“It is now coming to the stage with the rapid advancement of self-driving technology that this request is now a reality,” Chao said on the sidelines of the Detroit Auto Show.

“So we will view the petition carefully and responsibly.”

GM on Friday unveiled the Cruise AV, an autonomous vehicle with no steering wheel or pedals, announcing it had asked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to exempt it from a number of federal standards that cannot be met with a driverless car.

GM executives have said they planned to introduce a large-scale fleet of self-driving taxis by 2019, a timeframe some analysts consider ambitious.

GM released images of the Cruise AV and video of the interior with a strikingly spacious windshield devoid of a steering wheel.

“It’s quite a striking image when people see it for the first time,” GM president Dan Ammann told AFP on the sidelines of a GM event Saturday.

“I think people will want to engage with the technology and understand it and experience it,” Ammann said.

“But I think what’s really most powerful about what the technology can offer is an increase in safety on the road. And once people understand that and see and experience it, we think the adoption will be there.”

“Its hard to generalize” about whether the public is ready for autonomous cars, Ammann said. “Some people are more than ready. And other people will be watching and seeing how it evolves.”

AUTOMOTIVE components manufacturing company Ingress Industrial (Thailand) will invest around Bt2 billion in Malaysia, India and Vietnam to expand its operations and business base.

Wahab bin Ismail, Ingress Industrial’s executive director, said that the firm would invest around Bt1.2 billion in high tensile press technology.

The firm will also invest Bt600 million in India, with expanded manufacturing facilities, including a plant to make roll-formed moulding parts, in Gujarat on the country’s west side, and invest around Bt200 million with a Korean partner to set up assembly and manufacturing plants in Vietnam.

“The investment in India will bigger than Vietnam in the next three to five years. The firm also plans to expand its production line to support electric cars,” he said.

He said the trends in vehicles in the near future would include electric vehicle (e-vehicles) with more flexible designs and the use of new, lighter but stronger, materials.

The demand for e-vehicles will be high, he said, due to increased demand, especially from China, where the tarฌget is for 20 per cent of all new vehicles to be electric-powered by 2019.

In India, the target is for all new vehicles to be electric by 2025. At the moment, e-vehicles account for just 1 per cent of the market.

Meanwhile, Abdul Rahim bin Haji Hitam, chief executive director of Ingress Industrial (Thailand), said that the firm will focus on new technologies to support its production line. For stamping processes, the firm will use high-tensile welding and pressing technology. In the toll forming areas, it will use new laser welding, heat bending, aluminium bending and aluminium stamping technology in plants in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and India.

The firm will focus on the development of vehicle parts including door sashes, glass guides, windshield moulding, roof drip moulding, beltline moulding and small brackets.

He added that Ingress Industrial would also focus on alternative lightweight materials in line with energy efficiency objectives for electric vehicles.

The company will be involved in new projects in Malaysia, where is helping develop an energy efficiency vehicle (EEV); in Thailand, with its ECO Car 2 project in 2019; and Indonesia, with its the low-cost green car (LCGC) project in the near future.

The firm also plans business expansion in India, Indonesia and Thailand. For the project in India, the firm will work with new local partners to expand its manufacturing base to other locations with a target to develop original equipment manufacturer (OEM) products to support the automotive industry.

The project in Indonesia will focus on the corporate area, with strategic partners to expand its operation into medium stamping and welding assembly.

In Thailand, the firm will install a new production line for medium-sized parts capitalising on its in-house press-die making capabilities. The firm also has a five-year project in the pipeline to develop automotive components to support the Perodua D20N in Malaysia, Honda’s new CRV in Thailand and Malaysia, Nissan’s H608 in Thailand and the Mitsubishi Xpander in Indonesia.

The project will see investment of Bt217 million that is expected to generate revenue of around Bt1.1 billion.

“Thailand serves as an automotive production hub in Asean, serving both the export and domestic market,” the chief executive director said. “Thailand’s automotive market has enjoyed significant growth, especially coming from export volume.”

He said the launch of the Thailand 4.0 initiative would also boost the automotive market.

Suzuki has been highly successful in the Thai automobile market thanks to the popularity of small and fuel-efficient cars among the nation’s motorists.

The Thai government’s Eco Car projects have also helped boost the small-car market, with major players making huge investments to produce city cars and selling them with super-low excise tax. Suzuki was among the first companies to sign up, with production of the Swift subcompact hatchback.

While the Swift is also the company’s most popular model, there are also other models from its eco car project, including the Celerio (also a 5-door hatchback) and the Ciaz sedan featured today.

