Almost 800,000 people are in this case. Exactly 770,000, according to the estimate of the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory. And this figure has been steadily increasing for ten years. In total, according to the observatory, 6% of drivers involved in a fatal accident were driving without a license. A rate which rises to 3.5% for drivers involved in bodily accidents.
Rather deplorable crash test results for Renault …
As usual, the EuroNCAP institute carried out safety tests beyond the legal thresholds. And there, surprise, the Dacia Spring, which is a “low cost” electric car, only collects one star. And it’s even worse for the ZOE, which is yet the group’s best-seller in the electric market. She gets a zero score. It should be remembered that Renault has however largely built its reputation on its results in EuroNCAP crash tests, by systematically obtaining 5 stars. In the case of the Dacia Spring, this is not entirely surprising, as this model is derived from a vehicle produced in China and originally designed for India and Brazil. But it’s the cold shower for the ZOE. The EuroNCAP institute explains that the new version, launched a year ago, has more autonomy, but does not provide more security. And it is even the opposite, since it fails most of the tests. Tests that have become more demanding. In comparison, the electric Fiat 500 garners 4 stars and the MG brand, which is Chinese, had the same score for its Marvel R model.
Manufacturers are trying to end the semiconductor crisis …
Due to the shortage of chips, production slows down in factories. And delivery times are getting longer, even forcing manufacturers to remove certain options. Suddenly, some brands are trying to find solutions. Apart from Hyundai, which will produce its own components, BMW, Ford and Tesla have made agreements with suppliers to secure supplies. Lately, Stellantis is doing the same. The group resulting from the merger between PSA and Fiat-Chrysler has entered into a partnership with Foxconn. This subcontractor, which manufactures the iPhone in China, was already linked to the world number 4 in the automobile sector by a collaboration in the intelligent cockpit. It is therefore extended to “micro-controllers” which will be delivered in 2024. We must therefore still hold out until that date.
And we stay with Stellantis which is reinforced in the software …
Like other big names in the automotive industry, the Franco-Italian group wants to strengthen its skills in software. It will acquire 4,500 engineers in this field. The objective is to be able to offer new services during updates. And Stellantis intends to charge additional services to improve the performance of the car. Note that the group also wants to offer semi-autonomous, even autonomous driving. Partnerships have been concluded with BMW to go up to level 3, on a scale of 0 to 5. We are at level 2 today. For certain applications, Stellantis will expand its partnership with Waymo, a subsidiary of Google. Initiated at the time of Fiat-Chrysler, with vans that make robot-taxi, it will continue to automate commercial vehicles