Trucks | FoT: Vitesco, Auriga, EVPassport

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Tesla announces plans to release an official developer API (link). From a commenter in this piece: 'Elon was saying many years ago that 10 million units is about the number needed for an app store to make sense, so with them being in the 5 million cars now it makes sense for them to start.' Related: GM announces its Uservices API and joins COVESA (link). From a former Big Three exec: 'every few years everyone gets to re-announce their API strategy to sound smart -- remember that GM has been talking about their APIs since at least 2013 (link). The question remains does anyone care beyond what's already on their phone? This is a necessary step now that GM is abandoning the phone display mirror universe. They will need to actively recruit developers to build.'

Eyes aren't enough: 'Regular looks out the window do not maintain situation awareness in highly automated driving' (link).

Waymo opens up its robotaxi service to all of San Francisco, 24 hours per day (link). Customers on the company’s beta list will be upgraded to full coverage while more will be added in the coming months.

Despite the political theory to the opposite, why today's UAW could see the value in environmentalism (link).

Tesla prices now rival an average US car after price cuts (link). 'At $38,990, the base Tesla Model 3 sedan now costs $8,700 less than the average amount paid for a car or truck in the US. The starting price for a Model Y SUV is $3,700 below the average auto price of roughly $48,000.'

US auto salvage industry, which processes 5% of all 285M cars on the road, braces for impending bounty of junk EVs (link). 'While many petrol-powered cars were 60% steel, EVs contained more aluminum and copper, which is harder to extract than shredding a car and selling the resulting ferrous scrap to a steel mill...It raises costs if you have to spend more time taking things out rather than chucking it all in a shredder. However, you’re dealing with much higher value materials, so that hopefully is what’s driving the economics.'

Video: PHEV or EV? Harry Metcalfe's pragmatic thoughts (link). Via Diego. Video: review of the Farizon SuperVAN in China (link). Video: How Israel's Ben Gurion airport stays open during a war (link). Video: Rivian's RJ Scaringe at Code Conference (link). Video: selling cars with pure enthusiasm and gymnastics in China (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

U.S. announces $7 billion in federal funding to produce hydrogen at 7 regional sites (link). Via Weans.

Electromagnetic space launch startup Auriga Space raises $5M (link). Led by Trucks.

Chinese ridehailing firm Didi reportedly plans 2024 IPO (link).

German inductive charging company Wiferion sold by Tesla to PULS (link).

EV charging startup Chargepoint raises $232M (link).

Vehicle data startup Volteras raises $2.9M (link). Led by Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and Enphase.

Charging infrastructure startup EVPassport raises $200M (link). Led by Northleaf Capital Partners.

German powertrain supplier Vitesco (formerly known as Continental Powertrain) to be acquired by Schaeffler for $3.85B (link).

Indiana EVTOL startup Aerovy raises $800k (link). Led by Purdue Innovates, M25 and the Flywheel Fund.

Mileage reimbursement software startup Cardata raises $100M (link). Led by Wavecrest Growth Partners.

Automated ship startup Saronic raises $55M (link). Led by Caffeinated Capital.

Board Changes:

Lyft: Maggie Wilderotter, Valerie Jarrett resign from board (link).

Cummins: Daniel Fisher joins board (link).

Winnebago Industries: Staci Kroon joins board (link).

New Stuff:

California moves to make speed cameras legal throughout the state (link).

'Hands off, brain off? A meta-analysis of neuroimaging data during active and passive driving' (link).

REVR is an EV conversion kit in the style of a pancake axial flux motor (link). Via Weans.

Trek launches 'Red Barn Refresh' certified pre-owned bikes (link).

Tesla looks to high-margin vehicle wraps instead of paint (link).

Honda unveils electric, self-driving lawn mower (link).

Cruise plans AV service in Houston, TX (link).

Review of Ben Goldfarb's new 'Crossings' book on road ecology (link). Via Lee R.

Stockholm to ban petrol and diesel cars from centre from 2025 (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

Toyota's patent application shows an EV with a fake manual transmission (aka 'manuel') that can stall the car to make it feel more realistic (link).

BYD's patent application shows Ford F-150-like pickup truck designs (link).

Featured Jobs:

Site Autonomy Engineer (Onsite) at May Mobility in Fukuoka, Japan (link).

Certification Engineer, Propeller at Joby Aviation, remote (link).

Business Development Manager at Revolv, remote (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link).

Statistics / Projections:

The average price Americans paid for a new vehicle in September 2023 was down 3.4% from the start of the year (link). Via Cox Automotive. 'EV prices continue to fall, led again by market leader Tesla. In September, the average price paid for an electric vehicle was $50,683, down from more than $65,000 one year ago.'

The annual US average for daily bike trips grew 37% between 2019 and 2022 (link). Via Axios / StreetLight Data. 'Most cycling activity is concentrated in and around big cities — the 100 largest metros accounted for 77% of bike activity nationwide in 2022, up from 72% in 2019.'

'Mobility behavior' is associated with the orientation towards the common good (link). Via Journal of Environmental Psychology. 'Cycling rather than driving was positively associated with orientation towards the common good in all models. Cycling was the only variable that was a significant positive predictor for all four facets of orientation towards the common good after controlling for possibly confounding variables (homeownership, personal income, education, sex).'

Thank you:

Thank you to Greg McGuire (link), John Orr (link), Sasha Ostojic (link) and Danny Stillion (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Auriga Space (link), Joby Aviation (link), May Mobility (link), Revolv (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan