
BMW and Daimler team up on self-driving cars
BMW and Daimler have announced a new partnership on autonomous driving. 1200 technicians of the two companies will team up to develop self-driving technology. The joint team will work on driver assistance systems, automated driving, and parking. The two companies say they will work on SAE Level 4 technology.
SAE – Society of Automotive Engineers levels rank from 0 to 5 and determine the autonomous capabilities of a vehicle. Level 4 vehicles intervene when things go wrong or in cases of system failure. Manual override of the system is possible.
BMW and Daimler are targeting the year 2024 for installing the technology in vehicles available to the public. The partnership is non-exclusive and other partner manufacturers and tech firms will participate.
Two German giants joined nine other companies to publish a white paper on autonomous driving, entitled “Safety First for Automated Driving”. The paper aims to develop industry standards for tackling risks associated with self-driving cars.
VW launches car-sharing service in Berlin
Volkswagen has launched its car sharing service, WeShare in Berlin this week with 1,500 e-Golf vehicles on the streets. The company plans to add 500 more cars next year, and later include its ID.3 fully electric model in the fleet.
Currently, WeShare will be taking responsibility for recharging the vehicles but plans to implement an incentivization program for users to do so in the future. The company also plans to launch in Prague and Hamburg next year.
VW also operates a fully-electric ride-sharing service MOIA with a custom-built electric van in Hamburg and Hanover.