Uncategorized - EURO MANAGEMENT COMPANY LTD
A Glimpse Into the Future of AI Electric Cars

Last week, I took part in a radio show on AI electric cars of the future. It was based on an article from the BBC’s TopGear, which used to be my favorite car program, but they changed hosts, so I rarely watch it now.

Let’s talk about the rapid advancements in autonomous driving, the current state of EVs, and the role of AI in the automotive industry. Then, we’ll close with my Product of the Week: an automotive cheat tool my wife bought me that I am impressed with.

Electric Car Status

The pressure on electric car sales has been increasing rapidly of late, mainly because demand for these cars has declined, slowing market growth. This slowing is due to three things: continued quality problems, particularly with Tesla’s new Cybertruck, some of Musk’s political views, and a lack of marketing execution.

As a result, Tesla has taken a hard hit in terms of sales momentum. Given it’s the biggest player, for now, in the electric car market, its problems are having a huge impact on the industry.

Can Hydrogen-Powered Cars Leave EVs in the Rearview?

The collaboration between Honda and GM to develop hydrogen cars, Toyota’s ongoing support for hydrogen technology, and the potential for retrofitting traditional gas engines to run on hydrogen might lead some to question the future viability of electric vehicles.

Now, Toyota has developed a unique hydrogen engine that will run more reliably on hydrogen than a converted gas engine, but it will lack the performance advantages of the more common fuel cell approach. Both types of power have one huge problem: there is no hydrogen infrastructure, and hydrogen generators aren’t cheap.

Hydrogen vs. Electric Cars
On paper, hydrogen is the better choice to power a car than a battery. This superiority stems from the fact that, in most implementations, you get the attributes of an electric vehicle, which is an exceptionally reliable motor, and you don’t get the worst part, which is the battery.

Aptera To Showcase Solar EV at CES 2025

A near-production model of a solar-powered car will be on display at CES 2025.

Aptera Motors has announced that a “production intent” version of its eponymously named solar-powered vehicle will be displayed at the mammoth consumer electronics show, which will be held January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

The Aptera offers up to 40 miles of solar-powered driving per day, a three-wheel futuristic design, unparalleled energy efficiency, and the option to plug in for 400 miles on a single charge in under an hour, according to the company.

“This step demonstrates the company’s confidence in the design, functionality, and manufacturability of the vehicle, aligning with industry standards and regulatory requirements,” he continued. “It also helps build consumer and investor trust by showcasing a tangible product that is nearing market readiness, setting the stage for final testing, production scaling, and eventual delivery. I’m not optimistic.”

However, that dearth of optimism doesn’t seem to be shared by the early adopters who have forked over US$1.7 billion to pre-order 50,000 units of the vehicle.

Namibia orders Starlink to cease all operations in the country

Namibia has ordered Starlink to cease all operations immediately, saying the satellite internet service owned by billionaire Elon Musk is operating without the required telecommunications licence.

“The public is hereby advised not to purchase Starlink terminal equipment or subscribe to its services, as such activities are illegal,” the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia said in an e-mailed statement. “Investigators have already confiscated illegal terminals from consumers and have opened criminal cases with the Namibian police in this regard.”

HK ranks seventh globally in digital competitiveness

It ranked third and fifth in ‘technology’ and ‘knowledge’, respectively.

Hong Kong ranked seventh out of 67 economies in the latest World Digital Competitiveness Ranking (WDCR), climbing three places as it improved in “technology” and “knowledge.”

Hong Kong ranked third and fifth in ‘technology’ and ‘knowledge’, respectively. Its ranking in ‘future readiness’ also improved.

The ranking measures the capacity and readiness of economies to adopt and explore digital technologies for economic and social transformation.

“The Chief Executive announced a series of initiatives for the information and technology (I&T) sector including establishing the third InnoHK research cluster, development of new industrialisation, a $10b I&T Industry-Oriented Fund and launching the Pilot I&T Accelerator Scheme,” a government spokesperson said.

Join Hong Kong Business community
The spokesperson added that the government will continue to enhance the I&T infrastructure, including the first-phase facility of Cyberport’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Supercomputing Centre and the $3b AI Subsidy Scheme now open for applications.

Digital scams in Hong Kong 10% higher than global average

Online forums and dating sites were the most targeted by scammers.

Digital frauds in Hong Kong are 10% higher than the global average, according to a TransUnion report.

Financial services saw the largest year-on-year jump (29%) in the rate of suspected digital fraud. Online forums and dating sites were the most targeted by scammers, with authorities detailing 500 fake dating scams involving $243m in losses.

In terms of attempt rate during the period, the retail sector (9.5%) reported the second-highest rate followed by financial services (5.5%).

Amongst generations, Gen Zs and Millennials were mostly targeted. Five in 10 of Gen Z respondents were targeted in the last three months. Meanwhile, 41% of Millennials said they were also targeted and had the highest rate of victimisation at 7%.

Join Hong Kong Business community
Moreover, ‘vishing’ (fraudulent phone calls), was the most common scheme at 36%, followed by phishing at 33%.

OpenAI unveils ‘o3’ reasoning AI models

OpenAI said on Friday it was testing new reasoning AI models, o3 and o3 mini, in a sign of growing competition with rivals like Google to create smarter models capable of tackling complex problems.

CEO Sam Altman said the AI start-up plans to launch o3 mini by the end of January, and full o3 after that, as more robust large language models could outperform existing models and attract new investments and users.

Microsoft-backed OpenAI released o1 AI models in September designed to spend more time processing queries to solve hard problems.

OpenAI’s new o3 and o3 mini models will be more powerful than its previously launched o1 models
The o1 models are capable of reasoning through complex tasks and can solve more challenging problems than previous models in science, coding and maths, the AI firm had said in a blog post.

OpenAI’s new o3 and o3 mini models, which are in internal safety testing currently, will be more powerful than its previously launched o1 models, the company said.

The generative AI pioneer said it was opening an application process for external researchers to test o3 models ahead of the public release, which will close on 10 January.

Arms race
OpenAI had triggered an AI arms race after it launched ChatGPT in November 2022. The growing popularity of the company and new product launches helped OpenAI in closing a US$6.6-billion funding round in October.