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Major Alexa deal will bring Amazon services into more cars

Amazon and its personal assistance service Alexa are partnering with HERE Technologies to create a new connected mobility service powerhouse. Alexa will integrate with HERE's navigation and location services to offer what the two companies are calling a "true voice-first-navigation experience." Alexa will come pre-integrated with HERE navigation on-demand, which the automakers can then enable, which should help cut down on development time. One of the biggest features from this partnership is how directions could be offered and delivered using HERE's Open Location Platform (OLP). Currently, the OLP uses data from several car manufacturers to provide insights into real-time location and traffic. But on Alexa, this could be used to provide directional context. For example, Alexa could say, "Turn right after [such-and-such a building]" rather than just, "Turn right." Amazon has been testing the automotive waters throughout the past decade. Its home-based Alexa-enabled devices are already offered with connections to several manufacturers. To various degrees of integration, it can already pair with Ford, Genesis, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai and BMW vehicles. At the end of 2018, Amazon took things a step further when it introduced the Echo Auto, a Bluetooth-connected Alexa assistant device that can be physically kept in a car. Currently only available by invitation (its production and distribution have been delayed), the $25 device is essentially a voice service that works together with smartphones and connects to a car's speakers. Users can command it to do a variety of things, including playing music, setting navigation, opening the garage door, finding local stores, making calls, setting reminders, and thousands of other "skills." According to The Verge, nearly 1 million people have already ordered the device. Some (well, probably few) may know HERE Technologies from its maps on Windows Phones. We all know how that turned out, though. Today, HERE has expanded into a multi-function suite that is available in multiple mediums, including many automotive applications. HERE Automotive's connected vehicle services include real-time traffic, parking, weather, fuel prices, hazard warnings, traffic sign integration, and even EV charging stations. These all incorporate and extend the use of HERE's location and tracking programming. HERE is already partnered with BMW, Audi, Daimler, Intel, Mobileye, NVIDIA, and has investments from Bosch, Continental and Pioneer.

Hyundai puts its hydrogen development program on hiatus

UPDATE: According to Pulse news in South Korea, Hyundai denies that it has paused development of hydrogen fuel cells. Instead, the report suggests the team was reshuffled as technological hurdles have slowed down progress. Time will tell which version of the report is factual. Hydrogen technology has reportedly lost one of its biggest and most vocal proponents, at least for now. Citing a long list of hurdles, Hyundai has allegedly stopped developing the hydrogen-electric powertrain it planned to put in several of its cars (including Genesis models) in the coming years. Anonymous sources told South Korean publication Chosunbiz that executives pulled the emergency brake after analyzing the results of a feasibility study. Nothing is official at this point, and the report stresses that the pause is temporary. However, the issues reportedly found are relatively serious: they include unspecified technical problems and a lack of marketability due in part to cost-related concerns. The news comes as a surprise because Hyundai has invested a tremendous amount of resources into making hydrogen a viable alternative to gasoline without many of the inconveniences associated with EVs, like long charging times and limited driving range. It's one of the few carmakers in the world that sells a hydrogen-electric car (the Nexo; pictured), and it announced plans to build about 130,000 hydrogen-powered cars annually by 2025. And yet, the Nexo is a tough sell, even in hydrogen-friendly markets like South Korea; 8,206 units were sold there through November 2021. The 671-horsepower Vision FK concept unveiled earlier in 2021 will seemingly remain at the prototype stage. Interestingly, a separate unverified report claims that Hyundai has also shuttered its engine development division. If both are accurate, it means that the Hyundai group (which includes Kia and Genesis) will exclusively develop electric powertrains starting in the near future. Several car companies have tried to pelt hydrogen-powered cars into the mainstream over the past decade and most have failed. Some of the issues facing the technology include the lack of a charging infrastructure and governments with a single-minded focus on EVs. There are 48 hydrogen charging stations in America, according to the United States Department of Energy, and 47 of those are located in California. While that's great news for Californians, it makes the Nexo completely useless for someone driving from Salt Lake City to Seattle.

Hyundai poaches another BMW M exec to run high-performance N division

Hyundai has poached a third executive for its N high-performance division from the ranks of BMW's M department. Thomas Schemera, a 31-year BMW veteran, will head the High Performance Vehicle & Motorsport Division that Hyundai just inaugurated on March 1. Schemera's job will be to "oversee strategy, product planning, sales and marketing for the new division." He will make the most of the transfer from Hyundai Motorsport to the road cars developed by the N division, and work to boost the brand. Schemera has the same boss at N that he did at M: Albert Biermann, the first M exec Hyundai snagged in 2015. After Biermann came Fayez Abdul Rahman, installed at the Genesis brand, who had previously developed platforms for the BMW 7 Series, X models, and M vehicles. Rahman spent the last phase of his BMW tenure in charge of M Equipment, M Sport Packages, and BMW Individual. Although he's undoubtedly busy with his VP job in charge of Genesis architecture development, we hear Hyundai plans to develop some kind of "N Sport" appearance and performance items for release later this year — a middle step in the same vein as M Sport and Audi S-line — and Rahman could certainly help. Schemera brings proven chops when it comes to moving standard and specialty hi-po offerings; as VP in charge of sales and dealer development in China, Schemera oversaw a four-fold increase in BMW and M sales in the four years from 2005-2008. He ended his run as head of BMW M and BMW Individual in the Americas. Although there's but one N product for sale now, the slate is full, and Hyundai looks ready to spend the time and money to seize every opportunity. BMW on the other hand, might soon turn into that tormented significant other regarding its M personnel: "So ... why did you let Hyundai like your Instagram post? Do you like Hyundai? Do you follow them back?!" Related Video: Featured Gallery 2019 Hyundai Veloster N: Detroit 2018 View 16 Photos Image Credit: Drew Phillips / Autoblog Auto News BMW Hyundai Performance bmw m albert biermann