Trucks | FoT: Data sharing, Applied Intuition, Telo

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Automakers found sharing consumer driving behavior with insurance companies, which itself isn’t exactly new, but will certainly be news to many car owners (link). Via Weans. 'According to the report, the trip details had been provided by General Motors — the manufacturer of the Chevy Bolt. LexisNexis analyzed that driving data to create a risk score “for insurers to use as one factor of many to create more personalized insurance coverage.' Dahl: 'They’re taking information that I didn’t realize was going to be shared and screwing with our insurance.' Related: Florida man sues GM and LexisNexis over sale of his Cadillac data (link).

Only 1 of 14 ADAS systems gets a passing grade from IIHS's new study (link). I do not agree with IIHS or Verge calling these systems partial autonomy because it reinforces the same problems they are trying to avoid. 'IIHS tested partial automated systems in 14 vehicles, including popular ones like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, GM’s Super Cruise, and Ford’s BlueCruise. Only one was found to be acceptable: Lexus’ Teammate with Advanced Drive. Two were rated marginal: GM’s Super Cruise and Nissan’s ProPilot Assist. And the rest, including BlueCruise and Tesla’s FSD, were rated poor.' Related: full report from IIHS (link).

How an Uber Eats worker created UberCheats, a web app that computed the actual distance a courier traveled, after suspecting algorithmic error and underpayment (link).

How the Panama Canal works: it's a canal that is also a lake (and a reservoir) (link). Via Prepared.

Petition urges NHTSA to stop calling OTA updates 'recalls' (link). We need a full vocabulary discussion around new automotive technology.

Charting the fall of Fisker after Marques Brownlee's influential review of the brand's SUV just weeks ago (link).

Understanding what e-bike rebates can and can't do (link).

Next Autopilot trial to test Tesla's blame-the-driver defense (link). 'I got so comfortable under Autopilot, that I ended up blowing by exits because I was immersed in emails or calls.'

On JSX Airlines clever loophole for semi-private aviation (link). Via MF. 'Combing through US Federal Aviation Administration regulations, he learned that while scheduled flights with more than nine seats have to meet onerous safety and security requirements, on-demand public charters have separate, less stringent rules. Though, they can’t specify flight times or cities or sell single seats. To get around that, Wilcox decided to create two companies that would work together: One would make a flight schedule and sell tickets, and a second would fly the aircraft on specified routes at set times and dates. In reality, though, it’s one entity working behind the scenes.'

Video: Revoy shows its powered truck trailer (link). Video: Out of Spec reviews its Cybertruck after one week (link).

'21 Century Balconies' is a future design concept showing how a balcony space is also a really good private drone port (link). Via Danny S. 'Units with balconies in New York command a premium over those without them due to the convenience of balcony delivery.'

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Vehicle software simulation startup Applied Intuition raises $250M (link). Led by Lux Capital.

UK logistics startup Packfleet raises $10M (link). Led by General Catalyst and Voyager.

Toronto micromobility platform Joyride raises $5.2M (link). Led by Yamaha Motor Ventures.

Honda and Nissan to forces on some parts of EV development (link).

EV mini truck startup Telo raises $5.4M (link). Led by Spero Ventures.

AV startup Motional reportedly receives bridge funding from Hyundai (link).

Women in Autonomy and Women in Automotive Technology merge (link).

GM's head of software, Michael Abbott, steps down due to health reasons (link).

Shift Technologies digital assets acquired by Autonomy CEO Scott Painter (link). 'Court records show TrueCar founder Scott Painter bid $35,000 in an auction for the domain names, trademarks and social media accounts of Carlotz, Autoacquire, Canvas and Xchange Leasing. And in a separate agreement, he bid $120,000 for the platforms, patents and records of Shift and Fair Technologies.'

Morgan Olson chooses Rivian skateboard for electric delivery vans (link).

Uber and Lyft to leave Minneapolis over new pay rules (link). 'The Minneapolis City Council voted to approve an ordinance that will guarantee drivers $1.40 per mile and 51 cents per minute.'

Teleoperation startup Phantom Auto shuts down (link).

India changes EV tariffs to lure Tesla and others (link). 'India said Friday that it would drastically cut import duties on certain electric vehicles for manufacturers who invest at least $500 million to produce their cars in the country, the world’s third-largest automotive market.'

Board Changes:

Hertz: Gil West named CEO and board member; Stephen Scherr departs as CEO and board member (link).

Advance Auto Parts: Brent Windom, Gregory Smith, Thomas Seboldt join board (link).

Copart: Jayson Adair promoted to Executive Chairman; Jeffrey Liaw promoted to CEO, joins board (link).

New Stuff:

Waymo opens AV service in LA this week, will launch in Austin by end of the year (link).

Labour unions are urging the Biden administration to investigate China’s ship-building dominance (link). 'The petition, which the US government now has 45 days to respond to, seeks a variety of penalties and remedies to level the global playing field in shipbuilding and stimulate demand for commercial vessels built in the US. These include port fees on Chinese-built ships docking at US ports, and the creation of a Shipbuilding Revitalisation Fund to help the domestic industry and its workers.'

Assessing the total cost of driving competitiveness of zero-emission trucks (link).

Zoox announces expansion of routes, speeds and hours in California and Nevada (link).

Upstream's report on the state of automotive cybersecurity (link to PDF).

Valeo presents Valeo Racer, a new extended reality in-car gaming experience developed with Unity (link).

Toyota builds one-off Totoro cat bus (link).

P&G Japan to cut delivery trucks 30% using AI demand forecast (link). 'P&G Japan currently uses about 180,000 trucks a year and a 30% cut would slash about 54,000 trucks.'

Patents & Patent Applications:

Ford's patent application shows smart claw for delivery van interior loading (link).

Rivian's patent application for a vehicle convoy system (link).

Featured Jobs:

Manager, Business Development at Drop Mobility, remote (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.

Statistics / Projections:

Surveyed US drivers express fear (66%) or uncertainty (25%) about fully self-driving vehicles, but remain interested in more ADAS features (link). Via AAA.

More car owners are underwater on loans due to lower trade-in values (link). Via WP / Edmunds. 'The average new-car buyer with an upside-down loan owed a record $6,064 at the end of 2023, up from $5,347 a year earlier and $4,143 in the last quarter of 2021.'

US EV registrations up 15% in Jan 2024 compared to 52% the same month last year (link). Via Automotive News / S&P Global.

World battery supply is currently vulnerable to disruptions in China for both chemistries: 80% of NMC cathodes and 92% of LFP cathodes include minerals that pass through China (link). Via Nature.

Among mass market BEV owners, satisfaction with public charger availability is 32 points lower than a year ago (link). Via JD Power.

China's ICE manufacturing plants are over capacity as EV demand rises (link). Via FT. 'In 2023, China produced 17.7M internal combustion engine cars, a 37% fall from its prior peak in 2017, according to data from Automobility, a Shanghai consultancy. Bill Russo, the former head of Chrysler in China and founder of Automobility, said the precipitous decline of internal combustion engine car sales meant as much as half of the industry’s installed capacity — about 25M out of 50M units’ annual capacity — was not being used.'

Thank you:

Thank you to Jim Gibbs (link), Stanton Green (link), Ameya Gorkhe (link), Jamie Gull (link), David Merrill (link), Tom O'Keefe (link), Ginoh Song (link), Holger Weiss (link), Jon Wood (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Drop Mobility (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan