Smart Mobility APAC

India's government is currently examining ways in which it can reduce the growing problem of urban congestion in major cities across the country. The government has formed a federal think-tank, which is chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minsiter Modi has previously called for reduced car ownership and believes the use of private vehicles as shared taxis could be the ideal solution to India's traffic woes.

A Consortium of Chinese companies which are being spearheaded by China's search engine Baidu are leading the country's self-driving charge in the United States. Baidu is set to announce its first vehicle manufacturing partners for its self-driving software in the next few weeks.

A Chinese bicycle-sharing start-up has formally announced that it plans to expand its business into Japan. Beijing Mobike Technology has enjoyed incredible success since its inception - and its disclosure that it has set-up a subsidiary in the Japanese city of Fukuoka has cemented its status as one of the fastest-growing start-up companies in the world.

Japanese car manufacturing colossus Honda has centered its long-term strategy on the development of autonomous vehicles and electric cars - with the carmaker announcing its intentions to deploy autonomous cars in major cities by 2025. Honda Motor Co made a series of disclosures during a press briefing in which it outlined in detail its mid-term 'Vision 2030' strategy.

Toyota has invested 42.5 million yen into a project to develop a 'flying car' which they hope will be subsequently used to light up the Olympic flame for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games. Engineers showcased a demonstration of its 'flying car' at an event last week -and expressed their confidence that it will be able to design a model that will light the Olympic torch.