Author: Ersin Kara

Toyota, Microsoft Launch Connected Cars Joint Venture The $5.5 million investment is yet another sign that connected cars are the way of the future. In a strong vote of confidence for the future of the connected car, Toyota announced today that it is joining forces with Microsoft to create a new division of its company that will use data from the cloud to make cars more intelligent. The joint venture, called Toyota Connected, will be based in Texas and build its products on Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform. The lineup will include in-car services and telematics, smart home and IoT connectivity, smart city integration, and data services for Toyota affiliates and dealers. Toyota plans to invest $5.5 million in the new venture, which will be headed by current Toyota vice president Zach Hicks. Much of its connected car technology will be based on Toyota’s existing R&D for smart automobiles, including an already-established partnership with Microsoft. “Toyota Connected will help free our customers from the tyranny of technology. It will make lives easier and help us to return to our humanity,” Hicks said in a statement. The announcement comes one week after Microsoft’s annual Build Developers Conference in San Francisco, where the software giant touted the benefits its Azure platform offers for connected devices. Also at the conference, BMW announced a new suite of connected servicesthat includes a cloud-enabled navigation app. Toyota’s existing model lineup includes the recently announced Prius Prime, an updated version of the Prius plug-in hybrid that includes a multitude of software and entertainment add-ons. The Prime’s radio comes with predictive traffic and can also display Doppler weather radar on the in-dash display. One concern with connected cars is privacy, especially since much of the technology relies on tracking the vehicle’s location. Toyota says its new Toyota Connected subsidiary will continue the company’s commitment to privacy, including following the Federal Trade Commission’s vehicle privacy standards. Source: Toyota, Microsoft Launch Connected Cars Joint Venture

Bar Set Higher for Auto Manufacturing Firms In a bid to support Iran’s auto parts industry, the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade has obliged foreign carmakers to allocate a 20% share for domestically-made car parts if they want to operate in the Iranian market, secretary of Iranian Auto Parts Manufacturers Association said. Arash Mohebbinejad added that the ministry has also obliged Iranian carmakers to purchase 40% of the parts used in production from the domestic market, ILNA reported. In accordance with Iran’s macroeconomic development plan, the government has set a goal of increasing car output to three million vehicles per year by 2025. And Iranian car parts makers are obliged to produce $6 billion worth of car parts by 2025. Earlier, Mohammad Baqer Rejal, the head of Iranian Car Parts Manufacturers Association, said the country’s auto manufacturers owe $2.3 billion to car parts manufacturers. A large portion of the debt was accumulated in the past few months, as the debt stood at $1.6 billion some four months ago. The chief executive of an automotive company, who wished not to be named, said Iranian carmakers are struggling to find local parts companies to actually set up the new production lines, in view of the amount of current debt. At present, only 15-20% of car parts cannot be produced in Iran and this is due to the fact that launching their production lines is not economically feasible, as they mostly include electronic parts. Iran’s car output during the last fiscal year (ended March 19, 2016) decreased by 13.7% year-on-year and stood at 976,836. Iran produced 989,110 cars in 2012, which made the country Asia’s eighth and the world’s 18th largest car manufacturer. The Islamic Republic’s car output declined by 40% in 2012 following the sanctions. Now after the removal of international sanctions, the industry plans to revive the carmaking industry as cooperation between Iranian carmakers and foreign car manufacturers has revived. Deputy Minister of Industries, Mining and Trade Mohsen Salehinia earlier noted that the country plans to boost its auto export and the Iranian market will be supplied with joint venture products from early 2017. Experts believe that the Islamic Republic is capable of becoming a car production hub in the region, given the country’s geopolitical situation and high security. James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, noted that initially, the car industry is likely to focus on the country’s domestic market. “Beyond the fact that Iran has a substantial domestic market in its own right and a longstanding industry with local models, the car industry needs significant upgrading to erase the effects of years of international sanctions,” he said. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has urged international companies to cooperate with Iran to develop the country’s auto manufacturing industry. He said Iran welcomes foreign carmakers to come, do research and produce, as Rouhani believes Iran “cannot close the doors and compel people to buy homemade cars.” Economists claim that Iran’s automotive industry needs modernization after years of sanctions, while its car parts manufacturing industry needs to absorb $8 billion worth of foreign investment on a long-term basis. The government sees full privatization of the car industry as a tool for achieving its development. Officials say privatization, being a key strategy for the rehabilitation of Iranian economy, will help upgrade the Iranian car industry and promote its growth.   Short Url : http://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-auto/40375/bar-set-higher-auto-manufacturing-firms

German car-maker Volkswagen plans to turn away from diesel engines and focus instead on electric vehicles in order to restore its corporate reputation,  damaged by the emission cheating scandal. Electric cars at heart of Volkswagen transformation 28 April 2016 By Tereza Pultarova Volkswagen will shift focus towards electric vehicles to shake off the emission-cheating scandal [Credit: Rudolf Simon] German car-maker Volkswagen plans to turn away from diesel engines and focus instead on electric vehicles in order to restore its corporate reputation,  damaged by the emission cheating scandal. According to Matthias Mueller, the VW Group’s CEO, the car-maker aims to introduce 20 new electric models by 2020 and also focus on consumer car-sharing services. Previously, diesel technology has been at the heart of Volkswagen’s development strategy, but sales have suffered after it was revealed the firm had been cheating in nitrogen emission tests. Volkswagen outlined its plans on the same day that the German government announced a new incentive scheme designed to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles. The scheme will offer €1bn (£0.78bn) to help consumers buy more electric vehicles with the goal of having one million of them on the roads by 2020. The German government will fund the scheme together with the country’s car-makers, Germany’s Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said. Germany, one of Europe’s biggest car markets, currently only has about 50,000 battery-powered and hybrid cars on its roads. In total, 45 million cars are currently registered in Germany. The government hopes the scheme would help car-makers to sell an additional 400,000 electric cars. The German government agreed with car-makers including Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler that car buyers will get a €4,000 discount when buying an electric plug-in vehicle and €3,000 when buying a hybrid. Only cars selling for less than €60,000 will be eligible. “With this, I believe we will be able to give a boost to quickly move the number of vehicles [sales] to a considerable level,” said Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble. The programme includes €300m of spending on charging stations and could start as early as May, Schaeuble said, adding that the government was considering further steps like tax incentives to make electric cars even more attractive. While the industry has been calling for the government for years to give electric cars a boost, critics say the increased electricity demand will lead to higher carbon emissions. The idea of subsidising private car sales was also criticised by some politicians who said money should instead be spent on electrification of taxis, public transportation and car-sharing fleets. Electric car subsidies already exist in many European countries including the UK, Norway, the Netherlands and France. “In countries where the government is providing an impetus, electric mobility is growing more quickly,” Matthias Wissmann, head of Germany’s VDA auto industry lobby said. Volkswagen, which has incurred losses of €5.5bn in the wake of the emissions scandal, said despite the change of direction, fixing vehicles fitted with the defeat device was still a number one priority. The software was used to turn on emission scrubbing systems in cars only for the time of testing as the technologies were known to increase fuel consumption in real driving conditions. Volkswagen also said it will soon form a legally independent company to promote business in mobility services, which could include travel options like ride-sharing apps and car-sharing. Source: Electric cars at heart of Volkswagen transformation – E & T Magazine

The road to self-driving cars winds through HERE By JOHN PLETZ Photo by Bloomberg News The road to self-driving cars is laid out in 2-kilometer squares. And Here, parent of the digital mapping company formerly known as Navteq, plans to lead the way. Its 3-D, high-definition maps capture the road—including lane markings, guardrails and signs—down to the centimeter level. These maps are read by the cars, not by human drivers. They help self-driving vehicles position themselves on the road and anticipate what’s ahead. On a massive screen at the Arie Crown Theater, George Filley shows off the technology to 4,000 techies at the Amazon Web Services Summit. It speaks volumes about where the company is headed. “It’s a steppingstone toward automated driving,” says Filley, the Chicago-based global head of digital transportation infrastructure. To get there, the company is pushing beyond its old boundaries of digital mapping into cloud computing and big data. A lot of that expertise is in Chicago, its U.S. headquarters, where the company employs more than 1,100 and is looking to fill 200 technology jobs, many of them software engineers and data scientists. That headcount makes Here one of the city’s most important tech enterprises. Things appear to be looking up for Here, which was acquired for $3 billion in December by a consortium of German automakers Audi, BMW and Daimler. They hired Cisco Systems veteran Edzard Overbeek as CEO to run the Berlin-based company. “Here is committed to Chicago,” says Aaron Dannenbring, senior vice president of the core map group and its senior local executive. “Our Chicago team is absolutely critical to our development of leading-edge technology.” The new owners seem to be a better fit than Nokia, the Finnish cellphone and telecom-equipment maker that acquired Navteq for $8.1 billion just before the 2008 recession. What followed was a bumpy ride. Consumer GPS devices that had been the bread and butter of Navteq’s mapping business gave way to smartphones. Fortunately, dreams of the connected car and self-driving vehicles (ironically fueled by Google and Apple, the winners of the smartphone revolution) were just taking off. “The very fact that Here is owned by the Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz consortium puts them at the heart of the driverless action with the three of them actively testing self-driving vehicles based on its maps and technology,” says Dominique Bonte, a Brussels-based analyst at ABI Research. INTERNET OF THINGS Photo by Kendall KarmanianGeorge Filley If Here succeeds, Chicago has a chance to become a hub for this technology, which will drive the auto industry for the next 100 years. It also could plant a flag for Chicago to become a player in the internet of things, in which everything from people to machines is always connected to computer networks, says Fred Hoch, CEO of the Illinois Technology Association. Over the past 30 years, the company became the top provider of digital maps to auto manufacturers. Now Here is angling to become more than a mapmaker. It aims to become one of the few platforms upon which driverless technology is built, not unlike operating systems for personal computers and smartphones. It’s not a short trip. New high-def maps are accurate to within about 10 centimeters, not 10 meters. Here has been mapping North America and Western Europe with laser equipment for several years. That produces massive amounts of data. Filley says, “We’re talking petabytes.” One petabyte can store half the research materials at all U.S. college libraries. Despite its head start, Here faces new competitors that have done maps for other industries, such as utilities. Among them are GeoDigital and Sanborn. Here also will need to outhustle other companies for high-priced technical talent that is in very short supply, both locally and nationally. Driverless cars aren’t likely to roll out in significant numbers for 10 to 15 years, according to analysts. But automakers such as Tesla, BMW and Mercedes already are offering driver-assisted vehicles with a sort of autopilot that can brake or steer to avoid crashes. Here could present automakers an alternative to giving up a key part of their business to Silicon Valley interlopers. “Data is one of the big currencies,” says Jeremy Carlson, a senior analyst in Los Angeles at research firm IHS. “Here is positioning themselves as a platform, not necessarily owning the data.” But to do that, the new owners will have to attract other carmakers to their consortium, as well as tech companies. Here has reportedly been talking with Amazon and Microsoft about strategic investment. “They have a good chance of becoming a de facto standard,” says Praveen Chandrasekar, a Detroit-based director at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. He notes that “collaboration in this industry has failed nine out of 10 times. But this could be a turning point because maps are not easy.” http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20160423/ISSUE01/304239991/the-road-to-self-driving-cars-winds-through-here

