BYD partners Singapore to develop smart electric cars

SINGAPORE -- Chinese automobile-maker BYD and Singapore's Institute for Infocomm Research have signed an agreement on a joint lab to develop electric cars with autonomous vehicle sensors, they said on Wednesday.

They will develop over 100 smart cars for test-bedding in Singapore, the two sides said.

The cars will have drive-by-wire systems that use electronic controls to "activate the brakes, control the steering and operate other systems in the vehicles."

The two sides will also develop an autonomous vehicle fleet management system that can dynamically allocate the cars based on real time information or the vehicles' location, route, and origin- destination information.

The Agency for Science, Technology and Research, the parent organization of the Institute for Infocomm Research, said it will contribute its expertise in integrating autonomous vehicle technologies, while BYD will bring its expertise in developing electric vehicles.

BYD is one of the leading electric car manufacturers.