilk üç aylık dönemde yaklaşık 1300 kişilik ilave istihdam gerçekleşti. Türkiye otomotiv sektörünün lider oyuncularından TOFAŞ, 2016 yılı ilk üç aylık finansal sonuçlarını açıkladı. 1 Ocak-31 Mart döneminde yaklaşık 2,7 milyar liralık ciro gerçekleştiren TOFAŞ yıla iyi başladı. Bu yılın ilk çeyreğinde Türkiye’nin otomotiv üretimi bir önceki yılın aynı dönemine göre yüzde 4 artarak 346 bin adete ulaşırken, TOFAŞ’ın üretim hacmi aynı dönemde yüzde 22 artarak 79 bin adede ulaştı. Böylece toplam endüstri üretimindeki payı yüzde 19’dan yüzde 23’e yükseldi. Ocak-Mart 2016 döneminde TOFAŞ’ta toplam üretimin yüzde 39’u otomobil  yüzde 61’i ise hafif ticari araç olarak gerçekleşti. İlk çeyrek sonuçları ile ilgili açıklama yapan TOFAŞ CEO’su Cengiz Eroldu, Avrupa pazarlarında olumlu büyümenin devam ettiğine dikkat çekerek, Avrupa pazarına ilk üç ay bazında bakıldığında otomobilde yüzde 8 hafif ticari araç pazarında ise yüzde 11 büyüme söz konusu olduğunu belirtti. TOFAŞ’ın da üretim ve ihracatta 2016 yılına çok iyi bir giriş yaptığını açıklayan Eroldu, ilk çeyrek bazında 2010 yılından bu yana gerçekleşen en yüksek ihracat rakamına ulaştıklarını dile getirdi. TOFAŞ’ın Avrupa’ya olan toplam ihracatının geçen yılın ilk çeyreğine oranla yüzde 40 artış gösterdiğine dikkat çeken Eroldu “İlk çeyrekte, 2010’dan bu yana en yüksek ihracat seviyesine ulaştık. Binek araç ihracatında yüzde 131 oranında artış kaydettik. TOFAŞ toplam ihracat adedi ise önceki yılın ilk çeyreğine göre yüzde 35 artarak, 43 bin adetten 58 bin adete ulaştı. Bunda hem iç hem de dış pazarlarda görülen, Egea/Tipo Sedan’a olan yüksek talebin büyük etkisi var. Ayrıca bu talebe yetişebilmek için Mart 2016’da üç vardiyalı üretime geçtik. Bu da iç pazar ve ihracat faaliyetlerimize olumlu yansıyor” dedi. “Doblo ve Fiorino ile küçük hafif ticari pazarında lider durumdayız” Yeni Fiat Fiorino satışlarının da Nisan 2016’da başladığını hatırlatan Eroldu, “Fiat yüzde 89 oranla yurt içi pazarda yerli üretimden en yüksek satış gerçekleştiren marka konumunda olmayı sürdürüyor. Ayrıca Doblo ve Fiorino ile küçük hafif ticari pazarında lider durumdayız. Toplam pazara baktığımızda, premium markalarımız da dahil TOFAŞ olarak pazardaki payımız yüzde 11 olarak gerçekleşti. Yeni modellerimizin devreye girmesi ile yılı daha yüksek bir pazar payı ile kapatmayı hedefliyoruz” dedi. Eroldu ayrıca TOFAŞ’ın nisan ayında 365 milyon lira tutarında temettü dağıtıldığını da sözlerine ekledi. Source: Tofaş’tan 6 yılın en iyi ihracatı – Fortune Türkiye

The European Commission wants to speed up the standards-making process with a focus on five priority areas: 5G, cloud computing, Internet of Things, data technologies and cybersecurity. Making the standards regime move faster in Europe is one of a raft of measures unveiled by the commission to help European industry, SMEs, researchers and public authorities make the most of new technologies. In addition, the EC will set up large-scale pilot projects to boost IoT, advanced manufacturing and technologies for smart cities and homes, connected cars and mobile health services. How much cash might be on offer for such projects was not revealed, although the commission did say its plans in total “should mobilise over €50 billion of public and private investments” in support of digitisation. Andrus Ansip, vice president for the digital single market (pictured), said: “We need the right scale for technologies such as cloud computing, data-driven science and the internet of things to reach their full potential.” Vodafone concern However, one leading operator group, Vodafone, while supporting the initiative, expressed concern whether Europe’s underlying infrastructure could support it. The EC strategy assumes that fibre optic networks delivering gigabit speeds will be ubiquitous across the EU, said Vodafone.  “Yet the connectivity required to attain digital industrial leadership is lacking in many Member States which remain reliant on outdated copper telephone networks rather than gigabit fibre,” said a statement. This is “particularly true” in Germany where Vodafone is a leading player in fixed as well as mobile networks. The commission currently has a decision before it from the German regulator that supports “short-term incremental” upgrades to legacy copper networks, said the company, “which would leave German businesses and consumers trapped in the slow lane of Europe.”   Source: EC unveils digital plan for industry – Mobile World Live