Toyota leads consortium to develop hydrogen-powered Hilux pickup

Toyota is leading a consortium to develop a prototype hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its  Hilux pick-up at the company’s UK vehicle plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire. Toyota Motor Manufacturing UK has successfully secured UK Government funding for the project through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), an organisation supporting the development of cleaner technologies and new…

Stellantis buys autonomous driving company aiMotive

  Stellantis which owns multiple car brands, including Vauxhall, Fiat and Peugeot, has announced it has entered into an agreement to buy aiMotive,  developer of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving software. It's hoped that this acquisition will enhance Stellantis’ artificial intelligence and autonomous driving core technology, expand its global talent pool, and boost the mid-term development…

Abarth trials facial recognition technology to measure driver happiness

The performance car brand, Abarth, has become the first manufacturer to trial facial recognition technology to better understand the emotions experienced in one of its cars. Working in partnership with Loughborough University, Abarth carried out the experiment to discover the different emotions experienced by the driver and passenger. Driving an Abarth F595, 595 Esseesse and…

Autonomous technology requires education for drivers, warns safety charity

Independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, has highlighted the need to ensure government and car makers prioritise training drivers for autonomous vehicles in its evidence to a House of Commons Transport Committee Inquiry. The government recently outlined its plans for self-driving, or autonomous, vehicles to be rolled out on UK roads from 2025, with some…