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EVs still burning aboard ship carrying luxury cars near Azores

LISBON — Heavy tug boats on Tuesday sprayed water on a burning ship carrying thousands of Porsches and Bentleys adrift off the coast of Portugal's Azores islands, the ship's manager said in a statement. The Felicity Ace, carrying around 4,000 vehicles including Porsches, Audis and Bentleys, some with lithium-ion batteries, caught fire on Wednesday last week. The 22 crew members on board were evacuated the same day. Ship manager Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL) said in a statement the vessel was still on fire but stable, and that no oil leak had been reported so far. It also said the ship was drifting further from the Azores islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Two large tug boats equipped with firefighting gear arrived from Gibraltar on Monday, and were working with another patrol boat to spray water at the Felicity Ace and cool it down, MOL said. The arrival of two other tug boats with more firefighting equipment is scheduled for Feb. 23 and Feb. 26. "Together with the all relevant parties, MOL is making every effort to contain the damage and resolve the situation as soon as possible," MOL said. Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port on the Azorean island of Faial, said on Sunday the fire had lost its intensity, probably because there was little left to burn. Cabecas said as the fire subsides and the structure cools down, firefighting teams and technicians might be able to board the vessel to prepare to tow it either to Europe or the Bahamas. "When conditions are safe the salvage team will board the Felicity Ace for an initial assessment," MOL added. Cabecas told Reuters over the weekend the lithium-ion batteries in the electric vehicles were "keeping the fire alive." It was not clear whether the batteries had caused the fire. MOL did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the cause of the fire. Volkswagen, which owns the car brands, said on Monday it did not have any further information to share. Green Bentley Porsche Volkswagen Electric Luxury ev fire

Volkswagen C Coupe GTE bows in Shanghai

Following the debut of the slick, semi-aggressive Sport Coupe GTE concept in Geneva, Volkswagen is bringing something a bit more grandiose to the Shanghai Motor Show. It's called the C Coupe GTE, and it points the way forward for Volkswagen's large sedans – in China, at least. The C Coupe GTE is low and long, and rides on the same Volkswagen MLB platform that underpins vehicles like the Audi A6. Volkswagen's head of design, Klaus Bischoff, says "the C Coupe GTE very clearly shows the new 'face' of top Volkswagen sedans for the first time," so get used to this design. We think it's pretty attractive, and a car like this could easily work as an upper-tier CC replacement. But don't get your hopes up too much – VW USA says this concept was "designed chiefly for the Chinese market." That's evident inside, where the C Coupe boasts a four-passenger seating configuration with luxurious accommodations for folks in back. In fact, backseat riders can share data with the driver via the car's infotainment system. "Information about the manager's appointments can be transferred via a smartphone to the infotainment system," says Volkswagen. "Parallel to this, the appointment list also serves to plan the navigation route for the day. However, the chauffeur only has specifically filtered information for the infotainment system to facilitate punctual arrival at the destination." Like other GTE-badged models, the C Coupe uses a plug-in hybrid powertrain. That means it's got a four-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine, an electric motor, and a 14.1-kWh lithium-ion battery, all mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Total system output is 242 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and Volkswagen says the C Coupe can travel up to 31 miles in electric mode (at speeds up to 81 miles per hour). Hitting 62 mph takes 8.6 seconds, but when driven economically, Volkswagen says the sedan can achieve up to 102 miles per gallon (on the Euro cycle) and cruising range is a whopping 684 miles. See the C Coupe GTE for yourself in the slideshow above, and scroll down for a huge helping of information in VW's press blast. VOLKSWAGEN DEBUTS C COUPE GTE IN SHANGHAI New plug-in hybrid concept car points the way to the future of large Volkswagen sedans Wolfsburg/Shanghai, April 2015 - Volkswagen is expanding its model range at high speed and the latest show of this intent is on display at Auto Shanghai-the C Coupe GTE.

Hyundai plans Level 4 autonomy by 2021 in a fuel-cell car

SAN FRANCISCO — Silicon Valley startup Aurora announced on Thursday partnerships with Volkswagen AG and Hyundai to develop a self-driving system within their vehicles, the latest tie-up between global automakers and Silicon Valley tech companies. Aurora was founded in 2016 by robotics expert Drew Bagnell, Chris Urmson, who came from Alphabet Inc's Google, and Sterling Anderson, who formerly worked at Tesla. For Hyundai, Aurora's technology will be incorporated into custom-developed models and tested in markets including China. Hyundai said the first model to be used in testing will be its latest generation fuel-cell vehicle, debuting at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas next week. The model name of the car, shown above, will be announced then. Under the alliance, Hyundai plans to commercialize level 4 autonomous vehicles — which can operate without human input or even human oversight under select conditions — in unidentified "pilot smart cities" by 2021. This is the first announcement on a self-driving technology partnership by the South Korean carmaker, which has traditionally shunned tie-ups in favor of developing technology in-house. The strategy has raised investor concerns that it may be left behind in the race for self-driving and electric cars. A company spokeswoman said Hyundai has "various collaborations" under way in self-driving technology and would continue to pursue cooperation. In a statement, Volkswagen said Aurora's self-driving technology can be integrated over time across the automaker's brands and in different product categories, whether self-driving pods, shuttles, delivery vans or self-driving trucks. Aurora and Volkswagen said they had been working together over the past six months to integrate Aurora's sensors, hardware and software into the German carmakers' electric vehicles to develop self-driving ride services in cities. The non-exclusive partnerships mark the first deals for the young Silicon Valley company and show how some carmakers have chosen to partner with technology companies with more experience in artificial intelligence, deep learning and robotics in order to save time and money bringing self-driving cars to market. Within the self-driving car space, Waymo — formerly Google's autonomous program headed by Urmson — is offering something similar. The tech company has been working with Fiat Chrysler since 2016 to outfit its Chrysler Pacifica minivans with autonomous technology.