Uber Technologies Inc unveiled its newest Volvo self-driving car in Washington on Wednesday as it works to eventually deploy vehicles without drivers under some limited conditions.Uber said the new production XC90 will be assembled by Volvo Cars in Sweden and have human controls like steering wheels and brake pedals, but also with factory-installed steering and braking systems designed for computer rather than human control.

Uber Advanced Technologies Group chief scientist Raquel Urtasun showed off the company’s artificial intelligence technology that allows it to drive autonomously for long distances on highways without maps and “on the fly” to plot its course and navigate construction zones.“Our goal is get each one of you to where you want to go much better, much safer, cheaper,” Urtasun said.As the race to push out autonomous cars across the globe heats up, other companies are also working to deploy self-driving vehicles in limited areas.Ford Motor Co’s majority-owned autonomous vehicle unit, Argo AI, launched its new fleet of self-driving test vehicles - Ford Fusion Hybrid - in Detroit on Wednesday, expanding to five US cities.The No. 2 US automaker also opened a research centre in Tel Aviv, joining a growing number of major automakers and suppliers setting up shop in Israel’s tech hub.General Motors Co in January 2018 sought permission from US regulators to deploy a ride-sharing fleet of driverless cars without steering wheels or other human controls before the end of 2019 but is still struggling to win regulatory approval.

Alphabet Inc’s Waymo unit is operating a robotaxi service in Arizona and said last month it is partnering with Lyft Inc to serve more riders.South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp both said they would invest in the self-driving car software startup Aurora and speed up the development of their respective autonomous vehicle technologies.Carmakers have struggled to maintain profit margins faced with the rising costs of making electric, connected and autonomous cars. As a result, they are setting up alliances and lining up outside investors to combat spiralling development costs.Previously, Uber had purchased about 250 Volvo XC90 SUVs and retrofitted them for self-driving use.The new vehicles - known by the internal code number 519G and under development for several years - are safer, more reliable and will replace the older vehicles in Uber’s fleet “soon,” according to Eric Meyhofer, the head of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group.“This is about going to production.”  

Meyhofer said in an interview at an Uber conference in Washington on Tuesday.The new vehicle also has several backup systems for both steering and braking functions as well as backup battery power and new cybersecurity systems.HUMAN CONTROLSUber is not ready to deploy vehicles without human controls, Meyhofer said.“We’re still in a real hybrid state,” he said. “We have to get there and we’re not going to get to thousands of cars in a city overnight. It’s going to be a slower introduction.”The new XC90 vehicles have an interior fish-eye camera to scan for lost items, Uber said. They also do not have sunroofs since the self-driving vehicles have large sensors on the roof and are equipped with auto-close doors to prevent an unsafe departure.Uber, which has taken delivery of about a dozen prototypes of the new vehicle, but has not yet deployed them on public roads, said the car’s “self-driving system will one day allow for safe, reliable autonomous ridesharing without the need” for a safety driver.

Asked if Uber will deploy self-driving cars without safety drivers in limited areas in the next few years, Meyhofer said: “Yes - way before that.”But he added that Uber wants to be in “the good graces of public trust and regulatory trust” before making the business decision to deploy.In December, Uber resumed limited self-driving car testing on public roads in Pittsburgh, nine months after it suspended the program following a deadly accident in Arizona.In March 2018, authorities in Arizona suspended Uber’s ability to test its self-driving cars after one of its XC90 cars hit and killed a woman crossing the street at night in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe, then Uber’s largest testing hub. The crash was the first death attributed to a self-driving vehicle.

In March 2019, prosecutors in Arizona said the company was not criminally liable in the crash and would not pursue charges. Uber has since ended testing in Arizona, but plans to eventually resume testing in Toronto and San Francisco, Meyhofer said.The death prompted significant safety concerns about the nascent self-driving car industry, which is racing to get vehicles into commercial use.

Volvo Cars Chief Executive Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement that “by the middle of the next decade, we expect one-third of all cars we sell Hot selling Modified sine wave 3000W to be fully autonomous.”Volvo Cars, which is owned by China’s Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd, will use a similar autonomous base vehicle concept for the introduction of its first commercially available autonomous drive technology in the early 2020s.Volvo and Uber said in 2017 that the rideshare company planned to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo from 2019 to 2021 using the self-driving system developed by Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group.An Uber spokeswoman said Tuesday that the company plans “to work with Volvo on tens of thousands of vehicles in the future.”

These automatic hatchbacks range from being perfect city-slickers to outrageously fun.Convenience is such a delight, isn't it  Why fret when there's something to make your life that one bit easier and relaxed  Not so long ago, automatic cars were a bit of a no-no. They were whiny, indecisive and guzzled a lot — much like the average teenager. However, times have changed; automatics have become as reliable and as frugal as their manual counterparts.An automatic transmission means your left leg can take a step back (pun intended) and relax. There's no need to operate the clutch pedal with the poise of a ballerina in traffic. Slot the gear selector in Drive and set off.  

