China's Great Wall Motor to use sensors made by AMS to build semi-automated cars

AMS said on Thursday its sensors will be used in vehicles built by China's Great Wall Motor Co Ltd from 2022 onwards, an important step for the Austrian company toward its goal of diversifying into the auto industry.

Great Wall Motor, China's top pickup truck maker, plans to bolster growth with electric vehicles. It already builds Ora, an affordable battery electric vehicle brand, and it has partnered with BMW for electric car production.

AMS said technology developed in cooperation with Germany's Ibeo Automotive Systems, a specialist for optical sensors that use lasers to produce three-dimensional pictures of a car's environment, so-called lidars, will be a core component of a new generation of Great Wall Motor's vehicles.

These vehicles will allow hands-free automated driving under certain conditions.

AMS, best known as a supplier for Apple Inc's iPhones, sees significant growth potential with applications for autonomous cars as those will need numerous sensors to detect the environment and help navigate roads.

To gain a foothold in the market, it bought the much larger leader for car headlights, Osram, aiming for package solutions that combine lights and sensors.