Future iterations of BMW's autonomous driving technology will be more connected, and not just to the growing internet of things. This week, BMW announced more details about its autonomous driving partnership with Qualcomm and Arriver that the three companies will jointly develop next-generation automated driving solutions that will offer Level 3 capabilities in the second half of 2025, with an eye toward Level 4 capabilities after that. In brief, Level 3 will allow drivers to ride without having to touch the steering wheel or constantly watch the road when they're on some highways, but a human must be ready to take over whenever the system is unable to drive itself. "The idea [with the Snapdragon digital chassis] is to be able to find economies of scale within an automotive platform that allows OEMs to be able to scale up very quickly." said Qualcomm's Nakul Duggal on a media call with journalists. "To be able to build a reference platform with a partner like BMW that scales from entry-level vehicles all the way to luxury vehicles, at a global scale, is something that is synonymous with what a lot of different automakers need."

Much as Hyundai did yesterday, Kia has announced an electrification roadmap at its 2022 Investor Day, promising to have 14 fully electric models by 2027 and sales of 1.2 million EVs by 2030. It also revealed that its EV9 SUV, unveiled in concept form last November at the LA Auto Show, will be the first to use autonomous driving tech it calls "Automode." Kia's roadmap builds on its "Plan S" development strategy announced early in 2021 that included new branding and a plan to introduce of seven EVs by 2027. Now, the company plans to double that with 14 BEV (battery electric vehicle) models available by 2027 and total EV sales of 1.2 million by 2030. It also projects to sell 4 million vehicles annually by 2030, so EVs would make up just over a quarter of that -- while automakers like Mercedes-Benz plan to only sell BEVs by 2030. The strategy is still ambitious, as it's starting with 160,000 BEV sales this year and plans to ramp that up by five times to 807,000 units in 2026 and 1.2 million by 2030.

LAS VEGAS – Sony Corp. has unveiled the first prototype of an electric vehicle equipped with autonomous driving technology under its new Vision-S initiative. The concept car, introduced Monday by Sony President and CEO Kenichiro Yoshida at a media preview ahead of the annual CES consumer electronics trade show in Las Vegas, comes loaded with more than 30 sensors both inside and outside the vehicle to improve object detection. Built to showcase Sony's advanced automotive technologies, it also comes embedded with onboard AI technology and high-quality speakers for an immersive audio experience. According to Sony, the vehicle will permit a certain degree of supplementary driving, such as auxiliary braking, as complete autonomous driving is difficult. It plans to test drive the prototype on roads by March 2021 but said there are currently no plans for commercial sales or mass production.

Pioneer is well-known for its audio devices, but at CES, it's showing off some of its other, and maybe less expected, tech. The company has been working on Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving technology -- or conditional and high automation, respectively, meaning the driver still has to be prepared to take over from the automated system at some point -- entering an already very populated field while making sure to bring along some of the entertainment products its already known for. With the demonstration of its Advanced UX Cockpit -- Pioneer's Level 3 autonomous driving system concept -- Pioneer displays three features it says will be important as self-driving vehicles enter the market. The first is its Driver Monitoring System, which will keep track of a driver's attentiveness through a facial recognition camera, heart rate monitor, steering wheel sensor, seat sensor and seat vibration feature. Pioneer's Sensory UI, on the other hand, will help prepare a driver to take over for the automated system by using features aimed a stimulating their senses.

Krzanich also said Intel had not received any information of customer data being compromised so far after the company confirmed last week that the security issues reported by researchers in its widely used microprocessors could allow hackers to steal sensitive information from computers, phones and other devices.

Michigan's new American Center for Mobility at the historic Willow Run one-time manufacturing complex broke ground this week, paving the way for the launch of the technologically advanced testbed for autonomous and connected vehicles. The 335-acre site will play host to a new facility designed to help automakers and other stakeholders globally test their cars, connected infrastructure tech, vehicle communication systems and more across a variety of conditions in the hopes of speeding up the roll-out of this tech for a safer driving future. The new test facility, which was announced earlier this year, is designed to help Michigan reaffirm its position at the head of the U.S. automotive industry, with an eye to the changing priorities of the field given the rapid improvements being made in autonomous driving tech. The Willow Run site will play host to a brand new facility designed not only for testing, but also for research, product development, education and more. It's also about helping create and maintain voluntary industry standards for autonomous and connected vehicle tech going forward.