While existing smart drive modes work by learning the pattern of the drivers, the new information and communication technology-connected transmission system recognizes road situations and automatically changes gears for speed, the automaker said. The new technology will be adopted in upcoming models, it added.

The technology is different from existing automated transmission systems, but more similar to a stick shift or continuously variable transmission, the company said.

The ICT-connected system works by controlling a gearshift through artificial intelligence algorithm software that collects data from 3D navigation. Signals sent from camera and radar are then used for the car’s smart cruise mode.

The collecting data include high and low parts of the road, curvature, road type, speed of the car in the front and the distance from the car in the front.

Development of such technology involved some 40 patents registered domestically and globally, the group said.

The new software can improve fuel efficiency and also help alleviate driving fatigue. The automaker cited a road test which showed that the frequency of shifting gears dropped by 43 percent when cornering curvy roads, while the use of brakes also declined by about 11 percent.

Hyundai Motor said the latest technology is in line with the company’s current development for self-driving cars. Such function will offer stable driving performance on self-driving cars, the company said.

“We will continue to apply ICT and AI technologies to various auto parts, such as the power train, to continue to develop our goal to evolve a car from means of transportation into smart mobility,” said a Hyundai Motor official.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

Chevrolet (Thailand) has some 4,000 vehicles to sell, so its dealers have been dropping attractive bait on Facebook.

The price of a Captiva 1.5 LS Turbo has been halved from Bt999,000 to Bt499,000.

Other discounts on offer: The Trailblazer 2.5 LT 2WD from Bt1.144 million to Bt895,000, the Colorado High Country 2WD from Bt998,000 to Bt775,000 and the Colorado Trailboss MT 2WD from Bt859,000 to Bt655,000.

Buyers still get a three-year or 100,000-kilometre warranty to maintain customer confidence.

The Captiva is the newest model in Thailand, imported from China last year, but only 250 units a month were selling. The other models are built in Rayong province.

The end of Chevrolet in Thailand will see 1,500 people lose their jobs at two factories in the East, but it also means more than 4,000 Chevrolets will go on sale for prices starting between Bt200,000 and Bt500,000 less than previously.

Although there’s been no official announcement, all Chevrolet dealerships have posted calculated prices after the discount.

The cost of a Captiva LS drops from Bt999,000 to Bt499,000 and the LT models from Bt1.099 million to Bt599,000. The premier model is Bt699,000, down from Bt1.199 million.

Smaller discounts apply to Colorado models and Trailblazers. The Colorado Trailboss manual version is priced at Bt775,000, down from Bt859,000. The Colorado High Country 2WD model is Bt775,000, down from Bt998,000, and the Trailblazer 2.5 LT is Bt895,000, down from Bt1.144 million.

The three-year or 100,000-kilometre warrantee still applies on all models.

Chevrolet has said its service centres will continue operating, but has not yet specified which dealers will continue offering service.

The Korean carmaker is calling the concept “Real Progress is in the Air” and the design language “Sensuous Sportiness”, saying the Prophecy combines curviness through wide back wings and a beautiful spoiler decorated with LED pixel lights.

“The Prophecy does not follow trends,” said SangYup Lee, head of Hyundai’s Global Design Centre. “It accentuates timeless beauty that will stand the test of time. Its iconic design stands to expand Hyundai’s design spectrum toward even broader horizons.”

January passenger-car registrations declined 7.4% to 1.1 million vehicles in the EU, EFTA and the U.K., according to a statement Tuesday from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

Some sales that would otherwise have taken place in January were pulled into December, when volumes jumped 21% as dealers rushed cars to buyers ahead of the year-end policy shifts that added new taxes on many models.

“Other contributing factors included weakening global economic conditions and uncertainty caused by the U.K.’s departure from the European Union,” the association said in the statement. The U.K. left the bloc on Jan. 31.

The EU is prodding carmakers to accelerate the transition to battery- and hybrid-electric cars, with fleet-emissions limits that slap manufacturers with hefty fines if they go over. Some countries like Sweden and France have also overhauled incentives to encourage electric-vehicle purchases.

