🛺Autowist Report 90

Tesla Robovan and Cybercab, FSD Upgrades, Sourcing in Automotive, Graphene Busbar Patent from GM, Fingerprint IC for automotive

Author

Harikrishnan Radhakrishnan
October 14, 2024

IN TODAY’S REPORT

💼BRIEFING

Top insights and analysis that is moving the needle in the automotive industry

Tesla Unveils Robotaxi and Robovan Betting on Affordable Autonomy (Link) (Link)

Cybercab

Cybercab

  1. Tesla is filling the premium point-to-point transportation category

  2. Robotaxis going mainstream still have a lot of unresolved issues. See section below

  3. Robotaxis as a business model “works” at least on paper

  4. So it really comes to, whether we are ready to bet on Elon and Tesla as an organization in delivering on time and in full.

  5. Baidu on the other hand has introduced its autonomous robotaxi, the Yichi 06 (also known as Apollo RT6), in China.

  6. The total mileage of Baidu Apollo’s autonomous driving testing with older vehicles exceeds 32 million km (20 million miles). Baidu’s robotaxi fleet has operated 7 million rides as of end of July 2024.

Baidu Yichi 06

Here are some unresolved issues Tesla faces with its driverless vehicles, particularly the Cybercab:

1. Regulatory Approval: Tesla needs a permit from the California DMV to operate fully driverless vehicles, requiring proof of safety, which hasn’t been demonstrated yet. Additionally, producing a Cybercab without a steering wheel will require federal waivers, a lengthy and uncertain process.

2. Liability: Tesla has avoided taking responsibility for accidents involving its driver-assist features, and Elon Musk stated he will continue to do so unless the crashes are linked to a design flaw. Legal accountability for crashes remains unresolved.

3. Remote Assistance: If a driverless Tesla gets stuck or disabled, there are no clear protocols in place for remote assistance or manual vehicle intervention, unlike other AV operators like Waymo and Cruise, which have technicians to handle such issues.

4. Fleet Maintenance: Tesla showed a robot vacuum cleaning crumbs from the Cybercab, but broader fleet maintenance, such as cleaning cameras in harsh conditions or charging the vehicle, remains unaddressed.

5. Emergency Detection: Tesla has struggled with emergency vehicle detection, leading to federal investigations into Autopilot crashes involving stationary emergency vehicles. Handling edge cases like emergency detours is a concern.

Here’s a longer list from Cruise co-founder, Kurt

Robovan

Elon Musk unveiled the Robovan, an electric passenger van designed to carry up to 20 people or transport goods. The futuristic vehicle, with a sleek, wheel-less design, is intended to address high-density transportation needs. Musk highlighted its potential for cost-effective travel, estimating as low as 5-10 cents per mile.

The Robovan is expected to be part of Tesla's autonomous ride-hailing Tesla Network, aligning with hints from Tesla’s Master Plans that mentioned high passenger-density urban transport and autonomous buses. The electric van market is becoming competitive, with models like the Volkswagen ID Buzz, Mercedes eSprinter, and others recently launching.

Robovan

Tesla is once again allowing current owners to transfer Full Self-Driving (FSD) to a new vehicle purchase, despite previously stating the program would not return after it ended 11 days ago. Tesla has been selling its FSD system for many years, yet no owner has received a fully autonomous version. Owners have been frustrated by having to repurchase the software with each new car, especially since the software was never fully delivered. Last year, Tesla allowed FSD transfers for two months, but it was seen as a way to stoke demand rather than fulfilling promises. After ending the program multiple times, Tesla has now brought it back until December 31, 2024.

  1. One aspect of this whole fiasco is that this looks more like a sales tactic than actual strategy from Tesla side. This increases demand for new Tesla’s during this period so they can do free FSD transfers and not having to repurchase software again. One thing we have to understand here is that SW is adding not much marginal cost when compared to the volume. But the volume of cars sold speaks much louder to Wall Street and the market in general.

  2. The more laudable part of all this is that Tesla is even capable of allowing “carry-fowrads” on their FSD system. That means that at least for most parts of the product line, they have not broken the backward compatibility of the FSD system. To me this is probably one of the most important factors of going the “software-defined” route.

The truth about sourcing alliances in automotive (Link)

A Hyundai supplier factory. Hyundai is one of the many automotive makers who have entered into procurement partnerships. Courtesy of Shinhwa Auto USA Corp.

In September, Hyundai and General Motors signed an agreement to collaborate on supply chains and production to improve cost efficiencies and operational synergies. The collaboration aims to reduce costs on raw materials like steel and EV battery components by combining sourcing efforts.

While joint procurement can help secure supplier commitments, larger OEMs like Hyundai and GM may not see game-changing benefits due to organizational complexities. In contrast, smaller automakers, like Rivian or Lucid, may gain more significant savings from such collaborations.

  1. As the article points out, sourcing alliances are usually beneficial for smaller players as they get to enjoy the leverage of the larger partner in the deal. However, when 2 large players(Hyundai and GM) in this case, it will be outweighed by the organizational differences between the 2 companies. Their way of working, cultural differences and even the legislation in respective countries can make such an alliance really tricky to be beneficial for the cost.

  2. Sourcing alliances are a clear indication of the pricing power suppliers enjoy in this industry. There are not so many “exceptional” suppliers around. This leads to high pricing from the supplier side, and the OEMs have to resort to sourcing alliances to counter that.

  3. This is not great from a technology perspective either, as suppliers don’t have an incentive to innovate or commercialize their innovations. As more OEMs flock for a particular supplier product or platform, most resources would be spend on keeping the “cash cow” alive.

  4. The pressure on BOM cost for legacy OEMs are increasing each quarter as Chinese OEMs are taking over the market a bit by bit and undercutting them on cost. Sourcing alliances do make a good “management solution” to that problem, but I firmly think that it is merely a band-aid. This can be solved in an order of magnitude better with an “engineering solution”. Finding optimizations in the product itself and in the pathways of manufacturing it.

Samsung Display x Ferrari EV x Jony Ives

In April, reports emerged that former Apple design lead Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were looking to raise $1 billion for a new company aimed at creating an AI-powered personal device. Thrive Capital and SoftBank's CEO Masayoshi Son have shown interest in this venture.

More recently, it was revealed that Ferrari's electric vehicle project, which Jony Ive was involved in, is set for release in the fourth quarter of next year. This project positions Ive to outperform his former employer, Apple, whose Project Titan failed. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna announced the news during the opening of their electric vehicle production plant in Maranello, Italy.

Additionally, Korea's ETNews reported that a next-gen Samsung OLED display will be featured in the new Ferrari EV. Although Ferrari's collaboration with Jony Ive’s design firm, Lovefrom, and Samsung was initially disclosed in 2021, specific details about the vehicle were not revealed until now. The new electric car is expected to feature an unprecedented display technology.

Italy's Brembo has agreed to acquire Swedish suspension technology manufacturer Öhlins Racing for $405 million, marking Brembo's largest-ever acquisition. The deal will be fully funded through available cash and sees Brembo acquiring Öhlins from Apollo Global Management-backed Tenneco. Brembo’s Executive Chairman Matteo Tiraboschi described the acquisition as a strategic fit to expand its automotive offerings and enhance integrated intelligent vehicle solutions.

Öhlins, with projected revenues of $144 million for 2024, produces suspension components such as shock absorbers and steering dampers, and is a supplier for motorsports like Formula 1 and MotoGP. The acquisition is part of Brembo’s mission to support future mobility technologies, with Öhlins focusing on the next generation of mechatronic suspension systems. Öhlins Racing operates from two production facilities in Sweden and Thailand and has additional R&D centers and branches worldwide.

⚡ROUNDUP

Key headlines shaping the auto industry this week

  • What lessons can Western automakers learn from Chinese OEMs? (Link)

  • BMW and Mercedes quarterly sales drop on weak China (Link)

  • AirConsole gaming available on Volkswagen vehicles (Link)

  • Porsche to recall over 27,000 EVs in US over battery short circuit risk (Link)

  • Zeekr’s state-of-the-art electric vehicles come to Norway (Link)

  • VW plant in Germany loses Porsche output, faces uncertain future (Link)

  • Honda recalls nearly 1.7M vehicles for steering issue (Link)

  • Automotive supply chains can benefit from sourcing alliances. Here’s why. (Link)

  • Mercedes Is A Leader In Autonomy. You Just Haven't Seen It Yet (Link)

  • Goodbye, Car Thieves: Apple Will Soon Make Stealing Cars More Challenging (Link)

  • Tesla's Robotaxi Won't Have A Charge Port. It's Wireless Charging Only (Link)

  • Toyota returns to F1 as Haas partner (Link)

  • Tesla Unveils Robotaxi and Robovan Betting on Affordable Autonomy (Link)

  • SAIC falls, BYD is the new king – BYD is now China’s largest automotive group (Link)

  • Nio has delivered the 600,000th car in China (Link)

  • Infineon introduces new fingerprint sensor ICs for identification and authentication in automotive applications (Link)

  • Baidu’s Yichi 06 robotaxi has 5 lidars, no steering wheel, operated millions of rides and cost less then Tesla Cybercab (Link)

  • Uber rolls out climate-focused features, updates to drive sustainability progress (Link)

  • BMW i7 and i5 recalled for steering issue (Link)

  • Elon Musk Invented A Worse City Bus (Link)

  • Abu Dhabi Mobility launches new Drivers and Vehicles Licensing Services (Link)

  • Luminar: software is the key differentiator in sensor tech (Link)

  • Standards overview: SDVs with central compute (Link)

  • Jaguar is dead as we know it (Link)

  • Brembo buys suspension maker Ohlins Racing for $405 million (Link)

