Trucks | FoT: Motive, ZF ADAS, Skyryse

Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2025.12.29
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Should US-based automated vehicles have teleoperators within the US? (link). Some say it's only teleoperation if it's within the same country -- otherwise, it’s just sparkling remote control.

Is the combination of Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern net positive for the US? (link). 'Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern’s plan to combine, announced in the summer, would put around 40% of rail freight in the hands of one railroad, prompting concerns that competition in the rail sector would suffer and lead to higher shipping rates for customers.' The companies created a website describing the benefits of the merger (link) and white paper (link) and hosted a discussion recently where they fielded questions (link to audio).

Americans cannot talk about vehicle powertrains without feeling politically attacked (link). Men will loudly complain about electric vehicles and/or gasoline engines instead of going to therapy.

Engineer at Tier 1 supplier Lear uncovers bogus KGB intelligence dossier (link).

Ridehailing drivers have a clean criminal record, but clean based on what time period? (link). 'Uber rejects prospective drivers who have been convicted of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and terrorism. But in 22 states, The Times found, the company approves people convicted of most other crimes — including child abuse, assault and stalking — so long as the convictions are at least 7 years old.'

Video: Somewhat hard to explain this front-wheel ghosting bike trick (link). Video: four-paw rally hairpin (link).

Ford engineer who invented dashboard fuel arrow dies at age 80 (link). Original 1986 memo: 'The indicator or symbol I have in mind would be located near the fuel gauge and simply describe to the driver on which side of the vehicle the fuel fill door is located.'

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Telematic startup Motive files for IPO (link). Biggest surprise from reading the S-1 (link) is that the customers are now well beyond trucking (into things like construction and field management). Around 70% margins with good diversification: over 8,200 'Core Customers' (accounts with >$7.5k in ARR) and 349 'Large Customers' (>$100k ARR). Running at $500M ARR, but still not profitable.

TrueCar acquisition by Fair through its final approvals (link).

Battery-swapping startup Ample files for Ch 11 bankruptcy (link).

ZF’s ADAS business acquired by Samsung's Harman unit for $1.8B (link).

Uber and Lyft partner with Baidu for AV trials in UK (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Driven Brands: Timothy Johnson joins board (link).

Amprius Technologies: Tom Stepien promoted to CEO, was President; succeeds Kang Sun (link).

Curated Jobs:

Marketing Associate at TurnSignl in Minneapolis, MN, USA and hybrid (link).

Technical Program Manager (Robotics AI) at TorqueAGI in San Francisco, CA, USA (link).

Hiring? Post a job (link). If you're a startup, use code 'Trucks' for free standard listings.

Hunting? View all 290 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

Skyryse achieves first SkyOS-equipped Black Hawk helicopter flight (link).

This page tracks Tesla robotaxi activity and sightings (link).

Garmin 'Autoland' system used successfully on Beechcraft airplane in Colorado (link).

VW's Scout brand scores win as it gains Colorado approval for direct to consumer sales (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application shows distributed nodes for teleoperation driving (link).

Statistics / Projections:

An estimated 2.45 million cars on the road likely have their odometers rolled back, 14% more than last year (link). Via Carrier Management / CARFAX.

On average, Chinese carmakers take 1/2 as long as Western and Asian rivals to develop new vehicles (link). Via FT / Alix Partners.

The most reliable cars in the US are (non-plug-in) hybrids (link). 'Hybrids, which combine a gas engine, electric motor, and battery, have 15% fewer problems on average than gas-only cars. EVs and PHEVs have about 80% more problems on average than gas-only cars.' Via Consumer Reports.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Skyryse (link), TorqueAGI (link), TurnSignl (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been (Rilke),

Reilly Brennan