Sales of gasoline- and diesel-powered dropped off in some markets during January, only partially offset by more clean-car sales. It’s not clear whether the changes will continue to damp overall sales throughout the year.

The latest figures highlight the challenges facing European carmakers. The industry is likely to contract by 2% in 2020, the ACEA forecast in January, with environmental and trade concerns being the chief causes.

The Stoxx 600 Automobiles & Parts Index fell as much as 1.7% Tuesday morning, making it the second-worst performing segment on the broader European share gauge.

Markets that saw strong growth in December endured a proportional decline the following month: France seesawed to a 13% January drop from a 28% gain, while Sweden slid 18% after a doubling in registrations in the final month of 2019. Changes to emissions-based taxes in both countries at the start of 2020 pulled purchasing decisions forward into 2019, the association said.

Carmakers that suffered the worst slumps in volume included Sweden’s Volvo Cars, France’s Renault and PSA Group, the maker of Peugeot and Citroen vehicles, which all fell in the mid-teens in percentage terms. Daimler posted a 10% skid while German peer Volkswagen held almost steady and BMW AG eked out a 3.8% gain.

The coronavirus outbreak in China has added uncertainty for carmakers across the globe. Hyundai and Toyota halted production in China in response to the virus, with some output resuming this week. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has said it’ll temporarily pause operations at a Serbian assembly plant due to component shortages from China.

The full impact of the coronavirus outbreak has so far proven hard to quantify, with analysts predicting short-term disruptions to the flow of goods as long as the outbreak is short-lived. The disease has killed more than 1,775 people globally.

American automaker Ford recently invested more than $82 million (Bt2.5 billion) in its northern Vietnam factory to increase manufacturing capacity.

Ford is among the large automotive companies in Thailand, with cumulated investment of more than $2.5 billion since 1995.

In 2019, the automaker sold 43,375 Ford Rangers in Thailand – the third biggest in pick-up sales volume for four consecutive years.

Ford’s total vehicle sales in 2019 were 50,006.

The Berlin-Brandenburg higher administrative court issued an injunction against further construction after overturning a lower court ruling against environmental group Gruene Liga Brandenburg. The group is seeking to prevent Tesla from clearing more of the surrounding forest, and the court said it will make a final decision on the complaint in the coming days.

Tesla and the local government have already filed their response to the complaint and are now “relying on the prompt decision” of the court, Joerg Steinbach, spokesman for the regional government said on Twitter.

The injunction threatens Tesla’s ambitious timetable of having the plant up and running from mid-2021. If it does clear Germany’s red tape, the site could churn out as many as 500,000 cars a year, employ 12,000 people and pose a serious challenge to Volkswagen, Daimler and BMW. Musk recently tried to ease local concerns about water usage for the plant, which would border a nature reserve.

Workers have already scoured the equivalent of about 150 soccer fields of forest and removed most of the World War II ammunition found there.

The project’s environmental stipulations include scaring off or relocating wolves, hibernating bats, snakes and lizards until construction is over. Under German environmental regulations, the project in the small town of Gruenheide must also consider the breeding period for local wildlife in spring.

The company is conducting a strategic review of assets in China, and expense reductions could include factory closures in France, Delbos told reporters at a press conference near Paris Friday. Renault aims to lower structural costs by 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) over three years.

“We don’t have any taboos, and we don’t exclude anything,” Delbos said. “Considering the situation of the global market and considering that we maybe had too much capacity for volume goals that were higher than what we have today, we don’t exclude any taboo, whether in the world or in France.”

The stock rose as much as 4% following her remarks, after tumbling 4.7% to a seven-year low earlier Friday when the carmaker reported disappointing 2019 results and announced plans to slash its dividend.

Slumping sales in key markets and a dismal performance at long-time partner Nissan Motor pushed Renault to its first annual loss since the financial crisis. Nissan’s decision Thursday to scrap its year-end dividend represented a big financial hit for Renault, which owns 43% of the Japanese carmaker.