Trucks | FoT: Alt, CA credits, Ampeco

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Calculating the impacts of a looming 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico imports to the US (link). 'The list of popular vehicles made in Mexico or Canada is long. It includes Ram pickups made by Stellantis in Saltillo, Mexico, and Chrysler minivans built in Windsor, Ontario. General Motors makes Chevrolet Silverado pickups and electric versions of Equinox and Blazer S.U.V.s in Mexico, where Ford Motor also makes its Maverick pickup.'

Drivers are more likely to stay alert if they're forced to hold the steering wheel a little bit (link). This follows my belief that Level 1 and Level 4 are the 'best levels' because they have just enough engagement (by the human, level 1) or just enough responsibility (by the manufacturer, level 4) to set us up on the right path.

California considers its own tax credit for EVs should the federal one disappear (link). WSJ opinion: Gavin Newsom turns on Elon Musk (link). ‘Mr. Musk called the Governor’s proposal “insane” and noted that Tesla is the only company that produces EVs in California.’ Related: roll back of $7500 federal credit could mean additional monthly payments for buyers of $200-$250 (link).

More softening on EV-only strategies: Porsche reportedly plans hybrid and gas versions of previously thought EV only models (link). It's going to be more expensive to keep up the engineering across all of these formats, but it will be even more expensive for some brands to go all-in on one that doesn't sell to expectations.

Inside Redwood Materials, founded by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, as it looks to hit $200M in revenue this year (link).

Early reviews of USPS's new mail truck are positive from letter carriers (link). 'Goofy but it grows on you.'

The robotaxi effect: Uber and Lyft drivers in AV cities say their wages are down (link). 'John, a 43-year-old Uber and Lyft driver in Phoenix, said he thought Waymo One's robotaxis had hurt his earnings. He said Waymo One autonomous vehicles competed with him for rides and were sometimes cheaper than Uber and Lyft trips, which he thought could deter passengers from using traditional ride-hailing services.' Upon its launch, Uber was a step change better than a taxi cab; today, Waymos are a step change better than an Uber.

Video: Indian EV startup River upgrades its Indie scooter to a single-speed gearbox and chain drive (link, link to brand video). Video: aero bicycling backpack by RAF claims lower drag, faster speeds (link). Video: building a tiny V-8 (link). Via EA. Video: new video series inside Joby, this one about their in-house motor build (link). Via JF. Video: a traffic engineer tries to solve America's worst traffic bottleneck (I95 and SR4 in Fort Lee, NJ) (link). Audio: Bot Auto CEO (and former TuSimple CEO) Xiadi Hou on the Shift podcast (link). Video: Harry Metcalf details his engine upgrade in his Fiat 500 (link). Via Diego.

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Indian EV startup Alt Mobility raises $10M (link). Led by Eurazeo.

Former TuSimple exec urges liquidation (link). 'Hou claims TuSimple’s stock trades at US$0.24 per share, although it holds US$1.93 per share in cash.'

EV charging platform startup Ampeco raises $26M (link). Led by Revaia.

Canadian logistics startup Fleetops rebrands to Class8, raises $22M (link). Led by Xplorer Capital. Via JT.

Chinese AV firm Pony hits $4.5B valuation after NASDAQ debut (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Stellantis: CEO Carlos Tavares resigns (link). Who's up next to shepherd this loose assortment of legacy brands through their late ICE era? What if the Chrysler brands could be spun out (again)? Paging Bob Lutz to the nearest courtesy telephone.

Dana: James Kamsickas resigns as CEO; Bruce McDonald promoted to CEO, continues on board (link).

Tritium Charging: Arcady Sosinov named as CEO (link).

Featured Jobs:

Director, Install Operations at Treehouse in Chicago, IL USA (link).

Electrical Engineer, Harnessing at Skyryse in El Segundo, CA USA (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). If you are a startup you can use the job board for free standard listings — just enter 'Trucks' at checkout.

New Stuff:

Even though GM eliminated Apply CarPlay and Android Auto from its new cars, this device adds it back (link). Via Weans.

Tesla appears to be building a teleoperations team for its upcoming AV service, based on a recent job posting (link). Via Marco.

Oregon's first material AV lawsuit moves forward after man in Tesla drives through stop sign and hits another driver (link). 'Michael Ward's lawsuit states that he suffered fractures to his face, teeth and spine when Ngoc Phuong Anh Dinh’s Tesla crashed into the passenger side of his car.'

Patents & Patent Applications:

Waymo's patent shows vehicles positioning collaboratively to better view intersections (link).

Ford's patent application shows EREV design (link).

Statistics / Projections:

By the end of 2024, some 4000 auto dealerships will have closed in China, a new record (link). Via Automotive News / China Automobile Dealers Association.

Chinese EV sales projections for 2024: 7.8M units, up about 28% from 2023 (link). Via WSJ / Barron's / Citi.

China doesn't just export more EVs than anyone else, but more automobiles overall (link). Via NYT. 'China has more than 100 factories with a combined capacity to build close to 40 million internal combustion engine cars a year. That is more than twice as many as people in China want to buy, and sales of these cars are dropping fast as electric vehicles become more popular.'

Thank you:

Thank you to Kaleb Dumot (link), Jon Gordon (link) and Jamie Gull (link), for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

River (link), Skyryse (link), Treehouse (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

If we can winter this one out, we can summer anywhere (SJH),

Reilly Brennan