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The U.K. is falling behind in employing robots as firms make do with older machines or hire human workers.

Penske Truck Leasing has joined Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a coalition of industry leaders that seeks to educate and assure the public about automated vehicles, according to a news release from the two organizations.

More than half of Chinese consumers can’t wait to get out from behind the wheel and into an autonomous car. That makes China more positive than most about driverless vehicles, with Western consumers cooler on the technology.

The first major self-driving taxi service needed six months to reach 1,000 customers, another sign that growth may be slow as companies try to build businesses around autonomous vehicles.

General Motors Co.’s self-driving unit drew $1.15 billion in fresh investment, with T. Rowe Price Associates Inc. joining existing backers, including Honda Motor Co. and SoftBank Vision Fund.

Elon Musk described autonomous-driving technology as “transformative” to Tesla Inc. in a call aimed at ginning up interest in the electric-car maker’s debt and stock offering of about $2 billion, according to two people who dialed in.

As FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. beef up automation to keep pace with surging e-commerce and a potential threat from Amazon.com, they’ve been stumped at a crucial stage: loading and unloading trucks.

The Technology & Maintenance Council is evolving to contend with the necessary maintenance and specification issues that are arising as a result of two advanced technologies that are fast becoming part of today’s trucking scene.

Tesla Inc.’s calling used to be bringing affordable electric cars to the masses. Elon Musk is now ripping up the script, vowing to pair self-driving technology with a sharing service that will make it crazy for consumers to buy other cars.

UPS Inc. is counting on algorithms you can’t see to prove that investors were wrong to doubt its three-year, $20 billion technological makeover. It’s all part of CEO David Abney’s bet on squeezing out costs and becoming more nimble as UPS adjusts to surging e-commerce deliveries.