BYD to invest $94 million to triple electric bus output in Hungary
Under right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China, in contrast with some other European Union nations considering becoming less dependent on the world's second-largest economy.
"We Hungarians do not consider East-West cooperation a threat, but rather an opportunity, a big opportunity," Szijjarto was quoted as saying on Friday, adding that the government would support the project with a 3.1 billion forint grant.
Orban, who has spearheaded a drive in central Europe to bring Chinese EV and battery manufacturing plants to Hungary, has said his landlocked country did not want to be squeezed into either bloc and wanted to keep trading with both sides.
BYD, which is also building an electric car factory in southern Hungary and expects to establish a European centre in the country, will establish a research and development laboratory alongside its latest investment in an apparent reward for Hungary's condemnation of European tariffs on Chinese EVs.
Orban started bringing his country closer to Beijing after he came to power in 2010. Warm political relations turned into investments about a decade later when battery and EV makers started to bring production to Hungary.
Szijjarto said Hungary had received nearly a third of Chinese inward investment into Europe last year, lifting the total volume of Chinese investments to 5.5 trillion forints ($16 billion), representing 64 large projects.
($1 = 340.08 forints)
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CNBC
13 minutes ago
- CNBC
Robotaxis are becoming a reality. Who's poised to win in China and beyond
After years of testing, robotaxis are starting to become a normal part of transportation in certain parts of the U.S. and China, where a handful of companies are competing to become market leaders. In the U.S., Alphabet's Waymo has pulled ahead of its rivals and says it has more than 1,500 robotaxis on the road conducting more than 250,000 paid weekly trips in cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Austin, Texas. Tesla has just gotten started in Austin . In China, there are proibably about 2,000 robotaxis, primarily operated by a few local companies across the country's larger cities, according to Barclays estimates published last week. The British bank forecasts at least 300,000 robotaxis will be deployed in China by 2030, accounting for at least 5% of on-demand transportation in larger cities. China's capital Beijing has allowed robotaxi operators to charge fares for rides in a suburb since late 2021 . Shanghai in late July became the latest region to allow fully autonomous taxis to charge fares in parts of the city . Pony AI unique U.S.-listed Chinese startup Pony AI is so far the only robotaxi operator in the country that can charge the public for fares in parts of all four of China's largest cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The company hasn't disclosed how many cars it has running, but claims each car receives an average of 15 orders a day. "We believe this milestone [in Shanghai] demonstrates Pony's technological and operational readiness in [the] robotaxi business," Bank Of America analysts said in a report last week. "Pony will scale up its Robotaxi fleet size and see improving profitability, given better economies of scale and unit profitability," the analysts said. Bank of America rates the stock a buy, and gives the American depositary receipts a price target of $21, or more than 60% upside from Friday's close. Improving safety Pony AI Chief Technology Officer Tiancheng Lou said in a late July interview that his focus now is on improving safety, speeding up the ability to hail a robotaxi and cutting costs. The company has started testing its latest-generation robotaxi vehicles in Beijing, claiming to have slashed the cost of the parts needed to build its autonomous driving kit by 70% . Pony AI is set to report its next quarterly results on Aug. 12. Pony's U.S.-listed rival WeRide last Thursday said that its robotaxi revenue in the second quarter rose to a a record $6.4 million . Morgan Stanley rates WeRide a buy, but expects shares to "remain event-driven and show more volatility" subject to robotaxi developments in China and overseas. The bank does not cover "We believe progress in global development of robotaxis will expedite the pace of China's development/rollout of L4 AD/robotaxis," the Morgan Stanley analysts said, adding they do not think legacy global automakers and legislators in major economies "will risk missing out on the transition to vehicle autonomy, particularly after losing ground to China on EVs." Waymo expansion While Waymo has only just begun expanding internationally, entering the Japanese market, Chinese robotaxi operators are already pushing into Europe and the Middle East. WeRide claims it's the only company with autonomous driving permits in Saudi Arabia, China, the UAE, Singapore, France and the U.S. Outside China, WeRide said it has already started pilot operations in Riyadh with Uber Technologies . In mid-July, Chinese internet tech company Baidu reached a deal to offer its Apollo Go self-driving vehicles on the Uber ride-hailing platform, aiming for the Middle East and Asia later this year. The U.S. and mainland China, where ride-hailing app Didi acquired Uber's business, are not part of the deal. Apollo Go's pricing on Uber will likely compare to that of human drivers on Uber, Bank of America analysts said in a separate report last month. "Therefore, we think value in [the] overseas market could be multiple times higher than China, hence its profitability overseas could have much larger room." Bank of America rated Baidu a buy, with a $100 price target. Baidu is set to report results on Aug. 20. Baidu breakeven Barclays estimates that Baidu is probably already breaking even on its robotaxis in the Chinese city of Wuhan, excluding research and investment costs. Most Chinese robotaxi operators are also close to breaking even, the analysts said. "Being able to design and build cheap robotaxi models is the single largest reason why we think Chinese players are likely to reach [unit economics] breakeven (excluding R & D and other headquarters costs) by the end of 2025," the Barclays analysts said. The bank estimates each Waymo car currently costs $200,000, Baidu's Apollo RT6 costs about $37,000, newest vehicle runs at about $42,000 and WeRide slightly more. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
CNBC
14 minutes ago
- CNBC
The AI 'algorithmic audit' could be coming to hotel room checkout
Artificial intelligence can lead to surprises in all sorts of places where a bill once would have been considered settled. The use of AI by Hertz (and European car rental company Sixt) to scan for damage on cars, which is then charged to the customer, is a new application of the technology that is creeping into consumer life unnoticed. But it won't be the last unexpected adjustment to the travel experience courtesy of AI. Experts say consumers should expect to see businesses across the service industry deploying similar technology in the future, if they aren't already. "As businesses seek to automate loss prevention and operational efficiency, we're witnessing the emergence of what I call 'algorithmic auditing' – the systematic deployment of AI to identify, classify, and monetize previously overlooked inefficiencies or losses," said Shannon McKeen, professor of the practice and executive director for the Center for Analytics Impact at Wake Forest University School of Business. The Hertz program, recently reported on by the New York Times, is the beginning of what McKeen describes as a broader transformation, and new fault line, in the service economy. "The implementation of these systems reveals a fundamental tension between operational efficiency and customer satisfaction and equity," McKeen said. The question isn't simply whether AI can detect a scratch on a rental car bumper. "It's whether businesses should charge customers for every microscopic imperfection that algorithms can identify but human judgment might reasonably overlook as normal wear and tear," he said. McKeen says the dialogue between service agent and customer over costs will increasingly include a new term: "the machine says." Hotels are working their way through these changes, according to Jordan Hollander, cofounder of a research platform that helps hotels find new digital and AI products to improve efficiency. "I've been seeing more hotels experiment with AI across operations, but not quite in the same way Hertz is using it for automated damage detection and billing. That said, we're not far off," Hollander said. Some hotels, for instance, are already using AI-powered sensors to monitor air quality and trigger fines for smoking or vaping in rooms. But Hollander warns that sometimes the sensors trigger false positives. "Like someone using a hairdryer or aerosol spray — and guests get hit with $500 charges without ever lighting up. It's not hard to imagine how that could go south quickly," Hollander said. But unlike the car rental example, most hotels haven't automated the billing step yet. "They're using AI more to flag potential issues — like a room that smells off, linens that don't meet standards, or maintenance problems — and then looping in a human for the final call," Hollander said. For now, the AI is acting more like a very observant assistant than a judge and jury. "But it's clear that hotels are heading in the same direction," he said. "Between computer vision that can detect damage or wear in a room, and AI that analyzes guest behavior or room conditions in real time, the tech is already there." In a hospitality industry where trust is everything, there are reasons for hotels to move with caution. To date, many hotel operators are using AI to improve things like housekeeping efficiency, energy usage, and guest messaging — but they're being cautious about when and how it impacts the guest directly in a way that can be perceived to hurt the experience. "There's a risk of backlash if hotels start billing guests based solely on what an algorithm says. The moment a guest gets a charge and can't get a straight answer about why or how it was verified, you're in dangerous territory," Hollander said. "If guests feel like they're being watched or nickel-and-dimed by a machine, it undermines the relationship completely," he added. Recent experience in the hotel industry provides at least one cautionary tale, according to Hollander, referring to a custom-modified Alexa for hotels. "Years ago, the hot thing was voice devices, and that never really took off for this reason," he said. A Hertz spokeswoman told CNBC that AI brings uniformity and consistency to the checkout process. "For years, vehicle damage inspections have caused confusion and frustration. The process was manual, subjective, and inconsistent, and that isn't good enough for our customers or our business," she said. She added that with digital vehicle inspections, Hertz is introducing "much-needed precision, objectivity, and transparency to the process – giving our customers greater confidence that they won't be charged for damage that didn't occur during their rental, and a more efficient resolution process when damage does occur." Of the 500,000 rentals scanned so far, more than 97% showed no billable damage, according to Hertz, and damage incidents are declining at scanner-equipped locations. The Hertz spokeswoman acknowledged that the new system is still a work in progress. "We know change of this scale takes time, and we're listening, learning, and improving every day. As we said from the start, our goal through this initiative is to enhance the safety, quality, and reliability of our fleet and to create a more consistent rental experience for our customers." AI excels at pattern recognition, but where it may fall short is with the nuanced decision-making that has historically characterized good customer service, according to McKeen. "What makes these systems particularly problematic is the erosion of contextual judgment," McKeen said. Traditionally, business relationships relied on human discretion to navigate gray areas like "when does a scuffed tire represent normal use versus chargeable damage? 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Use of AI in hospitality is evolving from passive data collection to active use of real-time decision-making tools, Rivera said, and that includes things like monitoring your rental car or how much you are raiding the mini-bar in your hotel room. "The common thread is increased operational efficiency, enhanced guest satisfaction, and automation of traditionally manual tasks, with a layer of accountability and transparency for both guest and provider," Rivera said. Not everyone is on board with that view, however. "This trend is absolute overkill with AI solution capabilities," said Daniel Keller, CEO of cloud infrastructure company Influx Technologies, which provides data collection and data analysis tools. "This particular use of AI doesn't increase efficiency; it scrutinizes customers of small-margin service businesses looking to suck extra money out of guest experiences."
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Steve Witkoff's sanitised Gaza tour snubbed US doctor who said people being 'shot like rabbits'
We've seen this many times before. Highly anticipated talks and meetings with America, Israel's closest ally and the one country with the power to pressure to change course, then nothing changes. We need to give Steve Witkoff time to report his assessments back to the White House before we can give a complete verdict on this visit but what we've seen and heard so far has offered little hope. The pressure on to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in is mounting after a small but vocal contingent of his base expressed outrage. Even one of his biggest supporters in Congress, Marjorie Taylor Green, has referred to it as a genocide. It was little coincidence Mr Witkoff was dispatched to the region for the first time in three months to speak to people on both sides and "learn the truth" to quote US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who accompanied him to an aid site in Gaza. The pair spent five hours in Gaza speaking to people at a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation centre and it's understood saw nothing of the large crowd of Palestinians gathering a mile away waiting for food. Their sanitised tour of Gaza did not include a visit to a hospital where medics are receiving casualties by the dozen from deadly incidents at aid sites, and where they're treating children for malnutrition and hunger. A critical trauma nurse at Nasser hospital told us a 13-year-old boy was among the people shot while Mr Witkoff was in the enclave. An American paediatrician at the same hospital who had publicly extended an invitation to meet with Mr Witkoff heard nothing from the US delegation. Read more from Sky News: Dr Tom Adamkiewicz described people "being shot like rabbits" and "a new level of barbarity that I don't think the world has seen". The US delegation was defensive of the controversial GHF aid distribution that was launched by America and Israel in May, hailing its delivery of a million meals a day. But if their new system of feeding Gaza is truly working, why are we seeing images of starved children and hearing deaths every day of people in search of food? The backdrop of this trip is very different to the last time Mr Witkoff was here. In May, life was a struggle for Palestinians in Gaza, people were dying in Israeli bombings but, for the most part, people weren't dying due to a lack of food or getting killed trying to reach aid. Mr Netanyahu's easing of humanitarian conditions a week ago, allowing foreign aid to drop from the sky, was an indirect admission of failure by the GHF. Yet, for now, the US is standing by this highly criticised way of delivering aid. A UN source tells me more aid is getting through than it was a week ago - around 30 lorries are due to enter today compared to around five that were getting in each day before. Still nowhere near enough and it's a complex process of clearances and coordination with the IDF through areas of conflict. Lorries are regularly refused entry without explanation. Then there was Mr Witkoff's meeting with hostage families a day later where we began to get a sense of America's new plan for Gaza. The US issued no public statement but family members shared conversations they'd had with Mr Trump's envoy: bring all the hostages home in one deal, disarm Hamas and end the war. Easier to propose than to put into practice. Within hours of those comments being reported in the Israeli media, Hamas released a video of hostage Evyatar David looking emaciated in an underground tunnel in Gaza. Now 24 years old, he was kidnapped from the Nova festival on 7 October and is one of 20 hostages understood to be still alive. The release of the video was timed for maximum impact. Hamas also poured water on any hopes of a deal in a statement, unless an independent Palestinian state is established. Hamas has perhaps become more emboldened in this demand after key Israeli allies, including the UK, announced plans for formal recognition in the last week. It's hard to see a way forward. The current Israeli government has, in effect, abandoned the idea of a two-state solution. The Trump administration's recent boycott of international conferences on the matter suggests America is taking a similar line, breaking with its long-standing position. Arab nations could now be key in what happens next. In an unprecedented move, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt joined a resolution calling for Hamas to disarm and surrender control of Gaza following a UN conference earlier this week. This is hugely significant - highly influential powers in its own backyard have not applied this sort of pressure before. For all the US delegation's good intentions, it's still political deadlock. Israeli hostages and Palestinians in Gaza left to starve and suffer the consequences.
