Technology

BMW Australia remains confident it will deliver on its promise of an Android Auto upgrade by mid-2020, despite concerns surrounding coronavirus COVID-19 and its negative effect on the automotive industry. In late-2019, the marque said it will integrate Android Auto into its iDrive operating software for the first time – and expand the system’s capacity to be updated with over-the-air (OTA) wireless technology – by mid-2020. “We’re still on track [for mid-2020],” BMW Australia told CarAdvice.

Samsung has proposed a new type of solid-state battery smaller than a lithium-ion battery yet capable of storing more charge, and degrades more slowly than other iterations of this tech. The prototype – based on research towards driving “the expansion of electric vehicles (EVs)" – uses a new kind of anode that could potentially offer a longer usable lifespan of more than 1000 full charges.

The line between personal technology and our cars is becoming increasingly blurred, thanks to a new generation of connected vehicles and user technology. This is a series of pieces where we look at the mobile applications available for your car. First cab off the rank, is MINI. MINI Driver’s Guide: Digital owner’s manual for your car, linked to the VIN.

Ride-sharing or ride-hailing services like Uber contribute more CO2 emissions to the atmosphere than their private car counterparts, according to a new scientific report. In the paper Ride-Hailing’s Climate Risks: Steering a Growing Industry Toward a Clean Transportation Future, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) found the use of these services in the United States creates an estimated 69 per cent more pollution than the trips they displace.

The electrification revolution has made its way through hatchbacks to sedans and SUVs and now it has its sights set firmly on a new frontier: utes. As with most automotive industry showdowns, it was Tesla that kicked off this sparring match with its not-so-bulletproof Cybertruck, releasing a video showing the all-wheel-drive, all-electric pickup tugging a Ford F-150 up a hill.