Trucks | FoT: Carplay, Cruise, Gatik

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Riding along in robotaxis in China, subject to oversight of a particular kind (link). 'Most robot taxis are no longer required to have safety drivers, but one remote operator must be assigned for every three vehicles...Xiaomi soon issued a statement saying there was nothing wrong with the car that crashed. The article suggesting otherwise then disappeared from China’s internet, except for a few screenshots taken by internet users.'

Koopman: Lessons from the Cruise pedestrian dragging mishap (link, link to pre-print PDF paper). This paper is the most detailed second-by-second account of the Oct 2023 event I have read to date. It is required reading for those in and around the AV landscape.

EU's new tariffs on China-made EVs: up to 48% (link). Related: Germany trying to prevent or soften EU tariffs on China EVs (link). BYD's numbers are still so good: 'Even with the added tariffs, BYD’s profit per car in Europe could still be around one-and-a-half times higher than the same car sold in China, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Nick Lai said in a note.'

Railroads fear losing out to trucks if California gets its way (link). Via Sam S. 'If CARB is successful in securing approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California’s In-Use Locomotive Regulation, adopted by the state last year, would require all locomotives manufactured after 2035 that travel though the state of California be zero-emission – effectively banning the operation in California of locomotives that are more than 23 years old.'

Apple's WWDC developer conference shows the new architecture of CarPlay, which is now structured in various remote and local UIs on the vehicle and or phone (link to architecture video, link to design video). Via JM. It's still amazing to me that some automakers are choosing to turn their back on CarPlay.

Pricey copper in EV charging plugs attractive for thieves (link). Via JT. 'Until a month ago, police in Houston knew of no cable thefts. Then one was stolen from a charger at a gas station. The city has now recorded eight or nine such thefts, said Sgt. Robert Carson, who leads a police metal-theft unit. In one case, thieves swiped 18 of 19 cords at a Tesla station...The charging companies say it’s become clear that the thieves are after the copper that the cables contain. In late May, copper hit a record high of nearly $5.20 a pound, a result, in part, of rising demand resulting from efforts to cut carbon emissions with EVs that use more copper wiring. The price is up about 25% from a year ago, and many analysts envision further increases.'

Video: Gatik co-founder Apeksha Kumavat on the Freightwaves Truck Tech podcast (link). Video: 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans race highlights (link). Video: the famous <5-min Audi gearbox change at Le Mans in 2000 (link). Watching this live in 2000 was (and remains) one of the most important and inspiring things I've ever seen in the auto world. Video: the insane engineering of the F-117 Nighthawk (link). Video: NES Paperboy perfect speedrun (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

AV middle mile startup Gatik raises strategic investment from Japan's Itochu (link).

GM announces a new $850M commitment for Cruise (link). It's not clear if this amount is separate from the 2024 figure that Mary Barra announced in Q1, or is separate to support the company's upcoming Texas test deployments.

Private equity loves car washes: 6 more recent deals (link). 'The professional investor class has discovered the appealing attributes of the car wash business: the basic service, strong margins, low working capital, labor-efficient, recurring revenue base, and that the industry is highly fragmented and ripe for consolidation.

NYC ebike leasing startup Whizz raises $12M (link). Led by Leta Capital and Flashpoint VC.

Sodium-ion battery startup Unigrid raises $12M (link). Led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital.

BYD plans $14B investment in ADAS and AV (link).

Former UK EV van startup Arrival files for bankruptcy (link). 'The company announced this week that it filed for bankruptcy on May 16 in Luxembourg, where Arrival is based.'

German used EV startup Cardino raises $4M (link). Led by Rosberg Ventures.

Vehicle data startup Zendrive acquired by Intuit (link).

Indian AV startup Swaayatt Robots raises $4M (link). Led by Anand Mahindra.

Tesla shareholders vote yes again to approve Elon Musk’s $56B pay plan (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Mobileye: Elaine Chao joins board (link).

Xperi: Jeremi Gorman, Roderick Randall join board (link).

Faraday Future: Li Han resigns from board (link).

Featured Jobs:

Aerodynamic Analysis Engineer at JetZero in Long Beach, CA, USA (link).

Embedded Software Team Leader at Aurora Labs in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israel (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:

Polaris and the State of Michigan announce off-road EV charging network (link).

May Mobility launches City of Detroit pilot AV route (link). ‘The Detroit AV service will provide free rides to select residents age 62 and older or who live with disabilities.’

Mercedes-Benz readies 400kW DC fast chargers for North America (link).

Tern AI shows its GPS-free navigation and positioning system (link).

Waymo issues software and mapping recall after robotaxi crashes into a telephone pole (link).

Tesla driver tells police he was using 'self-drive' system when his car hit a parked police vehicle (link).

Collaborative charging network Ionna announces its headquarters as Durham, NC (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows drone-based off-road navigation (link).

Apple's patent application for an augmented reality windshield (link).

Rivian's patent application shows 'pass thru charging' for linking multiple vehicles (most likely vans) in a row to a charger (link).

Statistics / Projections:

In Stellantis's 2024 Investor Day, the company pointed out that just 13% of 2023 new car sales were connected and enabled for monetization (link). Via Augustin Friedel. Full Stellantis Investor Day presentation here (link).

46% of surveyed EV owners in the US say they want to go back to an internal combustion engine vehicle (link). Via Automotive News / McKinsey.

Almost half of used-car shoppers say the oldest vehicle they would consider is in the 3- to 5-year-old range (link). Via AutoRemarketing / Cars Commerce.

Global satellite industry revenue climbed 2% year-on-year to $285 billion for 2023 (link). Via Space News / Satellite Industry Association.

New vehicle prices dropping slightly: about 41.2% of vehicles sold last month transacted for less than $40,000, up from about 37% a year ago (link). Via MSN / Cox Automotive.

In the U.S., the average severity of a claim for a repairable EV was $6,066 in the first quarter, nearly 30% higher than for internal-combustion-engine (ICE) vehicles (link). Via WSJ / Mitchell.

Thank you:

Thank you to Maggie Szaszko (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Aurora Labs (link), Gatik (link), JetZero (link), May Mobility (link), Zendrive (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan