Reuters -- German carmaker Daimler is planning to test self-driving trucks as early as this year, executive board member Wolfgang Bernhard told a German newspaper.

"We are positive that we will get approval for tests on German motorways within the next weeks," Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung quoted him as saying. "Then we will start immediately."

First tests of semi-autonomous trucks will take place in Daimler's home state Baden-Wuerttemberg while the start of production is 2-3 years away, Bernhard, who is in charge of Daimler's trucks business, told the paper.

"We are leaders in this technology and will stand up for ourselves," Bernhard said, acknowledging that Apple, Google and other companies were trying to position themselves in the promising business of autonomous driving.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/25/us-daimler-autonomousdriving-idUSKCN0PZ0KH20150725

CNET -- Nokia has finally unloaded its mapping service.

The Finnish telecommunications giant said on Monday that it had agreed to sell its Here maps business to European automakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, who have agreed to pay a total of 2.8 billion euros ($3.1 billion, £2 billion, AU$4.2 billion).

The fact that the three major manufacturers have teamed up to buy Here shows how important mapping data is to the future of the car industry as new vehicles become more connected. The technology gives them a viable alternative to mapping services offered by Google and Apple. The deal also allows them to move past simple satellite-navigation-style directions and toward the next generation of navigation: cars that can collect data to share real-time updates on traffic, parking and other variables with other vehicles. Down the line, those highly accurate, up-to-date maps will be crucial for self-driving cars to know where they're going.

The 150-year-old Finnish company Nokia is best-known for making phones, especially in Europe. But since selling off its phone business to Microsoft last year, it has been reduced to its three less well-known divisions: Nokia Networks, making networking equipment; Nokia Technologies, researching and developing new technology; and Here. Nokia recently bulked up its telecom equipment business with the acquisition of rival Alcatel-Lucent.

Here is available to the public in the form of maps apps on Android, iOS and Windows Phone, but the majority of its business comes from licensing mapping data to other companies, particularly in the automotive industry. There were 17 million vehicles produced with navigation systems in 2014, according to research firm IHS. Those cars will all need a steady flow of map data.

Here is developing technology that will pull data from cars, phones and the furniture of the road to the cloud and deliver real-time and predictive mapping services. The business is also expected to play an important role in the development of self-driving cars.

Read the rest of the story here:
 http://www.cnet.com/news/nokia-sells-here-maps-business-to-carmaker-consortium-of-audi-bmw-and-daimler/