Samsung secures self-driving car permit in California Volkswagen sees SUV expansion in United States

Samsung Electronics said on Thursday it has received a permit to test self-driving vehicles in California, marking the entry of the world’s largest smart phone maker four months after iPhone maker and arch rival Apple received a permit. Its parent company in May secured permission from South Korean authorities to test a self-driving car fitted with its own sensors and software systems.At that time, South Korean officials said the company planned to use the car to develop a self-driving car algorithm that could drive in adverse weather. In a statement to Samsung did not say what precisely what it planned to test in the United States but said it secured the permit "in pursuit of a smarter, safer transportation future."

REUTERS< Volkswagen is seeking to end its bit-player status in the US with an expanding line-up of the crossovers and SUVs that Americans love to buy, aiming to more than double market share in the coming years. “We have a plan to become successful here in the United States in the next years as a relevant volume player,” Herbert Diess, global head of the Volkswagen brand, told reporters at the company’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee. “We can’t win America over in two years’ time. It’s a 10-year plan, but we are committed.The German carmaker, which now sells three sport utility vehicles in the US with this spring's addition of the Atlas, plans to introduce a fourth utility model by 2020, said Hinrich Woebcken, Volkswagen of America's chief executive officer. REUTERS<