VIENNA – Sensor supplier AMS says its products will be used in vehicles built by China's Great Wall Motor starting in 2022, as the Austrian company works toward its goal of diversifying into the auto industry.
AMS said technology developed in cooperation with Germany's Ibeo Automotive Systems, a specialist for optical sensors that use lasers to produce 3D pictures of a car's environment, or lidar, will be a core component of a new generation of Great Wall Motor's vehicles.
These vehicles will allow hands-free automated driving under certain conditions, also known as Level 3 autonomous driving.
Great Wall Motor, China's top pickup maker, plans to bolster growth with electric vehicles. It owns Ora, an affordable battery-electric vehicle brand, and it has partnered with BMW for electric car production.
AMS, best known as a supplier for Apple’s iPhones, sees significant growth potential with applications for autonomous cars, which will need numerous sensors to detect the environment and help navigate roads.
To gain a foothold in the market, it bought the much larger leader for vehicle headlights, Osram, aiming for package solutions that combine lights and sensors.