MERCEDES-BENZ

2027 Mercedes S-Class Coupe

Exterior design: The front grille is 20% larger and now fully illuminated, accompanied by new digital headlights that project symbols onto the road and have a range of up to 600 meters.

Digital interior: The dashboard now features Hyperscreen (three screens under a single pane of glass) as standard equipment on several versions, running the new MB.OS operating system with integrated AI assistant.

Performance: The S 580 version features an electrified twin-turbo V8 engine with 537 hp, while the top-of-the-line AMG S 63 E Performance combines a V8 with a hybrid system to deliver an impressive 802 hp.

Executive comfort: New features include heated seatbelts, an air filtration system that cleans the cabin in 90 seconds, and rear seats with reclining and calf massage functions.

Autonews 

AUTONEWS

Researchers find training gaps impacting maritime cybersecurity readiness

Whether it's a fire or a flood, a ship's crew can only rely on itself and its training in emergencies at sea. The same is true for crews facing digital threats on oil tankers, cargo ships, and other commercial vessels.

New cybersecurity research from the Georgia Institute of Technology, however, revealed that crews aboard commercial vessels were often not adequately prepared to manage cyberattacks effectively due to systemic training gaps. "A Sea of Cyber Threats: Maritime Cybersecurity from the Perspective of Mariners" was presented at CCS 2025.

The findings are based on interviews conducted by researchers with more than 20 officer-level mariners to assess the maritime industry's readiness to handle cybersecurity attacks at sea.

"Historically, cybersecurity research has focused heavily on cyber-physical systems like cars, factories, and industrial plants, but ships have largely been overlooked," said Anna Raymaker, Ph.D. student and lead researcher.

"That gap is concerning when more than 90% of the world's goods travel by sea. Recent incidents, from GPS spoofing to ships linked to subsea cable disruptions, show that maritime systems are increasingly part of the global cyber threat landscape."

The researchers proposed four practical strategies to strengthen maritime cyber defenses and close the training gaps. Their findings were presented recently at the ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS).

1. Make cybersecurity training actually maritime...Many of those interviewed for the study described current cybersecurity training as "boilerplate"—generic modules that don't reflect real shipboard risks.

Researchers recommend(below):

Role-specific instruction: Navigation officers should learn to detect and identify GPS spoofing. Engineers should focus on vulnerabilities in remotely monitored systems.

Bridging IT and Operational Technology: Crews need to understand how attacks on IT systems can trigger physical consequences in operational technology—including collisions, groundings, or explosions.

Hands-on delivery: Replace passive PowerPoints with drills and in-person exercises that build muscle memory.

Accessible standards: Training must account for the wide range of educational backgrounds across crews and be standardized across ranks.

2. Move beyond 'call IT'...At sea, crews can't simply escalate a cyber incident to a shore-based IT department and wait. Operational resilience requires onboard readiness.

Researchers recommend(below):

Vessel-specific response plans: Ships need clear, actionable protocols for threats such as AIS jamming or radar manipulation.

Military-style drills: Adopting MCON (Emission Control) exercises—used by the U.S. Military Sealift Command—can train crews to operate safely without electronic systems.

Stronger connectivity controls: High-bandwidth satellite systems like Starlink introduce new risks. Clear policies and network segregation are essential to prevent new entry points for attackers.

3. Create unified, ship-specific regulations...Maritime cybersecurity regulations are often reactive and fragmented. Researchers argue the industry needs a cohesive, domain-specific framework.

Key recommendations include(below):

A unified global model: Like the energy sector's NERC CIP standards, a maritime framework could mandate baseline controls such as encryption, network segmentation, and anonymous incident reporting.

Rules built for real crews: Regulations designed for large naval operations don't translate well to smaller merchant or research vessels. Standards must reflect actual shipboard conditions.

Future-proofing requirements: Autonomous ships and remotely operated vessels expand the cyber-physical attack surface. Regulations must proactively address these emerging technologies.

4. Invest in maritime-specific cyber research...Finally, the researchers stress that long-term resilience requires deeper technical research focused on maritime systems.

Priority areas include(below):

Real-time intrusion detection systems tailored to shipboard protocols.

Proactive security risk assessments of interconnected onboard systems.

Cyber-physical modeling to better understand cascading failures in complex maritime environments.

The bottom line...Cyber threats at sea are no longer hypothetical. Mariners report real-world incidents ranging from GPS spoofing to ransomware that disrupts global trade.

"Through our interviews with mariners, I saw firsthand how much dedication and pride they take in their work," said Raymaker. "Our goal is for this research to serve as a call to action for researchers, policymakers, and industry to invest more attention in maritime cybersecurity and support the people who risk their lives every day to keep global trade, food, and energy moving."

Researchers conducted interviews with over 20 merchant marine officers and identified several critical shortcomings(below):

"Boilerplate" training: Current training modules are often described as generic and do not reflect the specific real-world risks of a ship.

Reliance on shore support: At sea, crews cannot simply "call IT" and wait for assistance. The lack of onboard response protocols creates a significant vulnerability.

Complexity of new systems: The use of high-bandwidth systems, such as Starlink Maritime, introduces new attack vectors, requiring stricter network control and segregation policies.

IT-OT blindness: Sailors often do not understand how attacks on Information Technology (IT) systems can cause immediate physical damage to Operational Technology (OT) systems, such as propulsion and navigation. Recommendations from researchers...To close these gaps and strengthen operational resilience, Georgia Tech experts suggest four main strategies:

Contextualized training: Replace passive PowerPoint presentations with hands-on exercises and simulations that create "muscle memory."

Job-specific instruction: Navigation officers should focus on detecting GPS spoofing, while engineers should focus on vulnerabilities in remotely monitored systems.

Unified regulation: Creation of a cohesive global model, similar to the NERC CIP standards of the energy sector, that establishes mandatory basic controls.

Military-style training: Adopt practices such as emissions control exercises (MCON), used by the US Military Sealift Command, to train crews to operate safely without relying solely on electronic systems.

These findings serve as a call for policymakers and industry to invest more in maritime cybersecurity to protect global trade.

Provided by Georgia Institute of Technology

AUTONEWS

Electric vehicles pass tipping point, breaking the link with oil prices

When the Strait of Hormuz first closed in March and oil hit US$120 a barrel, a very old question came back: is this finally the moment electric vehicles take off for good—or just another false start?

EVs have been here before. They surged after the 1973 oil embargo, collapsed when oil fell, and surged again. Each wave died when the external pressure eased.

We think this time is different. In a new discussion paper, we argue that the economic case for electric vehicles is now improving on its own terms. This is because of what has happened to batteries, not because of the oil price. The same evidence, though, shows the transition creates new problems as serious as the ones it solves.

Why this time is different...Battery costs have fallen 93% since 2010. That is the number that changes everything. A pack that cost more than US$1,000 per kilowatt-hour in 2010 cost US$108 by late 2025, driven down by a decade of learning, investment and policy support.

Research on the global battery industry finds that every time cumulative production doubles, costs fall by around 9%. More buyers, more production, lower costs, more buyers.

Unlike the 1970s, this loop does not need an oil crisis to keep spinning. Electric cars have crossed lifetime cost parity with petrol vehicles across much of Europe; in the used-car market they now have the lowest total cost of ownership. Newer models even match petrol cars in estimated lifespan—something early EVs could not claim.

Global sales surpassed 17 million in 2024, one of the fastest technology diffusion processes in the history of transport. Norway is near-fully electrified. And Ethiopia reached around 60% EV sales share in 2024, powered by cheap hydroelectricity—some way ahead of the US, for instance, which sits at around 8%.

An economic platform, not just a better engine...The deeper reason this wave will not fade is not technical—it is economic. An EV is a platform. Its value grows as the network around it grows, just as smartphones became indispensable not because of the hardware but because of everything connected to it.

Every charger built makes the next EV more attractive. Every software update raises the value of every car already on the road. Every recycled battery feeds back into the supply chain, which makes the next one cheaper. It's part of the reason some other technologies, like hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, have struggled to get off the ground in numbers—the tech exists, but all the other elements aren't quite there.

