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Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.

LaFerrari for sale in Florida for $4.7 million

Want to get your hands on a new LaFerrari? It's gonna cost you, and cost you big. The factory charged $1.35 million for each of the 499 it will ever make, but you can bet speculators will be selling them for much more than that. Just take a look at this listing from Florida. The Fort Lauderdale Collection South has one LaFerrari for sale with an asking price of $4.7 million. That's more than triple what Ferrari charged for it. The example in question bears the VIN ZFF76ZFA2E0205216 and appears to have been built for the US market in September 2014. It's done up in the classic combination of Rosso Corsa over a black interior and has just 388 miles on the odometer. It has a few options installed, including carbon-fiber side mirrors, a sports exhaust, and Prancing Horse logos embroidered into the headrests. Each of those options is worth a good grand or two on top of the list price, but their addition doesn't go very far toward explaining the enormous markup. With no other examples of LaFerrari having been sold at auction just yet, we don't have much of an indication of how much they're worth on the open market. According to Sports Car Market, the most anyone paid for the previous Enzo was just over $6 million this past August at the RM Sotheby's sale in Monterey, but that was the final example of the breed that was gifted to Pope John Paul II. Most of the rest have sold for a million or two – not over four. Related Video: Featured Gallery Ferrari LaFerrari for sale in Fort Lauderdale View 40 Photos News Source: Fort Lauderdale Collection South via The Supercar Kids Auto News Green Ferrari Car Buying Coupe Hybrid Supercars ferrari laferrari laferrari

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton buys LaFerrari

Lewis Hamilton has driven some of the fastest cars ever devised, like the McLaren MP4-23 with which he won the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the Mercedes W05 with which he won the title last year, and the new W06 he drove to the checkered flag in the season opener earlier this month. But what does he drive in his spare time? According to the latest reports quoting his boss Toto Wolff, the reigning champ celebrated his win at the Australian Grand Prix by ordering a new LaFerrari. The seven-figure, 950-horsepower hybrid hypercar may be made by a rival manufacturer to the team for which he drives, but then his employers at Mercedes don't (for the time being at least) build anything that competes in the segment – unlike his former employers at McLaren that offer the similarly potent P1. Something tells us he won't be invited to drive it at Fiorano, though - which is something his rivals Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have all had the chance to do. Hamilton has a long-established penchant for driving twelve-cylinder exotic supercars in his spare time. At his previous place of work, he was promised an exceedingly rare McLaren F1 LM – valued at some $4 million – but only if he won three world titles for the Woking-based team. He also owns a Pagani Zonda that was made specifically for him with a 760-horsepower engine (supplied, naturally, by Mercedes) and a six-speed manual – complete with a clutch pedal, which (apart from starting off the line) is something he doesn't usually get to operate during working hours. Related Video: