Founded in 1915, SEM launched its first ignition systems for natural gas engines in 2000: since then, it has developed a range of fuel ignition products, injector stators, and linear position sensors for engines fuelled with natural gas, hydrogen, and other alternatives to diesel.

Startling claims were made by two panellists on the mainstage of the Anaheim convention centre on the first day of the ACT Expo. The first – Peter Ludwig – announced that software-defined vehicles will make today’s vehicles look as outmoded as the steam train. The second claim came from David Liu, who said that self-driving vehicles will be the industry’s greatest invention since the diesel engine. These men have business interests in the development of software-defined and autonomous vehicles; we would expect them to say as much. A moderate response to the advent of these technologies came from Sherry Sanger – executive vice president of strategy and marketing at Penske Transportation Solutions – who sat on a different panel: she warned delegates not to rashly take up a new technology or “solution” without first having a clearly-defined problem for it to solve.