Car Makers Won't Put Brakes on Autonomous Driving, Mobileye CEO Says

By Asa Fitch

Car makers are facing a huge crisis with sales plummeting and many factories idled, but some of the industry's more futuristic plans still appear to be on track.

That, at least, is part of Intel's logic behind the company's move, unveiled Monday, to buy Israeli transportation app maker Moovit Inc. for $900 million and make it part of Mobileye, the semiconductor maker's $15 billion bet on autonomous driving.

Mobileye plans to integrate its technology into robo-car systems being developed by Volkswagen AG, Chinese electric-car maker NIO Inc. and others.

Some of those systems are set to roll out in cities in 2022, Mobileye Chief Executive Amnon Shashua said Tuesday. Mobileye needed a tool like Moovit, which helps users plan trips, giving them a bird's-eye view of transit options based on real-time data, to round out its offering, Mr. Shashua said.

Global car sales are expected to fall by 22% this year to 70.3 million, according to market-data tracker IHS Markit. Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., Honda Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp. and other automakers have shuttered factories and idled hundreds of thousands of workers as the virus spread.

While the coronavirus may be putting a damper on the industry now, Mr. Shashua said people will still want to move around and the appetite for automation will increase when the health crisis passes. Social distancing could further pique interest in driverless cars, although he said that wasn't going to be a long-term driver.

"When we think about things long term--and long term here is 2022--Covid-19 doesn't change the fundamentals," he said.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2020 14:35 ET (18:35 GMT)

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