Toronto, Ontario – In this week’s electric and autonomous vehicle report, new details are divulged on the Project Arrow concept EV being developed by the APMA, Uber prepares for a driverless food-delivery pilot project in California and General Motors quite literally took a shot across Tesla’s bow.
Path of the Arrow
An executive from the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association gave some new details on the Project Arrow concept vehicle, shedding light on both internal and external features of the prototype EV.
APMA chief technical officer Fraser Dunn revealed in an interview earlier in December that Canada’s first domestically produced EV will be roughly between the size of a Tesla Model Y and Model X.
As well, the vehicle will be powered by domestically produced batteries from VoltaXplore, a joint venture between Martinrea International and Montreal-based graphene firm NanoXplore Inc.
The APMA intends on unveiling a drivable prototype next December and could showcase it to the world at CES 2023.
No Tip Necessary
Uber says they will be taking steps to remove steps in the food delivery process, as the company announced plans to launch a driverless food delivery pilot in the U.S. next year.
Through a partnership with AV venture Motional Inc., Uber plans to first roll out the pilot for residents of Santa Monica, Calif via the Uber Eats app.
“Our consumers and merchant partners have come to expect convenience, reliability and innovation from Uber, and this collaboration represents a huge opportunity to meet—and exceed—those expectations,” said v-p and head of Uber Eats Canada and U.S., Sarfraz Maredia.
Last year Uber sold its self-driving car division to Aurora Innovation Inc. and took a stake in the startup.
Subliminal Messaging
General Motors appears to be engaging in psychological warfare with its competitors at Tesla after a photo surfaced of icon designs for a GMC infotainment system, with the lights icon being depicted as a Hummer EV using a Tesla Cybertruck as a ramp, as opposed to, you know, lights.
All signs seem to point to this being a joke on the part of GMC, returning to the well-tread territory that the Cybertruck is weird-looking. A bold claim from the people who sell what are essentially military personnel carriers to commuters, but whatever.
GM’s last “prank” targeting Tesla involved driving prototype Chevrolet Bolts back and forth in front of Tesla’s Palo Alto, Calif. headquarters.
I wonder who got the last laugh on that one.
