Dutchy Ron schreef op 7 juli 2020 11:43:
Moovit joins Mobileye in a
revolution that’s bigger than autonomous vehicles:
the transportation revolution. Instead of settling for developing autonomous vehicles with automakers, Mobileye has decided to move several stages up the value chain to offer a range of services, including providing autonomous vehicles to public transport operators (bus and taxi companies), or operating public transport services where Mobileye itself would be customer-facing. Moovit, developer of a journey planner app, is slated to assist in executing the plan
It's not that the vision of the autonomous vehicle is delayed, but it has morphed into two phases. Regulation, mapping and cost reduction - these elements take time, which is why we need the Robo-taxi. We can’t jump straight to autonomous vehicles for the private consumer. Regulation is always an acute problem in these cases, because it’s a case of a machine that can do damage. Suppose I assure you that the self-driving car is ten times safer than a human-driven car. There are six million accidents reported in the United States, which means we could cut it down to 600,000. That’s good news, but whoever developed the technology is responsible for 600,000 accidents.
accidents.
"In terms of cost, our system today costs about $20,000, before we make any profit on it. We expect that, by 2025, sales to private consumers will begin, and that by then, the cost of the system will have dropped to $5,000,
[b]and there will be progress in regulation and in mapping technology.[/b]
"It's a very fluid situation. A month ago, I’d have said I expected new car sales to fall 20% this year. But something else has been happening during the past week. On the one hand, consumption has stalled. On the other, there’s some concern about taking public transportation, and there’s an increase in new vehicle purchases. Dealers in the US are at 90% capacity, and in Israel, too, dealers are starting to report positive indications.
I believe the year will end on a downturn, but not significantly."Regarding [our] ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), we don’t foresee any change in upcomingmodel launches, because that's a big deal in the automotive industry
- it takes three years of work to launch a new model car. We didn’t rest for a moment during the lockdown. We continued supporting production processes 100%, and we didn’t furlough anyone. Our outlook is very clear."
Some manufacturers have purchased startups; GM acquired Cruise, and Volkswagen bought Argo AI. Manufacturers realized that this was hard to fund - about a billion dollars a year - s
o they brought in outside investors like Softbank. There is a very small number of players that can go all the way, like Waymo and Cruise.
There are 600 auto tech companies in Israel, but that number could fall to 50
You have to be daring carefully, because it involves a great deal of investment, you don't want to fall. For Mobileye, being on our own was too much for us. Even as it stands, the autonomous vehicle market is a big one. The distance between where we were during our IPO, and where we are today, is big. And the moves we’re making now are an even greater leap.
"
The deal with Intel was the best thing we’ve done," says Shashua. "We are an independent company in every way, but instead of having 20,000 shareholders who constantly create volatility, I have one shareholder. We have a shared vision and that helps me; if I need help with development or regulation. We’re in a position where we can dare more without giving up autonomy. It's rare; most mergers and acquisitions are not like this - they involve integration. This way allows our vision to be realized. "