The added convenience is particularly useful in the city, where you'd be surprised if you found empty roads. Speaking of which, isn't a small, nimble, and agile hatchback the best way of dealing with traffic woes We put together a list of seven best automatic hatchbacks in the country that range from being perfect city-slickers to outrageously fun. Let's get started!1. Tata Nano AMT XTA (Rs. 3.0 Lakh)The cheapest automatic one can buy in the country kicks off our list. We love the little Tata since it is quick on its feet and can tuck itself in almost anywhere. Admittedly, it isn't the most powerful thing on four wheels, but it does just fine inside the confines of the city. The AMT gearbox isn't the most polished of the lot either. That said, it is brilliant value for money. Check out our Nano first drive report!2. Hyundai Grand i10 Asta (O) AT Best Modified sine wave 300W (Rs. 6.1 Lakh)The little all-rounder from Hyundai ticks all the right boxes a hatchback should. It is spacious, fuel-efficient, full of nifty features and has a decently large boot as well. The automatic variant makes the potent package all the more exciting. While we are talking of the automatic, we're glad that it is available with dual airbags now; something it skimped on earlier.

Ford Figo TITANIUM AT (Rs. 7.2 lakh)The Ford Figo is the most affordable car in the country to sport a dual clutch automatic transmission. The punchy motor dishes out a healthy blend of efficiency and performance. The Figo is a well-packaged car that leaves little room for complaints. We think it is worth the premium one would pay over the Grand i10. Moreover, you get all the bells and whistles you'll ever need! We thought it was amongst the most no-nonsense hathbacks you can buy. Check the Figo automatic review here!4. Maruti Suzuki Baleno CVT ZETA (Rs. 7.5 Lakh)Nexa's poster boy has been a runaway success for India's largest car manufacturer. Positioned as a premium alternative to the humble Swift, the Baleno gets a CVT that the former doesn't. We like how Maruti have stuck to their trusted formula of developing hatchbacks for our country and managed to infuse some modern elements as well. As is the case with most Marutis, the Baleno ranks high when it comes to user-friendliness, reliability and after sales support. In case you missed it, the Baleno is now available in a fairly well specced Zeta variant as well!5.  

Polo GT TSi (Rs. 9.0 Lakh)There's little surprise that this car features on our list. The GT rekindled the "hot-hatch" fire in the country with a potent engine and gearbox combo. The TSi is amongst the most fun cars you can buy for around 10 lakh rupees. In fact, we chose it over the Abarth Punto in our comparison review. If you do not behave like a child with the accelerator, the motor is a conscious sipper as well. If you can excuse the lack of space at the rear bench and want nothing but silly grins, you know where the Volkswagen showroom is.6. Mercedes A-Class A200D (Rs. 28.8 Lakh)The luxury segment has no dearth of cars that are in-your-face and want to make a statement. If it is exactly that what you please, we recommend the Mercedes A-Class. After all, there's not a lot that can announce your arrival like the Three-Pointed Star. The plethora of gizmos, comfortable ride, and the exclusivity come complimentary!7.  

Mini Cooper S (Rs. 31.5 Lakh)The Cooper S is the most powerful hatchback in the country. While we would have loved a good old stick shifter, the automatic with the optional paddle shifters are just as good. Pick this one if you intend to go on a corner carving spree on that winding ghat you've always dreamt of attacking. It won't disappoint one bit. Just be wary of the stiff suspension. If that isn't good enough for you, there's a convertible version too! Click here to know how it drives!That's our list of the seven best automatic hatchbacks one can put their money on. We like how there's something for everyone; how the market has evolved to cater to the masses and the niche at the same time. Have something to add to our list  Disagree with our choices  Let us hear your opinions through the comments section below!

