Ten Most Popular Auto Stories of the Year
It is projected that self-driving cars will become mainstream.
Self-driving fully autonomous cars are a reality by the year 2024 on different US roads and streets.
Today well-known car makers such as GM, Ford and Toyota to name a few have come up with the self-driving cars for market with some of the self-driving models being slightly more expensive than normal models.
Autonomous driving technology has been recognized by the government and its rules set to allow its implementation, but some state rules remain restrictive. A recent auto survey reveals that 65% of new car users prefer the car to have full autonomy.
Electric Cars Market Share Goes Past 50 Percent
That is why for the first time ever, annual sales of electric vehicles have beat out gas-powered vehicles in the US.
Due to rising concern with global climate change and supported by government policies and measures as well as development on improved EV, over half of the newly registered LDCs in 2024 are BEVs or PHEVs.
According to the estimates of auto industry insiders, sales of EVs will likely maintain its ascendancy over the next ten years.
Intro of New-Generation Metal-oxide Solid-state EV Battery System Commercialised
Prominent automobile companies in the electric vehicle industry have even started to launch their EVs with the latest solid-state batteries in 2024.
While offering better safety, higher energy density, shorter time to charge and longer cycle durations than traditional Li-ion batteries, the solid-state battery is a significant development in EV technology.
Although they are still quite high, they should gradually decrease in the near future, according to some insiders.
First completely self driving car to hit the markets
For the first time, Zoox, an AV startup company, has been given permission to sell its driverless transport pods directly to consumers in several states.
This is actually what Zoox is offering with the help of the latest sensor and AI technology, along with full autopilot control.
With or without it, Waymo, GM and others are prepared to go fully autonomous and also achieve direct consumer acceptance for their own AVs in the next couple of years.
Solar Car Designs New Trends
As more advanced solar technologies are developed, several brilliant ideas for solar cars have been introduced in 2024. Lightyear is readying the first consumer high-performance solar EV called Lightyear One and Sono Motors is gearing up to release the cheap-to-run solar-assisted Sion.
Despite the difficulty of coping with practical issues, the development of solar cars is a step towards green mobility.
General Motors and Google Initiate Self-driving Services for Transporting People
Former pioneers of the car manufacturing industry, General Motors along with tech giant Google’s Waymo operate the first commercial fully autonomous ride-sharing fleets in numerous cities across the United States.
These services are innovations in technology that enable people to get around in cities through application-based booking without having a human driver, let alone a steering wheel.
Now, with Zoox, which is also eyeing ride-sharing services, it’s quite apparent that an era of pragmatic self-driving taxis has arrived.
The State Grid Corporation of China publicly released figures indicating that China exceeded the US in the number of total new-energy vehicle (NEV) sales last year.
A rising number of electric cars manufactured by BYD and SAIC automakers for example has seen China overtake the US in total annual electric vehicle sales. China was at over 4 million units of EV sales in 2024, with the US reaching over 3.2 million units.
Having all the government encouragement and endowment toward EV push and infrastructure in place, it appears that China’s grip on the race for manufacturing electric cars only tightens. Backing for EVs overall remains weak and patchy across most of Europe and the US.
The new gravity-powered car concept invented
Practical designs of gravity-driven cars have traditionally been considered to be physically implausible - until the here and now.
Engineers from different parts of the world have come up with a new gravity car design that can, it is alleged, capture what is called potential energy using a unique, mechanically leveraged raising and lowering process. Admittedly, the concept vehicle does not inspire much use for transporting automobiles, but it does demonstrate that innovative solutions to auto shipping are still being researched within the sector.
Google spin-out companyむ’s Energy unveils ultra-efficient hydrogen combustion engine
In search for a next clean transport option, Toyota has unveiled a hydrogen combustion engine that the automaker says can rival electric cars in terms of efficiency, without requiring a heavy battery.
Toyota’s new engine uses hydrogen as a combustion fuel and only produces water as a burnt fuel. However, the problem of a weak hydrogen infrastructure remains an issue for the widespread implementation.
Hydrogen engine technology is still on the radar of Toyota as many car manufacturers have veered away from it.
Flying Car Models Available Quee
Praised for years as the eventual evolution of mobility, real flying cars powered by the likes of Pal-V have already undergone test flight in 2024. The visions of the flying cars which are sci-fi part of our popular culture, seem to be gradually becoming part of our everyday reality:
several models of flying cars which are to be used as private vehicles are today at the experimental stage and resemble both aircrafts and road vehicles.
However it has been observed that a lot of progress has been needed in areas like safety, stability, control etc before any commercial model comes to the market.
Conclusion
The events in the auto industry in 2024 include increased usage of autonomous vehicles, the first time electric vehicles sold more than gasoline vehicles, and the commercialization of solid-state batteries.
Because of the progress in self-driving technology and governments’ backing of more policies against global warming, it is likely to observe further automation and electrification in the automobile industry over the next couple of years.
Future innovations in battery technology will better the performance, price, and reliability of electricity as a fuel in automobiles, to advantage all.
After long-promising electric and autonomous cars are on the way to revolutionizing roads and people’s transportation experience in 2024, bigger changes that are forming transportation in the future.
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