Trucks | FoT: Via, May, Radia

Trucks | Future of Transportation for 2025.09.15
FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

'This Model Does Not Work Anymore:' VW Group CEO gets candid on EVs and global markets (link). For incumbents, a switch to 'All EV' as a product vision is having its indigestion moment.

The long winding path of Jeep's downfall inside Stellantis (link). 'If Stellantis, formed from the 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA Group, is Elkann’s link to the past, it’s also his problem, and a drag on his portfolio. “John Elkann longs to trade pistons for pixels, yet the road from Mirafiori to Silicon Valley is treacherous and muddy,” says Carlo Alberto Carnevale Maffè, a professor of business strategy at Milan’s Bocconi University, referring to the site of Fiat’s headquarters. “He’s perhaps betting on sleek M&A to redefine the empire, but the rust in Europe’s car industry demands more than a visionary’s touch to shine.”

After its farming industry takes a hit, Canada reconsidering its tariffs on Chinese EVs (link). 'China, which slapped a 75.8% duty on Canadian canola seed last month, is Canada's largest canola seed importer, with seed exports making up the vast majority — $4 billion — of Canada's $4.9 billion in canola product exports to China in 2024.'

75% of commercial drones are made by DJI, which might become illegal in the US (link). 'Mr. Yoder recently had to let go of two of his 22 employees because he couldn’t get enough DJI drones to sell to make payroll.'

Ram cancels its BEV truck, but keeps plans for the EREV (link). From a supplier friend and FoT reader: 'OEMs are all asking how they can get more EREVs into product cycles sooner.'

Because Tesla's door handles won't open without power, they present a problem for passengers and first responders in case of a crash (link).

Fake exhaust, real ticket: Minnesota man fined for Dodge Charger EV's nonexistent loud exhaust (link).

Humanoid robots as hype or hope for hardware makers? (link).

Video: a look at the $1B Hot Wheels economy fueled by adults (link). Video: drone-jamming gun (link). Video: pre-running the Baja in your Lambo (link). Video: an argument that the Honda Fit is a race car in sheep's clothing (link). Via Diego. Video: Michael Knight meets KITT for the first time, (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

US mobility platform startup Via raises nearly $500M in IPO, valuation near $4B (link).

US AI startup Viaduct acquired by Sumitomo (link).

African vehicle pricing startup Koto acquired by Africar Group (link).

Stellantis-controlled Italian engine manufacturer VM Motori sold to Marval (link).

Dutch battery startup Leydenjars raises $15M (link). Led by Extantia and Invest-NL.

Indian EV platform startup Snape Cabs raises $2.5M (link). Led by Inflection Point Ventures.

Indian battery recycling startup PeakAmp raises $1.4M (link). Led by Caret Capital.

EV marine startup Arc wins $160M in orders for its electric tug boats (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Sirius XM: Dave Stephenson joins board (link).

Curated Jobs:

Lead Simulation Engineer at May Mobility in Ann Arbor, MI USA (link).

Director of Software at Quadric in Burlingame, CA, USA (link).

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

Hunting? View all 445 postings on the MobilityJobs job board (link).

New Stuff:

May Mobility and Lyft launch robotaxis in Atlanta area (link). The first wave of the partnership will have safety drivers in vehicle.

Zoox launches its robotaxi service in Las Vegas, for free at the moment (link). Via Jason N.

SAFE's new report on AI in transportation (link to PDF). 'Despite AI's benefits, the U.S. Department of Transportation has only recently begun incorporating AI into its regulatory actions. DOT ranks behind several federal agencies in the total number of AI-related rules to date, underscoring the need for stronger federal leadership in applying AI to transportation.'

Radia is a massive airplane made to transport wind turbine blades (link). Via Diego. 'At 108 meters in length, WindRunner will look like an oil tanker that’s sprouted wings.'

These wheels make real cars look like Hot Wheels (link).

Trucks and Tuks is a new book by Christopher Herwig on elaborate decorated vehicles of South Asia (link).

Roush delivers its first AV truck to Kodiak (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Waymo's patent application shows how an AV can be used for tour trips (link).

Statistics / Projections:

The average new vehicle price in the US for August 2025 was $49,077 (link). Via Cox Automotive.

Hourly pay for ridehailing drivers dropped in AV markets over the last year (link). Via Gridwise report. 'Hourly pay fell across all AV-active cities from July 2024 to July 2025, with the sharpest drops observed in Austin (–5.3%) and San Francisco (–6.9%). Los Angeles (–4.7%) and Phoenix (–3.8%) also posted year-overyear declines, though to a lesser extent.'

A 1% increase in Work From Home contributes to a 1.8% reduction of daily average transportation emissions per capita (link). Via David Z. / Cornell.

List of busiest passenger flight routes: Jeju -- Seoul, Sapporo-Chitose -- Tokyo-Haneda, Fukuoka -- Tokyo-Haneda (link). Via Don R. / Wikipedia.

Thank you:

Thank you to Harry Campbell (link), William Krut (link), Garry Innanen (link) and Andy Poppink (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

May Mobility (link), Quadric (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

Choose your corner and pick away at it carefully and intensely (Charles Eames),

Reilly Brennan