The Ciaz has been in the market for several years, and gets regular improvements. For example the current model now comes with new projector headlights as well air-conditioning vents for the rear passengers, offering a higher level of comfort.

Although it is classified as an “eco car”, the Ciaz is pretty large. The Ciaz RS, priced at Bt675,000 (Bt50,000 higher than the GLX trim), comes with sporty exterior upgrades including skirts and spoilers, plus upsized 16-inch alloy wheels with sporty 195/55 tires, which looks great. However it may seem a little ironic that the 1,000-kilogram car is powered by a 1.25-litre engine (due to the eco car requirement) rather than a 1.5-litre engine like the Toyota Vios or Honda City.

The 4-cylinder engine taken from the Swift is capable of producing 91 horsepower and 118Nm, which is mated to a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission).

Weighing in at almost 1,000kgs, the Ciaz seems too heavy for its engine and doesn’t accelerate very well, a common eco-car symptom. The good part is that the powertrain is highly economical, and the Ciaz does promise a 20km/litre fuel economy.

The suspension offers higher comfort than the Swift, which allows the Ciaz to cruise comfortably on the highways. The 2,650mm wheelbase and 1,500mm track also provides for plenty of cabin space that also welcomes tall passengers thanks to decent headroom.

The brakes are front disc and rear drums, with ABS and Brake Assist, while in the cabin there are dual front airbags.

The interior features black and silver styling, with a multi-function 3-spoke steering wheel and a 7-inch touchscreen offering the Suzuki Smart Connect infotainment system with GPS navigation and Apple CarPlay.

In addition to the rear air vents, there is also an additional 12V socket for rear passengers (which should actually be upgraded to USB ports) and a total of 8 cupholders spread around the cabin. And apart from the large interior space, the trunk is capable of storing 565 litres.

After driving the CIAZ for a few days, I related to it as a 1.5-litre sedan that had gone through engine downsizing for fuel economy and emission purposes.

But while performance may not be the selling point, the Ciaz RS has many other things to offer, particularly great design and plenty of cabin space, comfortable suspension setup and good connectivity. Last but not least, its Bt675,000 price tag is pretty friendly too.

Suzuki Ciaz RS specs

Engine: 4-cylinder DOHC 16-valve

Displacement: 1,242cc

Bore and stroke: 73.0×74.2mm

Compression ratio: 11.0:1

Max power: 91hp/6,000rpm

Max torque: 118Nm/4,800rpm

Transmission: CVT

Ratios: 4.006-1.001 (low), 2.200-0.550 (high)

Fuel economy: 20km/litre

Suspension (f/r): McPherson strut, coil springs/torsion beam, coil springs

Steering: powered rack-and-pinion

Turning circle: 10.8 metres

Brakes (f/r): vented discs/drums

Dimensions (mm)

Length: 4,490

Width: 1,730

Height: 1,475

Wheelbase: 2,650

Track (f/r): 1,495/1,505

Weight: 1,005kgs

Wheels: 16-inch alloys

Tyres: 195/55 R16

Fuel tank capacity: 42 litres

Price: Bt675,000

Distributor: Suzuki Motor Thailand

The promotions include a 25-per cent down-payment and a 72-month installment period.

They also come with free first-class insurance for the first year.

The promotion is for customers who book and receive the vehicle by February 28, 2018.

Distributor Toyota Motor Thailand Co Ltd (TMT) announced in a Friday press release the official pricing of the C-HR as follows: 1.8 Entry Bt979,000, 1.8 Mid Bt1,039,000, HV Mid Bt1,069,000 and HV Hi Bt1,159,000.

Toyota expects the C-HR will help it enter the subcompact crossover market and compete against the Honda HR-V, Mazda CX-3, Ford Ecosport and Nissan Juke.

Toyota said that at the recent Motor Expo more than 3,000 customers signed up to purchase the C-HR. But since the official pricing was not made public, no fees were collected.

With 3,000 customers signing up, Toyota will be thinking to revise its modest C-HR sales target of 2,000 units per year.

TMT senior vice president Vudhigorn Suriyachantananont said customers who signed up will have their vehicles delivered starting in March.

The company is offering a custom nameplate for customers placing orders before February 28, as well as extending the warranty to 5-years/150,000km and 10 years for the battery in hybrid models, which boast a fuel economy of 24km/litre.

The concept electric motorcycle, called ‘Motoroid,’ then balanced in position, holding its place even when Asamura tried gently to push it over.

