Autonomous

Chung Eui-sun, executive vice president of Hyundai, who has assumed day-to-day running of the company from his father, sounded a cautious note after announcing a joint venture for developing autonomous vehicle technology. The new development firm will be owned 50/50 by Hyundai Motor Group and Aptiv, with the South Korean firm contributing US$1.6 billion ($2.4 billion) in cash and US$400 million ($590 million) in engineering and research services, as well as intellectual property.

Automotive companies aren’t just researching how to make their powertrains as powerful and efficient as possible. German car parts maker, ZF, is also working on technology that’ll make you less likely to throw up.

Apple has confirmed it has purchased Drive.ai, a startup focussed on developing autonomous vehicle technology. According to Associated Press, Drive.ai filed a submission to California's labour regulator indicating it intended to close its doors by the end of last week and fire its 90 staff members. It's not known if Apple's purchase means some or all of Drive.ai's staff will retain their jobs. The purchase price has also not been disclosed.

Lagonda will reveal its second concept car at the 2019 Geneva motor show, designed to offer a glimpse of how its fully-electric off-roader will look. The new All-Terrain Concept will be the first production Lagonda. It appears to be a raised version of the autonomous concept unveiled last year in Geneva. Billed as an "entirely new approach to luxury", the Lagonda Vision Concept (below) was fully electric, and didn't require any driver inputs. Steering yourself is so 2016, you see.

Audi, in conjunction with Airbus and Italdesign has presented an operational prototype of Pop.Up Next, its flying taxi concept. Pop.Up Next is essentially a hybrid between a drone and an autonomous car. The idea is the system has a ground module and a drone module. A separate passenger compartment can be transported by, and passed between, both transport modules.