One study of 8,000 drivers in Shanghai found that range anxiety—the fear of running out of charge—has a real economic cost due to unnecessarily avoided trips. But that cost is falling sharply, not because batteries improved, but because charging networks expanded.

Making real-time charger availability visible could add 6–8 percentage points to market share by 2030. And because EV charging is far more flexible than other household electricity demand, drivers can shift away from peak hours remarkably easily when the price is right—turning the car into a grid asset, able to store and release electricity when needed. These are economic network effects, not engineering features.

Swapping one dependency for another...Ending oil dependence does not end geopolitical exposure. It relocates it.

In late 2025, China introduced rules requiring government approval for exports containing more than 0.1% of rare earths. The leverage that once came from control of oil flows now comes from control of processing capacity and component supply chains.

The minerals at stake—lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and neodymium to name but a handful—carry their own geopolitical risks and, as we have written elsewhere, serious human costs in the communities that mine them. This creates a predictable cycle of social contestation that threatens to stall the transition unless the industry commits to responsible, sustainable innovation.

The metal cobalt traditionally helped EVs travel further on the same charge. And when prices spiked, so did research into making batteries with less or even no cobalt. Today, more than half of all EV batteries sold globally are cobalt free.

Four decades of patent data show the same pattern: higher mineral prices consistently redirect research and development toward mineral-saving technologies.

Recovering lithium and cobalt from used batteries is becoming economically viable too, shifting part of the supply chain away from geopolitically exposed extraction sites. In addition, Norway and other countries are looking to exploit new critical mineral resources to diversify supplies.

The transition is real—but not risk-free...The Hormuz crisis is a reminder of what concentrated energy dependence costs. The EV transition does not need it. The learning curve keeps falling, the platform keeps compounding, the economics keep improving. That is what makes this wave different.

What it does not do is eliminate geopolitical risk. Unlike oil, where leverage comes from energy flows, EV supply chains concentrate power at materials, processing capacity, and technological bottlenecks—supply chains that are highly concentrated and carry their own serious risks. Fuel dependence becomes mineral dependence. That dependence is highly concentrated.

Traditional carmaking regions are already absorbing concentrated job losses, and history shows such disruptions leave persistent scars even if the long-term aggregate effects are positive. Yet electric vehicle assembly is proving more labor-intensive in western countries than expected—requiring more workers on the shopfloor, not fewer, at least in the ramp-up phase. Contrast this with China, where massive automation has led to the creation of "dark factories" where there are so few humans, internal lighting isn't required.

The same regions facing losses could benefit. But the gains and losses do not fall on the same people. That is where the work remains.

Provided by The Conversation 

 

SERES

Seres patents toilet for electric vehicles Aito

The Chinese company Seres has developed a toilet system that can be pulled out and then completely hidden under the passenger seat of an SUV.

When it comes to comfort while driving, people usually think of seats with a massage function, quality acoustics or large screens, however, the Chinese company Seres, which together with Huawei produces premium vehicles under the Aito brand, has decided to go much further. It has patented a solution for situations when passengers are unable to find the nearest toilet during a long journey or when they are stuck in traffic.

It was recently revealed that Seres has patented a "toilet built into a vehicle and an automobile". Patent number CN224104011U was filed back in April 2025, and its official approval came on April 10, 2026.

According to the patent description, the device consists of a toilet body and a special mechanism with guides. The main feature is maximum space saving. The toilet is installed directly under the passenger seat, and when needed, the structure is pulled forward and retracted after use, becoming completely invisible in the interior.

This approach differs significantly from previous attempts by other manufacturers. For example, the Polestone brand previously offered a portable option where the toilet seat was stored in a central box and used with disposable bags. Seres' solution looks like a much more complex and integrated system.

Despite the technological innovation, the introduction of such an option into mass production comes with a number of problems. The main difficulty lies in the layout of the chassis of modern electric vehicles. In the Aito line models, almost all the space under the floor is occupied by a massive battery. The placement of drain pipes and waste tanks requires a serious revision of the vehicle architecture.

In addition to technical aspects, there are other factors, such as:

- sealing: ensuring complete isolation from unpleasant odors in the closed space of the cabin

- maintenance: reliability of moving parts and ease of cleaning the system

- psychology: the willingness of users to use the toilet directly in the car.

It's hard to say what will happen with this patent at the moment, but we could see it as an exclusive add-on option for VIP versions of large SUVs or minivans. While skeptics may call it another marketing gimmick, for those who spend several hours a day on the road, such functionality could prove far more useful than another screen.

Autonews

WRC

Ott Tanak secretly tests new Toyota car for 2027 WRC season

For some it is a surprise, for some it is not. The 2019 world rally champion got behind the wheel of the Toyota team's factory rally car for the 2027 season. And already in Croatia.

In the shadow of the Croatia Rally 2026, Ott Tanak tested the new Toyota team car for the 2027 season. Let's recall that Ott Tanak retired from the FIA ​​World Rally Championship and the Hyundai team at the end of the 2025 season. Good connoisseurs of rally sport know that a driver of this caliber cannot sit at home. He was hired by Toyota to develop a new car. There is still no official information about whether the 38-year-old Estonian could be the team's official competition driver in the new season. Of course, that would not be a surprise.

Tanak emphasized to DirtFish that he knows the Toyota team structure well and that he is happy to be involved in the project again. He explained that Toyota contacted him shortly before the Croatia Rally. The first day of testing was extensive, with plenty of driving time, and the next day he carried out a full program. The car has covered a significant number of kilometers so far, both on dirt and asphalt surfaces.

Tänak, who won his 2019 world title with Toyota, spent his first full day back in a factory car on a Croatian development test on Thursday. Talking to DirtFish, Tänak confirmed he will work with Toyota for the rest of the season – but was quick to point out that his return to rallying didn’t signify a return to the WRC.

“I was asked [by the team] quite recently,” he said, “and it was nice call to take. Obviously, I took my break and, yeah, it’s been nice to do my own stuff, but this opportunity came along, we know the background to the team and I was excited to get involved.

“It’s a nice balance to have my own time and to be driving some rally cars. In Thursday(16/04) was my first day in the car and it was a full day, a lot of driving – we’ll do the same tomorrow. The car has done, already, quite a lot of mileage, so it’s not like it’s the first days anymore.”

Asked for his views on the new car, the identity of which has yet to be confirmed, Tänak added: “We know the regulation is quite a big change and it’s now the job of the team to get everything to max out. We know it’s going to be a very, very big challenge to beat the Rally2 cars. It’s a big job.”

While Toyota technical director Tom Fowler wouldn’t be drawn on what the new car was, he confirmed the prototype was currently being tested.

“At this point in time we are already running our prototype test car,” Fowler told DirtFish. “The design team are concentrating on all of the feedback that’s coming from that car and working around issues and improvements.

“The original target was to start running the car in 2026. We met that target. The car has been running for a few tests already and it’s definitely done more than 2000 kilometers. I can’t tell you the exact figure.”

The spaceframe-based chassis regulations allow manufacturers to drop bodywork from any vehicle onto a WRC27 car so long as it fits within a window of predefined dimensions. That means Toyota’s WRC27 challenger will share the same drivetrain as the GR Yaris Rally2, but can run bodywork matching another vehicle from Toyota’s road car lineup.

Toyota does not currently mass-produce a vehicle matching the shape shown in the testing photos. However, the FT-Se concept car demonstrated by Toyota in 2024 hinted at a future two-door coupé model positioned below the current Supra flagship and upcoming GR GT.

New sports car with rally prototype undergoing testing...The GR division has changed the course of part of Toyota in recent years. Increasingly committed to motorsport competitions and sports models, the division is about to launch another model soon, one that will be born from the rally tracks.

The first appearance of the model was spotted by photographer Marcio Pereira and published by the French website Rallye-Sport. The images show a two-door coupe under heavy camouflage in the traditional colors of Toyota Gazoo Racing.

The website states that the model will make its debut in the 2027 WRC (World Rally Championship) season, therefore, the official presentation should take place later this year.

