Trucks | FoT: Apple, Fisker/Nissan, Highwaymos

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Waymo receives CPUC approval for operating its AV service in parts of Los Angeles and on San Francisco area freeways (link). Highways and airport pickups are the 'IPO pathway' for AV companies and this is one of the most significant steps for Waymo (or any player) in the US market. Related: Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana in discussion with Kirsten Korosec at Techcrunch's event this week (link).

Apple's Titan vehicle project is dead, for good this time...of course, until Bloomberg reports otherwise in a few months (link). Apple's current 'car business' is CarPlay at >90% US new vehicle penetration, what I would describe as a pretty decent consolation prize. The big what if: Rivian continues to drop in market value through 2024, at which point Apple ends up buying an EV company, instead of building one. Apple spent close to $10B on its automotive project over the last decade, with an additional $10B earmarked that was not spent.

Was Toyota's bet on hybrid cars right all along? (link). 'Adam Jonas, an analyst at Morgan Stanley who confidently predicted that aggressive government regulation and a consumer preference for fully electric models would quickly extinguish the hybrid market, this month admitted: 'I owe Toyota an apology.'

Toyota's Ted Ogawa on the company's EV credit strategy (link). Via Caroline. 'N.A. CEO Ted Ogawa says EVs will be 30% of the U.S. market in 2030, so Toyota will follow consumer demand and buy credits to make up any EPA shortfall...Wasted investment is worse than the credit purchase.'

President Biden: Chinese EVs are a security threat (link).

Inside the massive repair shops where subway cars go for a makeover (link). Via JT. 'Before the overhaul program was introduced, the average distance between failures of a car’s key elements was just 16,000 miles in the 1970s and less than 12,000 in the 1980s, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. But after establishment of the program, it rose to almost 60,000 miles between failures in the 1990s. Now, with the system more or less humming — and the advent of more technologically advanced train fleets that were introduced this century — most cars travel more than 140,000 miles between failures.'

Visualizing how an airfoil works (link).

EVs and companion drones as an emerging trend (link, link). Via Weans. If you look at the patent applications for automakers this has become popular even among the domestics, see also Ford's filings on controlling and pairing drones from the vehicle (link).

Video: Red Bull F1 vs world's fastest camera drone (link). Via JSx. Video: How Gran Turismo developers recorded sounds for the game's 7th edition (link). Video: Toyota GR Yaris vs Morris Mini Cooper S (link). Via Diego.

Rogue editors started a competing Wikipedia that’s only about roads (link). Via Weans.

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Geely-owned EV brand Polestar raises $1B (link).

EV startup Fisker reportedly close to partnership, investment or acquisition with Nissan (link).

Data firm JD Power reportedly for sale by parent company, with a price estimated near $8B (link).

Internal pricing of Cruise's shares reportedly cut down by over 50% (link). 'Cruise employees were told the share price had been estimated by a third party at $11.80, according to an email viewed by Reuters. That's down from a prior estimate of $24.27 just one quarter ago.'

Electric trailer startup Range Energy raises $23.5M (link). Led by Trousdale Ventures.

Israeli battery tech startup Addionics to build USD 400M U.S. plant (link).

Spacecraft manufacturer Terran Orbital reportedly to be acquired by Lockheed Martin for $600M (link). 'Terran went public via a SPAC in early 2022 at a $1.8 billion valuation.'

Boeing in talks to buy back fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems (link).

Swedish ebike maker Cake acquired by Swedish car dealer Espen Digernes (link). Via Diego.

Lawyers in Elon Musk pay case seek $6B in Tesla shares (link).

Tesla designer Peter Blades departs for Skyryse (link).

Board Changes:

JB Hunt Transport: Shelley Simpson promoted to CEO, joins board; Wayne Garrison retires from Board (link).

United Airlines: Rosalind Brewer joins board (link).

Knight-Swift Transportation: Adam Miller promoted to CEO, joins board (link).

Hagerty: Michael Angelina retires from board (link).

Spirit AeroSystems: Jane Chappell joins board (link).

New Stuff:

With GPS data from as few as 6% of vehicles on the road, UofM researchers recalibrated traffic signals, resulting in a 20% to 30% decrease in the number of stops at signalized intersections (link).

Ford customers can now charge on Tesla Superchargers with adapter (link).

Hong Kong revs up autonomous vehicle push, allowing more flexible trials, usage on roads under new regulatory regime (link).

FreeWire shows its Boost Power Pro EV chargers with bidirectional capabilities (link).

Volocopter gets green light to begin serial production of its eVTOLs in Europe (link).

JDS Development Group and Mercedes-Benz announce the launch of Mercedes-Benz Places in Miami (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows routing away from direct sun locations to aid in perception (link).

GM's patent for a holographic front windscreen (link).

Google's patent for monitoring the head movements of remote operators (link).

Featured Jobs:

Technical Support Engineer at Zendrive, remote (link).

NA Sales Director (Remote) at Ottometric (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). Startups can use the job board for free; just enter the code 'Trucks' at checkout.

Statistics / Projections:

US motor vehicle insurance rose 1.4% on a monthly basis in January alone and has risen 20.6% over the past year, the largest jump since 1976 (link). Via NYT.

1 in 5 new car sales globally were EVs in 2023, which curbed oil demand (link). Via IEA.

US revenue generated per store by tire dealers rose 9% in 2022 over 2021, to $1.61 million; revenue generated per store by general repair garages rose 8.9% to nearly $560,000 (link). Via Tire Business / Auto Care Association FactBook and U.S, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thank you:

Thank you to Loan My Descourvieres (link), Alex Mitchell (link) & Zack Freed (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Ottometric (link), Skyryse (link), Zendrive (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan