US Senate sees bipartisan support for sweeping legislation to strengthen US R&D, tech production

In a significant development, the U.S. Senate voted 68-32 to approve a sweeping legislative package aimed at boosting the country’s ability to compete with China, with the U.S. Congress seeking to take a tough line on Beijing. The bipartisan measure authorizes around $190 billion in provisions to strengthen U.S. technology and research spending; it will…

Automakers urge incoming Biden Administration for tax credit, incentives to boost R&D into self driving cars, EVs

On Tuesday, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a major automotive trade association urged U.S. policymakers to back support for electric vehicles (EV), including new incentives to boost up consumer purchases, as well as research and development. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has made boosting electric vehicles a top priority and has pledged to build 550,000 new EV…

Apple Korea offers $84.02 million to settle antitrust probe

On Monday, South Korea’s competition watchdog stated, Apple’s Inc South Korean unit has put forwards proposals to address antitrust concerns and has offered $84.02 million (100 billion won) in support programmes to small small businesses, consumers and others. The development comes in the wake of Apple Korea being investigated by the Korea Fair Trade Commission…

Samsung Electronics building $220M R&D center in Vietnam

On Monday, in a statement the Vietnamese government stated, South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics has started building a $220 million research and development center in the country. The construction will be completed by the end of 2022, said the Vietnamese government while adding that the research center will employ around 2,200 to 3,000 people.…

Toyota plans on releasing self-driving level 2 vehicles in 2020

In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp disclosed, its automated driving R&D unit plans on deploying advanced self-driving capabilities in mobility service vehicles before it does so in personal-use vehicles. “‘Level 4’ (driving capabilities) is really what we’re striving for to first appear in mobility as a service,” said James Kuffner, CEO of Toyota Research Institute-Advanced…

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi form new R&D-focussed alliance

According to a report from Japan’s Kyodo News, Renault SA, Nissan Motor Co and Mitsubishi Motors Corp have agreed to form a new company focused on research and development of advanced automotive technologies. The trio’s new alliance will announce concrete plans in January 2020, reported Kyodo citing sources familiar with the matter. This new strategic…

Chinese EV startup Xpend raises $400 million in latest funding round

On Wednesday, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd backed Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Xpeng stated it has raised $400 million from investors including Xiaomi Corp, to fund its growth. The fundraising comes at a time when industry watchers as well as bankers describe as an increasingly tough financing environment for Chinese EV startups who are jostling…