Cars News

The two firms are testing 20 robotaxi vehicles in Shanghai's Jiading district to further gauge their viability for commercial use in a trial that will expand to a second Chinese city next year.

The automated system allows the driver to focus on other activities while a car equipped with the technology is in heavy traffic or on congested highways, Mercedes-Benz said in a statement.

Aurora said it began autonomously transporting loads for Uber Freight customers between Dallas and Houston.

The new plant, at a site in Liberty that will begin production in 2025, will initially be capable of supplying lithium-ion batteries for 800,000 vehicles annually, and will "pave the way" for Toyota's U.S. production of electric vehicles.

Northvolt will build a lithium processing plant with Portugal's Galp Energia with investments estimated at around 700 million euros ($789.6 million), as demand grows for lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles.

Vay raised $95 million from investors such as Kinnevik, Coatue and Eurazeo, as it planned to launch its first car-rental service in Hamburg next year.

Companies including Ford Motor Co's Argo AI and General Motors Co's Cruise are competing for the billions of dollars in financing needed to automate driving through artificial intelligence software and expensive sensors.

Nissan expects global supply chain constraints and the sector-wide semiconductor shortage to continue until at least the middle of 2022.