Trucks | FoT: Baidu robotaxis, Teleo, Ample

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Baidu's dirt-cheap robotaxis: all in for around $30k, battery not included (link). Battery not included because of their swapping model. 'Base fares start as low as 4 yuan (around 55 cents), compared with 18 yuan (around $2.48) for a taxi driven by a human, according to state media outlet Global Times.' From an article earlier in the year on the launch, we see that the vehicle has 5 LiDAR units among '40 sensors in total' and 1200 TOPS (link). China is entering the ultra low cost EV and AV era before America has even come up with a national standard.

On the fall of Northvolt, Europe's once shining example of a battery manufacturing future (link). 'Demand for battery-powered vehicles in Europe stagnated this year, growing only 1.3% in the first half of 2024, down from 14.6% in the previous year.'

Tesla gets the hype, but Waymo and May Mobility get the rides (link). Related: May announces its second driver-out AV service city, in Ann Arbor, MI (link).

EREVs rising: Lotus cancels its all EV plan, goes for range extenders (link). 'Lotus will develop 'Super Hybrid' technology with ultra-fast plug-in charging along with a turbocharged combustion engine to extend overall range to 680 miles.'

Automakers urge Trump to preserve EV tax credits (link). Related: How the Trump administration can fix the IRA to strengthen the battery industry (link).

The current state of US AV regs, at the tail end of the Biden administration (link).

Audio: Roderick Blevins on creating a 'hydrogen rebellion' for trucks and SUVs (link). Video: Harry Metcalf explains why towing with an EV is problematic (link). Via Diego. Video: bundling an automotive wiring harness (link). Via MH. Video: Volvo's new EX90 ad strikes a chord (link). Video: Figure's humanoid robots in BMW's factory in South Carolina (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Heavy equipment AV startup Teleo raises $16.2M (link). Led by Up Partners, with participation from Trucks.

Swedish hydrofoil startup Candela raises $14M (link). Led by EQT Ventures.

Seattle auto finance startup Keysavvy raises $4.3M (link). Led by Bonfire Ventures.

Skyryse wins partnership with ACE Aeronautics to integrate SkyOS into Black Hawk helicopters (link).

Colorado EV charging startup Iontra raises $45M (link). Led by Volta Energy Technologies.

Battery swapping startup Ample raises $25M (link). Led by Mitshubishi Corporation.

Truck unloading startup Pickle Robot raises $50M (link). Led by Teradyne Robotics Ventures.

A rare 2024 EV SPAC: Hudson Acquisition acquires Aiways Europe for $410M (link).

Vehicle repair AI startup Revv raises $20M (link). Led by Left Lane.

Uber reportedly looking to invest in Pony's US IPO (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Volkswagen: former Porsche and Rivian executive Kjell Gruner named CEO of Volkswagen of America (link).

Assurant: Kevin Warren joins board (link).

Boeing: Tim Buckley joins board (link).

Meyers Manx: Co-CEO Jennifer Flake steps down (link).

Asbury Automotive Grp: Shamla Naidoo joins board (link).

Wolfspeed: Gregg Lowe departs as CEO, board: Thomas Werner promoted to Chair & interim-CEO (link).

US DoT: Sean Duffy will be Trump’s pick for secretary (link).

Featured Jobs:

Founding Software Engineer, V2G VPP Platform at Bidirectional Energy (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:

Rivian and Tesla get to conditional settlement in trade secrets lawsuit (link).

Jaguar's relaunch as an EV-only brand starts with their new marketing compaign 'Copy Nothing' (link). Not a great launch (unless, as has been written, it's merely a head fake joke until the real launch in 2025).

Hyundai's INTIUM fuel cell hydrogen vehicle concept from LA Auto Show (link).

Joby Aviation VTOL now available to fly in Microsoft Flight Simulator (link).

FCC finalizes new spectrum V2X rules (link).

Canadian Space Agency awards Xona Space Systems contract to support the development of a low-earth orbit satellite navigation receiver (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application for an inflatable lift system (link).

Zoox's patent application for fleet training methods when downtime vehicles have available capacity (link).

Statistics / Projections:

PWC's 2024 report on software-defined vehicles (link to PDF). 'Chinese vehicle models are the most advanced with regard to SDV characteristics, and have surpassed US and EU players.' Fairly high-level, but includes a few different approach strategies.

A compendium of data on US road quality (link). Via Frederick / Diego.

Thank you:

Thank you to Bryce Dabbs (link), Igino Cafiero (link), Luis Dussan (link), Jon Frederick (link), Madalina Pruna (link), Lee Rawlings (link), Mike Schroepfer (link) and Peter Sorgenfrei (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Bidirectional Energy (link), Croft (link), Skyryse (link), Teleo (link), Xona Space Systems (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

The things that matter don't necessarily make sense (RCH),

Reilly Brennan