David Sedgwick Special correspondent [email protected] 734-418-0668 See All Staff Page Recent Stories It's showtime for self-driving shuttles Three German suppliers are developing versatile people-mover shuttles that could lead to large-scale use of commercial self-driving fleets. Veteran German supplier executive reinventing Japan's Calsonic after Magneti Marelli buy Calsonic Kansei CEO Beda Bolzenius, a native of Germany, is working to diminish his Japanese company's heavy reliance on its biggest customer, Nissan, after just eight months on the job. Johnson Controls exits the auto industry Johnson Controls exits the industry stage to return to its 135-year-old roots of focusing on climate control systems for buildings. China's Zotye plans to begin U.S. sales with budget SUV China's Zotye has begun recruiting U.S. dealers and aims to bring a budget crossover to America in 2020. Bosch, Continental plan to acquire 5% stakes in digital mapping company Here Bosch and Continental plan to acquire 5 percent stakes in digital mapping company Here to gain more expertise in driver-assistance and other data-based technologies. Here is jointly controlled by BMW, Daimler and Audi. ZF remains committed to autonomous vehicles despite CEO's ejection Boardroom unease over ongoing acquisitions brought down ZF's CEO. But the supplier knows it must press on to be a true global autonomous vehicle competitor. Delphi eyes self-driving edge with NuTonomy Working with its new acqusition, software startup NuTonomy, Delphi gets a leg up in the race to deploy self-driving vehicles. Intel hails self-driving cars to wary public Now that automated fleets are hitting the streets, computer-chip giant Intel is taking steps to prepare a wary public. Intel poised to roll out first batch of self-driving cars Computer chipmaker Intel, which announced plans in August to build a fleet of 100 self-driving cars, is preparing to roll out its first batch of 25 units this year in California and Phoenix. Autoliv partners up for self-driving safety Swedish airbag supplier Autoliv is partnering with seat-maker Adient to develop new interior approaches to autonomous vehicles. Nexteer at work on hands-free steering The next generation of steer-by-wire opens the door for hand-free driving, retractable steering wheels and other autonomous driving elements. And Nexteer says the technology will soon be here. Lidar is here; Valeo expects price to drop over next 5 years Lidar-equipped vehicles are available in showrooms, but forget about those Google-style, coffee-can-size lidars on the roofs. Electrification could kill off unprepared suppliers A new industry forecast warns that as many as 75 of the industry's top 100 suppliers will face irrelevance by 2030 unless they establish a niche in the market for electrified cars. Charging key to EV growth, Conti executive says Most analysts focus on the cost and range of vehicle battery packs, but Continental executives believe market interest is more dependent on battery charging systems. Faurecia invests in digital manufacturing Faurecia has invested $64 million to install a digital manufacturing system in a new U.S. factory. The plant is the most digitally advanced facility in Faurecia's global network. Load More