2016 Pekin Uluslararası Otomobil Fuarı kapılarını açtı. Dev firmaların son model araçlarını sergiledikleri fuar, 4 Mayıs’a kadar açık kalacak. Source: Pekin Otomobil Fuarı kapılarını açtı – 1 | NTV

Türkiye’nin en büyük ve en köklü toplu taşıma kuruluşu olan İETT tarafından verilen Yılın En İyi Tedarikçisi Ödülü’nün, 2015 yılındaki sahibi ZF Services Türk oldu. İETT Genel Müdürü Mümin Kahveci ve İETT yetkililerinin hazır olduğu ödül töreninde, ödülü ZF Services Türk adına Genel Müdür Selim Aydınlıoğlu aldı. Türkiye’nin en büyük ve en köklü toplu taşıma kuruluşu olan İETT tarafından verilen Yılın En İyi Tedarikçisi Ödülü’nün, 2015 yılındaki sahibi ZF Services Türk oldu. İETT Genel Müdürü Mümin Kahveci ve İETT yetkililerinin hazır olduğu ödül töreninde, ödülü ZF Services Türk adına Genel Müdür Selim Aydınlıoğlu aldı.   İETT’nin ilgili daire başkanlıklarının, tedarik değerlendirme formunda yer alan, kalite ve dayanıklılık, zamanında teslimat, teknik şartnameye uygunluk, servis hizmeti ve uygun fiyat kriterlerine göre yaptıkları puanlama sonucunda ZF Services Türk, 2015 yılının en iyi tedarikçisi ödülüne layık görülmüştür. İETT Genel Müdürü Mümin Kahveci’nin elinden ödülü alan, ZF Services Türk Genel Müdürü Selim Aydınlıoğlu, “Bizleri bu değerli ödüle layık gören, başta IETT Genel Müdürü Sayın Mümin Kahveci olmak üzere, tüm İETT daire başkanlıklarına yaptıkları değerlendirmeleri için, ZF Services Türk çalışanları ve kendi adıma teşekkür ediyorum. ZF Services Türk ailesi olarak, İETT ile uzun yıllardır yürüttüğümüz iş birliğinin bu ödül ile taçlandırılması bizi çok mutlu etmiş ve onurlandırmıştır.” diye belirtti. Source: ZF Services Türk, İETT Tarafından 2015 Yılının En İyi Tedarikçisi Seçildi

Iran Khodro Exports 30,000 Cars Iran Khodro Industrial Group has already exported 30,000 vehicles of different models to the international markets since March 20, said IKCO’s deputy for export and international affairs. Saeed Tafazzoli added that in line with the new policies set by IKCO’s management for increasing its presence in the international markets, the car manufacturer has prioritized the promotion of the national brand and the assembly of Runna, Dena and Soren models, IRNA reported. “IKCO has already picked up one or more vehicles as its main products for export to certain markets. The selection has been made after evaluating the preferences and needs of each market’s customers and the capabilities of IKCO’s rivals in those markets,” he said. Tafazzoli noted that Iran Khodro was putting considerable effort into gaining more shares of international markets by achieving Euro 5 and Euro 6 standards, enhancing its products’ quality and equipping them with automatic gearboxes as well as diesel engines. Earlier, IKCO opened Arisun pickup production line in Iraq. According to Tafazzoli, the car manufacturer is now set to establish a Soren production line in Iraq by March 20, 2017. “Strong rivals, most of them Chinese, have already entered Iraq’s market to gain more shares of the market. They have established certain marketing policies, including offering special services to their customers,” he said. In line with Iran’s Automotive Industry Outlook 2025, Iran is set to produce three million vehicles each year, one-third of which will be exported. As the biggest carmaker in Iran and the Middle East, IKCO has picked up export as one of its main targets.   Short Url : http://financialtribune.com/archive/2016/04/16/articles/economy-auto/39800/iran-khodro-exports-30000-cars

The ownership structure of the Iranian auto market is set to radically change over the coming year as international carmakers make their entry. Iran revs up for auto revolution TEHRAN, Iran — The auto giant PSA Peugeot Citroen has become the first foreign company since the Jan. 16 implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to obtain a license from the Iranian government to invest in Iran Khodro Co. (IKCO), the biggest car manufacturer in the country. Jean-Christophe Quemard, PSA Peugeot Citroen’s executive vice president for Africa and the Middle East, said earlier this month that the next “big step” for the multinational automaker would be the creation of a joint venture this summer, the French business magazine Challenges reported April 6. PSA Peugeot Citroen, a past IKCO partner, has just resumed deliveries of auto parts, after a four-year hiatus. Its abrupt 2012 pullout from the Iranian market as nuclear-related sanctions against Iran intensified upset Iranian authorities. The move greatly harmed the Iranian automotive industry. IKCO CEO Hashem Yekkeh-Zare said in an interview with the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency that to avoid similar such incidents, any foreign company interested in the Iranian market must firstmake an investment. IKCO and Peugeot have apparently put aside their