The initiatives in the race to conquer the AV market can be seen as an opportunity for market players from different segments to collaborate on a high scale.
The platform provided ample opportunity to collaborate not just on the monetary ground but also merging of experience and knowledge with expertise from different sectors of the world.
As the AV market is seen as a lucrative trillion-dollar market, the sharing of space with respect to manufacturing mass production of units and also with respect to the electronic segments.
The partnership helps to cut down the cost in its early stage, rather than starting a unit from ground zero, collaborating on the use of such place minimizes the early investment cost, labor cost and saves time in focusing on a particular area rather than taking up the load of the complete unit.
Nissan-Renault with Waymo: In 2019, the team collaborated in the partnership for the development of self-driving vehicle systems to carry both passengers and haul packages where they worked exclusively so that technology was developed for the vehicles. The target zone is France and Japan, however, in 2020 Nissan announced of covering its 230-mile of the driverless journey in Britain. The roads with no or minimal markings, junctions, and roundabouts using advanced technology in positioning were used.
Mercedes Benz (Daimler) and BMW Group: In 2019, the two giant auto industry company joined their forces in developing autonomous driving technologies where the two companies are represented to be collaborating for a long-term agreement. In 2020, the focus was shifted to electric vehicles and autonomous trucks than self-driving cars. It indicates the intense rivalry is letting the auto industry select a particular segment and create a niche for themselves and conquer a mass market. The decision to change from the intense rivalry market of Auto to trucks shows that only time will prove its worth or the return it is expected from the huge market.
Kia-Hyundai
In Mar 2020, Hyundai formed a 50/50 autonomous driving joint venture with Aptiv. The collaboration is aimed at strengthening Hyundai’s design, engineering, manufacturing expertise, and autonomous driving technologies. The targeted project of such collaboration is Robo taxi providers, fleet operators, and automotive manufacturers.
In July 2019, Yandex, a Russian tech giant inked a deal with Hyundai to build a self-driving car tech. The official partnership led to the launch of an autonomous Hyundai 2020 Sonata with Yandex’s software and sensor suite.
In July 2019, Hyundai Autron and Wind River signed the partnership for developing autonomous driving and connectivity software platforms so that the next generation automobiles are powered for the global level market.
In June 2019, Hyundai Motor Group expanded its partnership with Silicon Valley self-driving start-up, Aurora.
In April 2019, Chinese technology firm Tencent Holdings and Hyundai Motor Co announced a plan for joint research and development program on safety and security systems for self-driving cars seeking to roll out commercially by 2030.
In October 2018, Mobis Technical Centre in India (a subsidiary of Hyundai Mobis in South Korea), collaborated with Tata Elxsi to develop Synthetic Scene Generator Tool. The main aim is to replicate real-world scenarios which an automobile can encounter.
In December 2018, Hyundai MnSoft, Hyundai Motor Group subsidiary partnered with Netradyne, an AI technology to specialize in location-based service focused on driver and fleet safety for cloud-based connected navigation software and high definition future maps (HD) for autonomous vehicles.
Jaguar-Land Rover: In October 2015, Jaguar-Land Rover went into a collaboration project with Engineering and Physical Science Research Council to develop an autonomous and connected vehicle project. The research is conducted at ten UK universities and the Transport Research Laboratory. It has also collaborated with German-based Robert Bosch Group to gather driving habits data and test vehicle communications technology.
Intel-Mobileye & BMW group: In July 2016, the two groups collaborated for making self-driving vehicles and future mobility concepts a reality or a real vision. The three leaders collaborate for automotive, technology, and computer vision for solutions-driven effort on automated driving series which is set to be in the production line by 2021.
Intel and Waymo: In Sep 2017, the collaborator joined forces on computing power necessary for level 4 and level 5 autonomous vehicles that can be driven irrespective of any condition. The minivans, Chrysler Pacifica, a self-driving car already featured Intel-produced technology from connectivity to sensor data processing capability.
Mobileye and NavInfo: In Jan 2018, leading autonomous driving solution providers in China market are in collaboration for high accuracy positioning and core businesses in HAD mapping so that it can build and distribute Mobileye’s Road Experience Management product in China. In General, the partnership’s purpose is the use of Mobileye’s REM technology in China for integration and aligning with NavInfo’s mapping solutions.
Volkswagen Group, Mobileye, and Champion Motors: In October 2018, the joint venture rolled out Israel’s first self-driving ride-hailing service. The venture was established on the theme of “New Mobility in Israel” where formally the Israeli government accepted the Smart Mobility Summit in Tel Aviv.
Baidu with Mobileye: In July 2018, the collaborator announced its plan to work together to integrate and commercially deploy Mobileye’s Responsibility Sensitive Safety (RSS) model in both the open-source project Apollo and the commercial Apollo Pilot program. The joint venture focused on adopting Mobileye’s Surround Computer Vision Kit as a visual perception solution.
Mobileye & Nio: The Chinese company partnership forecasted on developing autonomous vehicles with a strategic aim to collaborate on bringing highly automated and autonomous vehicles in the consumer markets in China and other territories.
In my opinion, collaborations are highly valued as it is not just technology but also geographical knowledge. However, only the future can predict how much such partnerships will be profitable and will sustain a long-term venture.
Source:- Greyb.com