Technology Reviews

Honda will be showcasing a self-balancing electric motorcycle concept at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Named as the 'Riding Assist-e', the concept makes use of robotics instead of gyroscopes to keep the bike upright without any rider inputs.

From mid-2018 all BMW and MINI vehicles in the USA, UK and Germany will come with Amazon's voice-controlled personal assistant, Alexa. With Amazon's voice-controlled personal assistant, Alexa, BMW and MINI owners can now access a host of services, entertainment features and shopping facilities while driving with a simple voice command.

Renowned electric appliance manufacturer and innovation giant Dyson has officially announced a move into the electric mobility sector by 2020. The announcement came via an email that James Dyson, founder and chief engineer sent to the whole group recently that indicated a move into the electric mobility space in the next few years with a new car in order to combat the global problem of air pollution - especially in major cities around the world. Although no information on the vehicle exists at this point in terms of which segment it would be placed in, James Dyson has said that it would not be targeted towards the mass market. An investment of £2 billion has also been allocated for the electric car project.

BMW has released a 360-degree virtual reality video that shows the top-spec X3 M40i being driven on the red planet. The video also cleverly talks about the different smart and autonomous features of the BMW X3.

The new electric truck for North America will be a Class 6 or 7 truck based on a Navistar vehicle, and aimed at urban delivery customers.

Ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show, Suzuki has unveiled, what it calls, the e-Survivor Concept. The concept will be displayed along with the company's other cars and though you might think it looks a bit unusual, well, Suzuki says, that with this concept, it's looking into the future. It's a quirky SUV and builds upon the success of the Jimny and Vitara, but if you've noticed, this one takes things to another level and yes, we mean that this one's electric.

With Tesla about to enter the semi-truck market with an all-electric truck, the future of long distance hauling is moving towards electrification. To promote the use of electric trucks that will soon come equipped with a pantograph, Germany will soon have electrified highways. The German state of Hesse along with tech giant Siemens is building an eHighway that will have an overhead electric line (like those seen in local trains). The project is a trial project to see the feasibility of such a project and will only installed on a 10-kilometre stretch on a section of the autobahn.

At the recent Frankfurt Auto show, Mercedes-Benz officially took the wraps off the EQ brand with their first ever EQ A concept. The Mercedes EQ brand will be a new sub-brand by the German automaker that will only make all-electric vehicles. While the EQ A concept was showcased at the motor show, Mercedes-Benz also confirmed that a new EQ SUV was in the making and due to be launched in 2019 and now we have more confirmation on the electric SUV that will take on the likes of the Tesla Model X. The Mercedes-Benz EQ SUV will be built in the German automaker's American production facility in Alabama where is currently makes the likes of the C-Class and range of SUVs including GLE and GLS.