  • Tesla’s ‘one-time’ FSD transfer scheme is back for the fourth time (Link)

  • No, That's Not a Toaster, It's Tesla's "One More Thing" Cybervan (Link)

  • EV Batteries Will Be Half Their 2023 Prices In Two Years: Study (Link)

  • New generation DAF trucks: Powering customer success (Link)

  • Polestar Knows It Has To Be In Comeback Mode (Link)

  • Polestar announces global volumes for the third quarter; to provide business and strategy update on 16 January 2025 (Link)

🔬PATENTS

Fresh Innovations from global automotive OEMs

EV Busbar with copper-graphene composite

This patent introduces a high-conductivity busbar designed for electric vehicles (EVs), aimed at optimizing the distribution of electrical power from a battery or other energy storage systems. The key innovation lies in using a copper-graphene composite, which improves conductivity compared to traditional copper-only designs. This enables better performance for EV systems while minimizing the material size and weight, making the system more efficient and environmentally friendly.

Key Aspects of the Invention:

1. Multilayer Composite Structure: The busbar consists of multiple layers of graphene and copper arranged in an alternatively interleaved pattern. These layers are stacked to form a multi-composite assembly that maximizes electrical conductivity.

2. Material Properties:

  • Graphene provides excellent conductivity and strength, enhancing the busbar's efficiency.

  • Copper layers improve electrical flow while the graphene layers improve conductivity and reduce material weight.

  • Carrier substrates made of copper, aluminum, or steel help maintain the structure’s integrity and contribute to overall durability.

3. Corrosion Resistance: The busbar features corrosion-resistant layers on the outer surfaces, ensuring longevity in demanding environments like EV power modules.

4. Manufacturing Process: The busbar’s graphene-copper layers are bonded using processes like chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and electron beam deposition (EBD) to ensure strong adhesion and optimal performance.

5. Customizability: The design allows for flexibility in adapting the materials and layering techniques to meet different conductivity and structural requirements, providing a tailored solution for various electric vehicle applications.

Function: This busbar is meant to efficiently distribute electrical power between different terminals in an EV. By utilizing graphene's superior conductivity in conjunction with copper, the busbar reduces material use while delivering higher performance, making it a critical component for EVs where space, weight, and energy efficiency are crucial.

Purpose: The invention focuses on creating a more efficient, durable, and compact solution for power distribution in electric vehicles, with potential applications extending beyond EVs into other electric-powered transportation systems.

🤖TECH DEEP DIVE

An inside look into new automotive technology

Infineon introduces new fingerprint sensor ICs for identification and authentication in automotive applications (Link)

Infineon Technologies has introduced new automotive-qualified fingerprint sensor ICs, the CYFP10020A00 and CYFP10020S00, designed for secure identification and authentication in vehicles. These sensors are optimized for use with Infineon’s TRAVEO™ T2G microcontrollers and meet AEC-Q100 automotive standards. They enable biometric authentication for in-vehicle personalization, payments, and other services, offering an enhanced user experience compared to traditional authentication methods like smartphone or PIN entry.

The sensors operate in a wide temperature range (-40 to +85°C for CYFP10020A00 and -40 to +105°C for CYFP10020S00) and provide precise fingerprint detection with encrypted data transmission via SPI interface.

The CYFP1 fingerprint reader works by capturing a fingerprint image through a polymer substrate that contains a grid of row and column electrodes. Here's a step-by-step explanation of how the chip functions:

1. Fingerprint Placement: The user places their finger on the sensor, which is mounted on a flexible printed circuit (FPC) connected to the host processor. The sensor interacts with the surface of the fingerprint, detecting ridges and valleys that make up the unique pattern of the fingerprint.

2. Capacitance Detection: The fingerprint reader operates by detecting changes in capacitance at the sensor electrodes. The ridges of the fingerprint (raised parts) are closer to the sensor surface, while valleys (lower parts) are farther away. This difference in distance creates varying capacitance levels across the sensor grid.

3. Capacitive Map Generation: Based on these capacitance variations, the sensor generates a capacitive map, representing the unique ridge and valley pattern of the fingerprint. This map acts like a digital image of the fingerprint.

4. Conversion to Digital Values: The capacitive map is converted into digital values, creating a data representation of the fingerprint pattern that the system can process.

5. Data Encryption: For security, the digital fingerprint data is encrypted on the chip before being sent to the host processor. This ensures that the sensitive biometric information remains secure during transmission.

6. Feature Extraction and Matching: Once the encrypted data reaches the host processor, it is used for either:

- Enrollment: Creating a fingerprint template that will be stored for future verification.

- Verification: Matching the newly captured fingerprint data against a previously stored fingerprint template to authenticate the user.

🐦AUTO BUZZ

Top posts, tweets, and videos from the automotive industry

📈MARKET SNAPSHOT

This week’s key movers in the automotive stock market

📆CALENDAR

Upcoming auto industry events and and earnings calls