differences and agreed that each will hold a 50% stake in a 400 million euro ($452 million) joint venture to produce Peugeot 208, 2008 and 301 models over the next five years. Under the agreement, the Iranians will fill the CEO position in the joint company while the French side will chair the board. The Iranians have required that manufacturing technology be transferred over the course of a few years, a policy implemented by President Hassan Rouhani’s administration as a prerequisite for any industrial partnership. Iran hopes this strategy will bring an end to the economic ostracism imposed on it by the West over the past decade. Despite Iran’s investment conditions, Peugeot officials have expressed happiness over the recent deal, with Quemard calling it a win-win contract. Their satisfaction may partly be due to a likely 15% hike in car production by the end of the current Iranian calendar year, until March 20, 2017. If forecasts hold true, Iran will produce more than 1 million vehicles by year-end, although the figure will still be far lower than the record-setting 1.6 million vehicles produced in 2011. IKCO will be responsible for about half of the output. The deal with PSA Peugeot Citroen is not the only IKCO initiative for developing the Iranian automotive industry. IKCO executives are also hammering out a deal with Mercedes-Benz, a subsidiary of Germany-based Daimler, to locally manufacture commercial vehicles and passenger cars. According to the state-run Iran Daily, a letter of intent will be signed in the coming months, allowing the popular German giant to begin operations in Iran. Mercedes-Benz is also negotiating with Iranian companies on the local production of trucks and power-train components, according to the newspaper. It has already agreed on a “comprehensive re-entry” into the Iranian market with Iran Khodro Diesel and the Dubai-based Mammut Group and is preparing to return as a shareholder in the Iranian Diesel Engine Manufacturing Co., which is based in the northwestern city of Tabriz. Separately, earlier in April, Iran’s English-language Press TV reported that Volkswagen and its Skoda brand are also among the multinational automakers that have approached Iranian carmakers. VW is now weighing the selection of a local partner, likely Kerman Motor or Mammut Group, to position itself in the race to capture market share in Iran. Meanwhile, the Italians have wasted no time getting into the race. Ahmad Pourfallah, head of the Iranian-Italian Chamber of Commerce, told the Fars News Agency that Fiat is finalizing negotiations with IKCO to buy a part of its shares and establish a joint venture later in the year. Meanwhile, SAIPA, the second-largest Iranian car manufacturer, has its own development plans as part of the broader national effort to boost the auto sector. The Asr-e Khodro news site reported April 9 that SAIPA will probably sell 49% of its shares to Citroen. The possibility of the establishment of a joint venture with Citroen was confirmed by Naser Agha-Mohammadi, SAIPA Group’s vice president for product development, in a recent interview with leading economic newspaper Donya-e Eqtesad. SAIPA, which consists of seven manufacturers, plans to select up to four strategic foreign partners, which would enable SAIPA to develop its brand both nationally and internationally, Agha-Mohammadi said. A total amount of 500 million euros ($564 million) in foreign direct investment will soon be made, an investment that would considerably elevate the status of SAIPA, and more broadly, transform the whole industry in Iran, Agha-Mohammadi said. Other likely partners are France’s Renault, Japan’s Nissan and South Korea’s KIA. Yet despite the Rouhani administration’s all-out efforts to turn the sluggish Iranian auto industry into a more productive one, it has forecast a 33% rise in revenue from car import tariffs in the budget currently being reviewed by parliament. The budget forecasts 22 trillion rials ($726.6 million) in revenue from car import tariffs, up from 13.68 trillion rials ($451.8 million) last year. Critics say the administration is unlikely to meet the target revenue, as domestic demand for expensive cars has already fallen. Given this situation and the 43% drop in revenue from car import tariffs last year, perhaps the best solution would be to allow more affordable cars to be imported. Thus, although the ownership structure of Iranian automakers is set to dramatically change over the coming year or so, it need not necessarily be to the detriment of those exporting cars to Iran. Auto giants can keep sending vehicles, with the exception of luxury cars, to the 80-million-strong Iranian market as long as there is a lack of high-quality domestically made cars that meet both industry standards and are affordable for the middle and working classes. Source: Iran revs up for auto revolution