According to the specialized portal Autosport, Toyota is the only manufacturer to develop a completely new model for the new rules of the World Rally Championship, which from 2027 will allow diverse body styles, going beyond hatchbacks, as is the case with the current Hyundai i20, Toyota GR Yaris and Ford Puma.

Although Toyota hasn't confirmed it, it's highly likely that the new model will be called Celica, reviving the coupe manufactured between 1970 and 2003. At the 2024 Rally Japan, Yuki Nakajima, Toyota's vice president, declared to the fans present that the brand would produce the Celica.

In the past, Akio Toyota, former president of the company and current chairman of the board, has stated that he would like to revive the "three brothers" Supra, Celica, and MR2, models that marked an era for Toyota in the 80s and 90s.

Another factor reinforcing the idea that the model being tested may be the Celica and not the MR2 is the fact that the Celica has a history in the World Rally Championship, having won four drivers' titles and two constructors' world championships.

Autonews and Mundoquatrorodas

AUTONEWS

Transparent cooling film cuts car cabin temperature by 6.1°C without electricity

A transparent radiative cooling film technology that dissipates heat directly to the outside without consuming electricity has been developed to reduce vehicle overheating during summer. The technology was validated through real-vehicle experiments conducted under diverse conditions—including different countries, seasons, and both parking and driving scenarios—and demonstrated the ability to lower cabin temperatures by up to 6.1°C and reduce cooling energy consumption by more than 20%.

Seoul National University College of Engineering announced that a research team led by Prof. Seung Hwan Ko (Department of Mechanical Engineering, SNU), in collaboration with Prof. Gang Chen at MIT and research teams from Hyundai Motor Company and Kia (Materials Research & Engineering Center and Thermal Energy Total Development Group), has designed and fabricated a large-area Scalable Transparent Radiative Cooling (STRC) film applicable to vehicle windows. Through real-vehicle evaluations conducted under various climatic and driving conditions, the team demonstrated both energy-saving and carbon reduction effects.

Conceptual illustration of vehicle application of large-area transparent radiative cooling filmThis figure presents the concept of applying a four-layer STRC film to vehicle glass, which simultaneously achieves visible light transmission, near-infrared reflection, and mid-infrared emission. Credit: Energy & Environmental Science

Vehicles exposed to solar radiation in summer experience rapid increases in cabin temperature, resulting in substantial cooling energy consumption. Conventional automotive Low-E coatings and tinting films can partially block incoming solar radiation but fail to effectively dissipate heat already accumulated inside the vehicle, thereby limiting their cooling performance.

Radiative cooling technology, which has attracted attention as an alternative, simultaneously blocks incoming solar energy and emits internal heat to the outside, enabling passive cooling without electricity. However, most previously developed radiative cooling materials are opaque, making them unsuitable for application to vehicle windows, which are the primary entry points for heat.

To overcome this limitation, the research team developed a large-area transparent radiative cooling film with a multilayer structure that maintains over 70% visible light transmittance, reflects near-infrared solar radiation, and emits heat from the vehicle interior in the mid-infrared range. This film suppresses temperature rise inside the vehicle without consuming electrical energy and reduces the time required to reach thermal comfort, thereby minimizing energy consumption in electric vehicles.

Analysis of CO₂ emission reduction in the United States based on vehicle evaluations in summer and winterBased on evaluations of cabin temperature and heating/cooling energy consumption under parking conditions in both summer and winter, this analysis estimates the potential reduction in carbon dioxide emissions if the STRC technology were applied to vehicles across the United States. Credit: Energy & Environmental Science, originally published in Energy & Environmental Science

Real-vehicle experiments conducted across different climatic regions—including Korea, the United States, and Pakistan—and under varying conditions such as summer and winter, as well as parking and driving scenarios, confirmed that vehicles equipped with the STRC film consistently maintained lower cabin temperatures under all conditions.

Notably, the cooling energy savings achieved in summer significantly outweighed any increase in heating demand during winter. In addition, simulations based on real vehicle data showed that the time required to reach a comfortable cabin condition after activating the air conditioner was reduced by 17 minutes. According to the research team's analysis, applying this technology to all passenger vehicles in the United States could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 25.4 million tons annually—equivalent to removing about 5 million vehicles from the road.

