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As cars become screen-dense digital environments, Volvo is reframing typography as critical safety infrastructure. Volvo Centum is a custom font designed to improve glance-based comprehension while driving.The Swedish automaker partnered with type studio Dalton Maag to engineer a font that minimizes cognitive load and maximizes clarity across digital interfaces. Every letterform was calibrated for split-second readability, with adjustments made for different lighting conditions, screen sizes and reading distances. The typeface supports over 800 languages, including complex scripts like Chinese and Arabic, ensuring consistent performance whether displayed on a dashboard in Stockholm or Shanghai. It debuts in the upcoming EX60 model before rolling out across Volvo's ecosystem.
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Marketing and Advertising
To further push the limits of consumerism, Google has launched a new open standard for agentic commerce that's called Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP). In brief, it's a framework that combines the power of AI agents and online shopping platforms to help customers buy more things. Thanks to the introduction of UCP, Google is offering three new online shopping features. To start, Google's AI mode will have a new checkout feature that allows customers to buy eligible products from certain US retailers within Google Search. Currently, this feature works with Google Pay, but it will soon add PayPal compatibility and incorporate more capabilities, like related product discovery and using loyalty points. On the merchant side, the UCP also established the Business Agent feature, which Google said will be "a virtual sales associate that can answer product questions in a brands voice." The Business Agent will launch tomorrow with early adopters including Lowes, Michaels, Poshmark, Reebok and more. Also for retailers, the UCP is responsible for the new Direct Offers feature, which lets companies advertising with Google to "present exclusive offers for shoppers who are ready to buy, directly in AI Mode." The Direct Offers feature will work in tandem with the ads in AI Mode that Google is testing. With UCP, Google Search, retailers and payment processors are joining forces to make online shopping even easier, whether it's figuring out what product to buy, completing the purchase or offering "post-purchase support." According to Google, UCP is compatible with existing industry protocols, like Agent2Agent, Agent Payment Protocols and Model Context Protocol. UCP was even co-developed with industry giants like Shopify, Etsy and Walmart, and was endorsed by even more companies in the commerce ecosystem, including Macy's, Stripe, Visa and more.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/googles-new-commerce-framework-cranks-up-the-heat-on-agentic-shopping-212433122.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
The loss of the federal EV tax credits may have been a huge blow to prospective buyers, but California wants to fill that gap for its residents. Governor Gavin Newsom's proposed budget for 2026-2027, which was released on Friday, includes a "light-duty zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) incentive program" that details a one-time infusion of $200 million. According to the budget summary, this incentive program is "a critical part of the Administration's strategy to keep ZEVs affordable and accessible for all." The proposed budget still has to make it through the state's legislature later this year, but if passed, the new incentive would help continue the momentum of EV adoption across California. In the third quarter of 2025, the state saw almost 30 percent of auto sales being EVs, according to the California Energy Commission. There are no details in the budget summary outlining how exactly the $200 million would break down on a per-vehicle basis, but USA Today reported that the rebate would be an "on the hood" instant discount for EVs. Previously, buyers would get up to $7,500 back in federal tax rebates on new EV purchases and up to $4,000 on used EVs. For California's proposed incentives, the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board, Lauren Sanchez, told USA Today that the state is still trying to figure out if it will offer tax credits for those who buy used EVs.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/californias-governor-plans-to-set-aside-200-million-for-state-ev-tax-credits-194446449.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
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