Nearby, a robot that might seem suited for a futuristic action film was astride a production model Yamaha super-bike that it had ridden at speeds topping 200 kilometers per hour on a test track.

“The motor bike is the recent past, and the Motoroid is the future,” Yamaha spokesman John Boreland told AFP as he glanced from one two-wheeled creation to the other.

“The object is to see what lessons can be learned to connect machine to human more effectively.”

The robot-ridden Yamaha motorcycle, called ‘Motobot,’ is fast but blind, relying on pre-programmed routes, according to Yamaha.

Lessons learned so far from the research model include that “human beings react a hell of a lot quicker,” according to Boreland,

Flesh-and-blood riders have also proven better at grasping the courter-intuitive notion of counter-steering and leaning through turns, he added.

The Motoroid model boasted autonomous features such as balancing on its own, recognizing riders, and being summoned with a wave.

Wings on the back of the seat were designed with the help of a psychologist to gently squeeze a rider’s lower back in a sort of reassuring caress at potentially perilous high speeds, Boreland said.

“Somewhere along the line, this will all meld together so you’ll be part of the bike and it will figure things out for you,” Boreland said of insights and advances resulting from the concept motorcycles, which are not for sale.

The Japanese auto giant’s president Akio Toyoda unveiled the new initiative at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, seeking to get ahead of rivals offering single-use autonomous transporters.

The “e-Palette” vehicle platform features a boxy electric-powered minibus designed to handle deliveries or even bring retail services to consumers, but can also be used for ridesharing and other purposes.

“It is a flexible platform that can be adapted to a range of services,” Toyoda said, including ridesharing, retail, medical services or entertainment.

The media demonstration showed how the vehicle could deliver packages or even enable consumers to try on shoes or apparel.

The new initiative is part of an effort to transform Toyota from an automaker to a multifaceted “mobility” company, Toyoda said.

Partners in the project, which is set to be deployed “in the early 2020s,” include Amazon, Uber, Pizza Hut and China-based Didi. Rival Japanese automaker Mazda will also participate in development.

The company said it hopes to showcase the technology at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

Held between January 9 to 12, CES 2018 is a global stage for innovative consumer technologies and breakthrough inventions.

B2V fits in perfectly into this category, as it interprets signals from the driver’s brain to assist with driving and to help the vehicle’s autonomous and manual systems learn from the driver. The technology promises shorter reaction times and systems that adapt to maximise driving pleasure.

“When most people think about autonomous driving, they have a very impersonal vision of the future, where humans relinquish control to the machines. Yet, B2V technology does the opposite, by using signals from their own brain to make the drive even more exciting and enjoyable,” Daniele Schillaci, Nissan executive vice president, said ahead of the CES 2018.

This breakthrough from Nissan is the result of research into using brain decoding technology to predict a driver’s actions and detect discomfort. It constitutes the latest development in Nissan Intelligent Mobility.

B2V, for example, can catch signs that the driver’s brain is about to initiate a movement such as turning the steering wheel or pushing the accelerator pedal. As a result, the driver assist technologies can begin the action more quickly. This can improve reaction times and enhance manual driving.

By detecting and evaluating driver discomfort, artificial intelligence can change the driving configuration or driving style when in autonomous mode.

Nissan’s B2V is the world’s first system of its kind. The driver wears a device that measures brain wave activity, which is then analysed by autonomous systems. By anticipating intended movement, the systems can take actions such as turning the steering wheel or slowing the car – 0.2 to 0.5 seconds faster than the driver, while remaining largely imperceptible.

The South Korean manufacturer used the 201 Consumer Electronics Show to debut its Nexo, a sport utility vehicle that uses voice commands, artificial intelligence and can be transformed into an autonomous car.

“We call this the next future utility vehicles,” said Hyundai vice president Ki-Sang Lee.

Hyundai said it plans to sell the Nexo in California later this year, in a bet on hydrogen even as many rivals turn to battery power.

The company said it resolved a number of issues in developing the Nexo, including starts in extreme cold weather and extending the range to nearly 600 kilometers (375 miles).

While a handful of companies have showcased fuel cell technology, obstacles include the lack of hydrogen stations and a low ratio of energy efficiency in producing fuel.

“We all understand that technological challenges and innovations are a never-ending process that will continue until we realize a mobile society of maximum convenience, zero accidents and no emissions,” vice chairman Woong-chul Yang.

To promote its efforts in self-driving technology, Hyundai has formed a partnership with Silicon Valley startup Aurora Innovation, headed by former Google car executive Chris Urmson, who appeared at the media event.