A file photo of Chinese Internet company LeEco Holdings Ltd unveiling its Internet electric battery driverless concept car, “LeSEE”, during a launch event in Beijing. Chinese manufacturers and Internet giants are in hot pursuit of their US counterparts in the race to design driverless cars, but the route to market is still littered with potholes.While Google has been working on autonomous vehicles for at least six years, with the likes of BMW, Volvo and Toyota in its wake, more recently Chinese businesses have entered the race, from Internet search giant Baidu to manufacturer Changan.Last week, ahead of the Beijing Auto Show opening on Monday, two self-driving Changan cars made a mountainous 2,000 kilometre journey from Chongqing in the southwest to the capital in the country’s first long-distance autonomous vehicle test. Another Chinese Internet giant, LeECO, is also venturing into autonomous technologies, unveiling Wednesday in Beijing an electric car that can park itself and be summoned to its owner’s location via smartphone.And late last year Baidu tested China’s first locally designed driverless vehicle, a modified BMW, with a 30 kilometre ride through the streets of Beijing.Despite China’s relatively late entry to the field, analysts believe the country could become a key market for driverless vehicles thanks to a more favourable regulatory and consumer environment.The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) forecasts that global sales of driverless cars will reach 12 million by 2035, with more than a quarter sold in China.Vehicles which automatically adjust their routes in response to real-time traffic information could solve chronic gridlock in China’s major cities, BCG’s Xavier Mosquet said.“If they believe this would ease traffic, Chinese authorities will do all they can to promote the development of this technology and then its use,” he said.

Robot taxisPublic concerns over the safety of driverless cars are far lower than elsewhere, according to a survey by Roland Berger consultants in 2015, which found 96 per cent of Chinese would consider an autonomous vehicle for almost all everyday driving, compared with 58 per cent of Americans and Germans.In a country notorious for accidents, the promise of better safety through autonomous technologies could also be appealing.The ultimate prize, say analysts, will be when mass transport firms such as taxi-hailing giant Uber, or its Chinese rival Didi, can deploy huge fleets of robot taxis.“The real payoff for truly driverless technology will come when cars on the road are no longer owned by people, but are owned by fleet management services,” said Bill Russo, managing director of the consultancy firm Gao Feng.“That’s where you want to think about taking the driver out of the equation. Mobility on demand is hugely popular here.”In the Roland Berger survey, 51 per cent of Chinese car owners said they would prefer to use robot taxis rather than buy a new vehicle themselves, compared with 26 per cent of Americans.With a ready market, China may soon become the top location for companies to refine driverless technology.Swedish manufacturer Volvo, owned by China’s Geely since 2010, this month announced plans to test Sale Modified sine wave 5000W drive up to 100 of its vehicles on Chinese roads this year.Changan, a partner of Ford, is set to roll out commercial autonomous vehicles for motorways from 2018, while mass production of driverless city cars is projected to begin in 2025.Does the car chooseBaidu, meanwhile, says it will launch self-driving buses by 2018, which will operate on fixed routes in select cities in China.Like Google, the Internet giant already owns detailed roadmaps and has experience in electronic security, and a company spokeswoman said it had “very positive feedback” from the government.But analysts are more cautious, predicting slow-moving autonomous vehicles will not appear in towns until at least 2020.

Production costs were still too high to make a robot taxi fleet viable, BCG’s Mosquet said.“There are still many questions to be resolved” before fully autonomous vehicles can be put into public use, said Jeremy Carlson, a senior analyst for IHS.He pointed to “chaotic traffic situations” on roads shared with cyclists and pedestrians, and less-than-adequate infrastructure.Technology will be the first to see solutions, he said, but that still left regulation and issues around liability and insurance to be addressed.For some, there are moral dilemmas as well.“If you have someone jumping out in front of an autonomous car, does the car have to choose between killing that person, or swerving and crashing and killing the passenger ” asked Robin Zhu, senior analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein.“If your car could choose to kill you, would you get in it ”.

Mumbai: The demonetisation coupled with GST and BSIV norms seem to have made a dent in the domestic pre-owned car market with the segment growing six per cent lesser in the previous fiscal against the projected growth of 15 per cent, as per an industry report.However, at the same time, the Centres decision in November last year to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which were subsequently replaced with new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes, and greater access to credit have allowed for increased finance penetration in the organised segment, IndianBlueBook, a vehicle pricing research platform, said in a report released on Wednesday.

The 3.6 million pre-owned car market grew at nine per cent as the demonetisation reduced market size by two lakh units or an estimated six per cent of the overall used car sales market, it said.Over the past year, the market has been hit by significant "jolts" in the form of three major market reforms -- demonetisation, BSIII/BSIV and GST, it said."While these reforms have no doubt disrupted the status quo, they have necessitated that all stakeholders change with the times and become more organised," Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltds managing director and chief executive officer Nagendra Palle said at the launch of the second edition of India Pre-Owned Car Market Report 2017."

Notwithstanding the short term hiccups, we strongly believe these market reforms are good for the organised industry in the long term," he said.Mahindra First Choice Wheels is Mahindra groups pre-owned vehicle selling arm. According to the China PPR FITTING Suppliers report, the current GST regime imposes a significantly higher burden on the dealer - on a pan-India basis - roughly twice the rate that was otherwise being incurred.As per the report, in 70 per cent of states, dealers will have to pay higher taxes post-GST, compared to the old tax regime but the current GST structure is expected to give a fillip to C2C transactions.

