Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 6 February 2018
Q&A: Ride-hailing service Lyft's product chief Tali Rapaport

By TOM KRISHER We're not going to have an
DETROIT (AP) — Even AV car sitting in front of ev-
though it's been in business ery doorstop everywhere.
for just over five years, the We'd still want you to let us
Lyft ride-hailing service is know the night before. That
still evolving as it moves to- concept of you letting us
ward a time when personal know when you need to go
car ownership falls and self- somewhere and us building
driving robotaxis start carry- a schedule around it is one
ing passengers. of the ways that we're able
Preparing for that time to build reliability even in
and everything between an AV world.
is largely the responsibility Q: Do you see a day when
of Tali Rapaport, Lyft's vice personal car ownership
president of product. goes away?
Lyft said it provided over A: We'll never take away
375 million rides last year, the choice, I don't think
more than double the that will be popular in the
number in 2017. The com- U.S. Decades from now,
pany expanded to most of when autonomous ve-
the U.S. and started service hicles are truly ubiquitous
in Toronto, its first city out- and costs come down, I
side the U.S. don't expect the owner-
In an interview at the North This photo provided by Lyft shows Tali Rapaport, the company's vice president of product. ship model for autonomous
American International Associated Press vehicles to be personal
Auto Show in Detroit, Rapa- car ownership. If you think
port talks about what ride- parties to call Lyfts. One of are giving up second cars time around any corner about how often we use
hailing passengers can ex- the exciting uses for con- because ride-hailing has in the suburbs — there's our cars, if you're going to
pect in the coming months cierge are doctor's offices become so convenient. just less density. But if you use a car 4 percent of the
and years. Questions and and medical facilities. We Do you have enough cars let drivers pre-accept time and it's autonomous
answers have been edited didn't have an easy way available for that happen? their schedule, they can and could be used the oth-
for length and clarity. for a third party to come A: I expect people to buy piece together enough er 96 percent of the time,
Q: What can people ex- in and say 'I need a car.' fewer second cars. To get rides where previously we that feels less likely that the
pect from Lyft in terms of You just basically go on a someone to give up their wouldn't have had a driver model will be true personal
new products? website and you put in the second car, we need to there. Q: When autono- ownership. You will be able
A: We plan in 2018 to con- addresses and who the pa- be reliable not just in a mous vehicles are widely in to get just as good of ser-
tinue to invest in bring- tients are, and the cars kind small area. We need to be use, do you think getting rid vice from a model where
ing shared rides to more of go and pick them up. reliable in the suburbs. It's of second cars will acceler- you're not owning the vehi-
places. We just launched Q: One of your co-found- much less likely the driver ate? A: Autonomous vehi- cle. We're talking well over
a concierge portal for third ers says people already will get a ride at any one cles work on the same idea. a decade.q
Nissan plans 20 electric models for China through 2022

By JOE McDONALD ners, most of them state- reporters. He said last year's
AP Business Writer owned, and must share or total sales were 21,000 units.
BEIJING (AP) — Nissan and help develop technology "We need to accelerate
a Chinese partner an- to satisfy the sales quotas. cost reduction," said Seki.
nounced plans Monday to Overall, Chinese sales of "But to reduce costs, we
develop 20 electric vehi- sedans, SUVs and minivans need more volume."
cles as part of a $10 billion, rose 1.4 percent last year Overall, their joint venture
five-year investment pro- over 2016 to 24.7 million aims to increase annual
gram, adding to efforts by units. Total sales of pure- sales by 1 million units to 2.6
global automakers to cre- electric and gasoline- million by 2020.
ate commercially competi- electric hybrids rose 53.3 Seki said Nissan-Dongfeng
tive electrics for the biggest percent to 777,000 units sales of electrics have
auto market. but accounted for just 2.7 failed to gain traction due
Nissan Motor Co.'s venture percent of the market.Nis- to the relatively high sticker
with state-owned Dong- san and Dongfeng said price of models that con-
feng Group will start sales Nissan plans 20 electric models for China through 2022 they plan to develop 40 tain up to 85 percent im-
this year of Nissan's all- tors Co. that are looking to make up at least 10 per- new models — half of them ported components.
electric Leaf and two other China to propel future rev- cent of their sales starting electric or hybrid — over "We probably underesti-
electric models, said Jun enue and are investing bil- next year. the next five years. Those mated our competitors,"
Seki, president of their joint lions of dollars to develop Regulators are using ac- will be sold under the Nis- said Seki. "We need really
venture, Dongfeng Motor electric vehicles that will cess to China's market as san, Dongfeng and Infiniti heavy localization to com-
Ltd. He said three "afford- appeal to Chinese drivers. leverage to induce global brands as well as the part- pete."
able EV" compacts will be The appeal of electrics in auto brands to help local nership's low-price Venucia China is an important fac-
launched next year. China still depends heav- companies that might be- name. tor in Nissan's goal to in-
"Our EV offensive starts from ily on subsidies but Beijing come future competitors By 2020, the partners have crease its annual global
2018," said Seki. is pushing automakers to develop electrics. Foreign set an annual sales target revenue from 12.8 trillion
Nissan joins global auto- develop the technology. automakers that want to of 360,000 electric or hybrid yen ($116 billion) to 16.5
makers including Volkswa- Automakers face quotas manufacture in China must vehicles, or some 30 per- trillion yen ($150 billion) by
gen AG and General Mo- that require electrics to work through local part- cent of the total, Seki told 2022, according to Seki.q