First author Min Jae Lee (Seoul National University/Hyundai Motor Company–Kia) stated, "This study is particularly meaningful in that it goes beyond laboratory-scale performance and validates the technology using real vehicles under diverse national, seasonal, and operational conditions."

Prof. Ko added, "This is the first study to experimentally demonstrate that transparent radiative cooling technology can be effectively applied in real vehicle environments."

Hyundai's Nano Cooling Film...The product, called Nano Cooling Film, would be applied to the vehicle's windows. According to the company, internal temperatures could be reduced by more than 22°C.

Announced in 2023, the film blocks external thermal energy while allowing internal heat to escape.

Hyundai tested the product's effectiveness by applying the film to 70 vehicles in Lahore, Pakistan. In the region, temperatures reach an incredible 50°C, and curtains are prohibited for safety reasons.

The test results showed a 10.98°C reduction in the driver's seat temperature compared to conventional tinted film.

The thermometers also registered 12.33°C less compared to the same vehicle without tinted windows.

On the car's interior surfaces, the film reduced the surface temperature by 15.38°C compared to a vehicle with conventional film and by 22°C compared to one without film.

Provided by Seoul National University

AUTONEWS

Consumer Reports: the most reliable car manufacturers aren't European

There are consumers who prefer powerful cars, others who prioritize economical ones, and there are even those who favor more spacious or comfortable models, but what no driver appreciates are vehicles that insist on breaking down on the side of the road, or that need constant repairs at the workshop. Consumer Reports (CR) conducts an annual reliability study, in which it directly contacts owners to determine which brands and vehicles have fewer reliability problems, and in 2025 alone, 380,000 drivers were surveyed about the problems and difficulties created by their vehicles.

The most recent edition of the CR study once again pointed to vehicles with simpler mechanics as those that tend to exhibit higher levels of reliability, with more complex models being penalized, especially the most recent ones or those that have benefited from a greater number of improvements or updates. One way to summarize the study's conclusions is to point to the superior reliability of models with combustion engines. Among electrified vehicles, purely hybrid ones shine, registering the fewest problems. On the opposite end of the spectrum, that is, with lower reliability, are 100% electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids.

The 2025 ranking was led by exactly the same manufacturers. Toyota took first place, with 66 points, followed by Subaru (63) and Lexus (60), while in 2024 the top three most reliable brands were Subaru (68), Lexus (65) and Toyota (62), confirming the traditional build quality of Japanese brands. The 4th position in the ranking belonged to another Japanese manufacturer, Honda (59), with the first European manufacturer appearing in 5th place, BMW with 58 points.

The top 10 also includes Nissan (57) in 6th place, Acura (Honda's luxury brand) in 7th, and Buick (51) in 8th, with Tesla (50) in 9th place. Tesla climbed the most in the CR ranking, having been only 17th in 2024 with 36 points. Kia (49) completes the top 10 most reliable brands, being the first South Korean manufacturer, beating Ford (48), Hyundai (48), Audi (44), Mazda (43), and Volvo (42), which took 15th place.

The top 20 also includes Volkswagen (42) in 16th place, followed by Chevrolet (42), Cadillac (41), Mercedes (41), and Lincoln (40). It's important to remember that this CR study takes place in the USA, which means that some of the brands represented are not sold in Europe, and the same is true for the models. But there are indeed many manufacturers that market their vehicles on both sides of the Atlantic, which justifies the interest of Europeans in this annual reliability ranking.

A brief analysis of the CR ranking allows us to conclude the aforementioned Japanese superiority in terms of reliability, placing six Japanese representatives in the top 10, but also highlighting the good performance of BMW — with the 2 Series achieving 73 points and the X3 only 42 — and Tesla, with the latter having the Model Y scoring 81 points, but being hampered by the presence of the Cybertruck with only 34. As for European manufacturers, in addition to BMW's 5th place, you have to wait until 13th position to find Audi (which was 7th in 2024, ahead of BMW), until 15th position to discover Volvo, with VW appearing in 16th and Mercedes in 19th place.

by Autonews