The highly fragmented pre-owned car market is divided into four categories -- the organised, semi-organised, unorganised and consumer-to-consumer market.While the organised category accounts for 15 per cent of the total market pie, the semi-organised market accounts for 6 per cent of all used car sales in the country.The unorganised market commands a 17 per cent share in the over all sales and the consumer to consumer market 32 per cent of the total pie.The report also noted that the pre-owned car market continues to organise rapidly with both organised and semi- organised segments growing by 36 per cent and 12 respectively by volume, while C2C and unorganised segments have remained flat.

Marquee British Automaker MG Motor (Morris Garages) showcased never seen before car technology in India with the launch of the iSMART Next Gen, developed in partnership with global technology players. To be available for sales by June this year, MG Hector with iSMART Next Gen will be the first internet car in India that will redefine connected mobility.Along with its strong consortium of global tech partners that includes Microsoft, Adobe, Unlimit, SAP, Cisco, Gaana, TomTom and Nuance, the carmaker unveiled several industry-first features of Internet-enabled cars that will be available in the MG Hector.The brain of the iSMART Next Gen will be housed in a 10.4-inch Head Unit. The screen is designed with a vertical interface that allows the driver to control the entire car system with just a touch or voice command. The Head Unit is built to withstand extreme climatic conditions of India.

It comes pre-loaded with entertainment content.MG Hector iSMART Next Gen comes with an industry first embedded M2M sim that ensures that the car remains connected. The customized solution has been developed by Unlimit in partnership with Cisco and Airtel who have collaborated with their Jasper platform and telecommunication network respectively. The connected mobility solution on the MG Hector is Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6) ready for 5G.This seamless connectivity enables the users to receive real-time software, entertainment content and application updates. Customers will be able to download the software updates immediately or schedule them for later, as in smartphones. This makes MG the first few among the global leaders and the first in India to bring the revolutionary Over The Air (OTA) technology to cars.

The OTA feature would be standard in all MG cars enabled with iSMART Next Gen for connected mobility, starting with MG Hector SUV.The most stunning feature of the MG Hector is Voice Assist. It is a powerful voice application that works on the cloud and head unit. Developed by Nuance for MG India, it has been specifically designed for India for Indian accent learning. As a result of built-in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms, the system will learn and get better every day with usage. Activated with ‘Hello MG’, the voice assist allows over 100 commands, including opening and closing of windows and sunroof, ac control, navigation etc. and works even under poor connectivity.To add to customer experience, iSMART comes with pre-embedded and very relevant web applications. It will house the world leader TomTom’s real-time navigation application. A leading player in automobile navigation around the world, TomTom has over 600 million vehicles under its platform.

This navigation system would regularly update maps, routes and locations through their IQ Maps feature. Pre-loaded Gaana app with Premium Account and Accuweather will further help the customers to access music and weather forecasts. All apps have been China Wholesale PPR ELBOW Suppliers specially customized for MG Hector’s large Head Unit.The iSMART Next Gen is supported by the iSMART mobile App. MG iSMART App is feature-rich like none other in the Indian market. The car gets scanned each time the App is opened, and information includes the location of the car, tyre pressure, or if the doors are locked or not. The owner can use the remote app to directly lock or unlock doors, turn on the ignition and switch on the air-conditioner. This is very useful in extreme weather conditions of India. It would also allow owners to schedule a service and keep track of service history.

MG with iSMART ensures that its customers remain protected against advanced threats while enjoying the benefits of technology. MG car owners can locate their cars remotely and geo fence it, so the car cannot be taken out of a predefined zone, thus enhancing the safety of the passengers. The App uses driver analytics data to help people drive smarter. The iSMART is hosted on Microsoft Azure Cloud providing impregnable cybersecurity for all data.MG has set up a first of its kind customer management service centre called the Pulse Hub. This will enable eCall emergency response in all MG cars. If a car’s airbags are deployed under an emergency condition, automatic messages are sent to the Pulse Hub and the registered phones along with a series of emergency response actions that get activated instantly. MG hector also offers an industry first iCall.

With just a touch on the Screen, the driver is connected to Pulse Hub for a host of information services.Keeping in line with the brand value of MG - Enabling exciting experiences every time, MG India has integrated technology in the entire customer journey and customer experience. Adobe and Cognizant have partnered MG to develop the first ever Adobe Experience Cloud to make the customer journey a delight for MG customers. Likewise, SAP with iTelligence has built one of its kind Dealer Management System - ‘Magnet’, and connected apps. This system would host all information from company, dealers, service centres and customers at one place. This would make sure the customer can seamlessly be recognised and offered services at pre-sales, sales and post-sales phases.