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Germany’s automotive industry is gearing up for the future of mobility as it plans to invest close to 60bn euros (£51.5bn) on electric vehicles and driverless technologies over the next three years.

Ahead of the Geneva motor show starting this week, the boss of VDA, an industry body for the automotive sector in Germany, said “the ramp up of electric mobility” is coming to Europe as regulatory pressure and new competition is forcing change to the country’s dominant car industry.

In a statement, VDA’s president Bernhard Mattes said: “We will invest over 40bn euros in electric mobility during the next three years, and another 18bn euros will be invested in digitisation and connected and automated driving.”

Germany’s ambitions to shift to electric vehicles and autonomous driving come as the sector at large reckons with new challenges.

Concerns are mounting that the industry has reached “peak car” as the ride-hailing industry, dominated by the likes of Uber and Lyft, are seeing people forego vehicle purchases, while new modes of transport such as electric scooters could earn favour in cities.

Vehicle sales have stalled worldwide and are yet to hit 100m vehicle sales annually, despite analysts previously predicting the milestone would be reached by 2019.

There is also a growing body of evidence that points to the impact carbon emissions from petrol and diesel fuelled-vehicles have had on climate change.

Mr Mattes added that “the EU’s CO2 targets cannot be achieved by 2030” unless car businesses plough significant investment into cleaner energy vehicles and appropriate regulatory conditions are established across the bloc.

The UK is Germany's biggest car market in the EU by far, and the most profitable

In the UK, there are signs of consumer demand starting to lean towards newer energy vehicles. Figures from trade association SMMT show that registrations of diesel cars in the country are down year-on-year to 46,823 from 58,703 in January 2018. Registrations for alternative fuel vehicles in January were up 26.3pc year-on-year to 11,014.

Support for a new electric vehicle industry will require the expansion of battery manufacturing operations in order to meet demand for lithium-ion batteries - the technology at the heart of electric-powered vehicles.

Last year, German chemicals giant BASF announced a 418m euro venture that would see the development of battery plants in Europe. A facility to be built in Finland by BASF is expected to supply batteries to 300,000 vehicles per year from 2020 onwards.

A study published by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in December predicts that upto eight gigafactories would have to be built globally every year between 2030 and 2040 as demand for batteries is forecast to rise.

This article was written by Hasan Chowdhury from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all

RNS Number : 4116Q
Seeing Machines Limited
19 February 2019

19 February 2019
Seeing Machines Limited

Sixth Automotive OEM Design Win

Seeing Machines (AIM: SEE, "Seeing Machines" or the "Group"), the advanced computer vision technology company that designs AI powered operator monitoring systems to improve transport safety, has secured a new program design win with an additional global US-headquartered automotive OEM to deliver the Group's Driver Monitoring System (DMS) technology.

Seeing Machines is working alongside a major Tier 1 partner to deliver the new program via its highly scalable FOVIO Chip, with mass production scheduled from late 2020, and an estimated lifetime revenue of A$6M for the initially planned car models. While classified as a small value program (according to previously provided guidelines), this initial OEM win is considered strategic with a significant potential for volume/model expansion with increasing demand for driver monitoring systems, globally. It should be noted that volume projections can change materially and, as is typical in automotive industry contracts, there are no guarantees on the level of overall revenues beyond engineering milestone payments.

The Group now has volume DMS production programs spanning a broad range of car models across a total of six OEMs globally, including three major US based automotive manufacturers.

Seeing Machines' FOVIO driver monitoring platform uses advanced machine vision technology to precisely measure and analyse head pose, eyelid movements and eye-gaze under a full spectrum of demanding lighting conditions, including through sunglasses.

This data is processed to deliver real-time information on driver attention state, focus, drowsiness and impairment levels. DMS technology is typically used to enable intelligent ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) and semi-autonomous driving systems as well as enabling advanced new display, safety and convenience features.

Nick DiFiore, GM of Automotive at Seeing Machines, commented:

"We are more than pleased to announce volume production wins now with three major US based automakers, and six OEMs globally, including further deployment of our FOVIO DMS Chip solution. We see this as a further endorsement of our technology leadership and a reflection of the growing effectiveness of the close Tier-1 partnerships, in which we have invested.

"We also continue to see substantial and growing demand for our DMS technology around the world, as regulation accelerates recognition of the key role it plays in improving safety across all transport sectors."

Enquiries:

Seeing Machines Limited www.seeingmachines.com
+61 2 6103 4700
Ken Kroeger, Executive Chairman & CEO
Sophie Nicoll, VP Marketing & Communications

Cenkos Securities plc (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)
Neil McDonald/Beth McKiernan/Pete Lynch
+44 131 220 6939

Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker)
+44 20 7523 8000

2019

31 January 2019

Applied Graphene Materials plc

("Applied Graphene Materials", "the Group" or "the Company")

Issue of share options to Directors

Applied Graphene Materials announces that share options over ordinary shares of 2 pence each in the Company were granted on 31 January 2019 to the following Directors under the terms of both the Company's Enterprise Management Incentive scheme ("EMI") and Non-Approved Executive Option Scheme ("Non-Approved"):

Name
Number of shares subject to an EMI option
Number of shares subject to a Non-Approved option
Option exercise price per share
Total number of options held under all schemes

Adrian Potts
-
486,772
£nil
486,772

David Blain
360,000
-
£nil
360,000

Karl Coleman
-
54,392
£nil
117,453

The vesting of both EMI and Non-Approved options is subject to the relative performance of the Company's share price, compared to the FTSE AIM All Share Index, for the period from the date of grant to 30 November 2021.

In the event that the Company's share price performs better than the FTSE AIM All Share Index, for the performance period, then 25% of the options will vest. Further vesting will be dependent upon the extent to which the Company's share price outperforms the FTSE AIM All Share Index, with full vesting arising for performance exceeding the benchmark by 25%. Percentage vesting is weighted to towards the upper parts of the vesting scale.

In each case, performance will be measured using the one month average share price and FTSE AIM All Share Index value in the period prior to the start and end of the performance period. The starting one month average share price and FTSE AIM All Share Index value, in respect of the options granted, were £0.322 and 898.9 respectively.

Subject to vesting the options would be exercisable in the period between 30 November 2021 and 31 January 2029. Nil consideration is payable in respect of either the grant or exercise of these options.

Ends

For further information, please contact:
Applied Graphene Materials +44 (0) 1642 438 214

Adrian Potts, Chief Executive Officer

David Blain, Chief Financial Officer

N+1 Singer +44 (0) 207 496 3000

Richard Lindley / Justin McKeegan

Hudson Sandler +44 (0) 207 796 4133

Charlie Jack / Emily Dillon

Notes to Editors

Applied Graphene Materials works in partnership with its customers using its knowledge and expertise to provide bespoke graphene dispersions and formats to deliver enhancements and benefits for a wide range of applications. The Group's strategy is to target commercial applications in three core markets: coatings, composites and functional material

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