Trucks | FoT: Waymo, Scout, BasiGo

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

Volkswagen Group launched the Scout brand's revival with an SUV and pickup truck, notably with both BEV versions and an extended-range EV model using a gasoline engine, or EREV (link). I'm not sure if this is a Rivian design homage but parts are definitely Rivian-influenced on the exterior, despite what Jason says here (link). But where this gets more interesting than Rivian almost immediately is the inclusion of an EREV option out of the gate. It's possible that these Scout models become the first true A/B test for consumers in the US of BEV / EREV; I expect the EREV will do well and likely form the majority of the first year sales in 2027. In a first (for a brand owned by an incumbent), Scout is saying it will forego a traditional dealer network and sell directly (link).

The FAA finalizes pilot training and certification rules for VTOLs and cleared the way for them to share airspace with helicopters and airplanes (link). Among aviation friends this was seen as one of the critical last steps for VTOL’s progress; 2025 is expected to be the year of first VTOL operations for Joby Aviation.

Why Chinese EV and AV tech companies are turning to IPOs for cash: because the private markets are dry (link). 'In Hong Kong’s biggest share sale this year for a primary listing, Horizon Robotics raised $696M in an initial public offering this week. The chipmaker for self-driving cars, backed by Alibaba, Baidu, BYD, Intel and Volkswagen, sold 1.36B shares at HK$3.99 to value the company at $6.7B — about 23% lower than the $8.7B it was worth based on its last funding round in December.'

Tesla has actually been testing its robotaxi service in the Bay Area for the last year (link). 'The company’s employees have been able to summon an autonomously operated Tesla vehicle for trips using the company’s prototype ridehailing app, Musk said. The vehicles arrive with safety drivers behind the wheel, ready to intervene in case anything goes wrong.'

Harley Davidson's Livewire brand reportedly makes more money from children's bikes than electric motorcycles (link). Via DF. 'In the third quarter, LiveWire sold $3.2 million in children’s balance bikes compared to just $1.2 million made from selling 99 electric motorcycles.'

Riding the rails on a pedal-powered bike (link). Via Victoria.

Considering deterministic AI vs generative AI in transportation (link). Via Skyryse.

Video: a look at the renonovation of GM's design headquarters (link). Featuring our friend Natalie Morath. Video: your own scale model windtunnel (link). Video: more remarkable road line painting examples (link). Video: Bryce Menzies's 380-foot trophy truck leap (link). Video: Ford CEO Jim Farley talks about driving the Xiaomi SUV for competitive testing (link). Video: testing MIT's toroidal drone propellers (link). Video: Miatas at Martinsville, or what my friend Diego says is the Reese's peanut butter cup of racing (link). Video: advanced ways to load your bike (link). Via Diego.

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Waymo raises $5.6B (link). Led by Alphabet. This is reportedly the closing of the round previously announced in 2024, not a separate new round. Waymo's valuation is about 1/20 that of Tesla today; will it be that way in 5 years?

African EV bus startup BasiGo raises $42M (link). Led by Africa50 with support from Trucks.

Rental startup Kyte shrinks to survive (link).

San Diego battery startup Unigrid raises $10M (link). Led by LG Technology Ventures.

IP of former AV startup Ghost Autonomy acquired by Applied Intuition (link).

Yard truck AV firm Outrider raises $62M (link). Led by KDT and NEA.

EV motorcycle and ebike startup Fuell files for bankruptcy (link).

Joby launches $200M public offering ahead of 2025 commercial eVTOL release (link).

Finnish EV charging infrastructure startup EVA Global files for bankruptcy (link).

German VTOL startup Lilium files for insolvency (link). 'In a U.S. regulatory filing, Lilium — which is listed on the Nasdaq — said it had not been able to raise sufficient additional funds to continue the operations of Lilium GmbH and Lilium eAircraft GmbH, the firm’s two main subsidiaries.'

Even in low-profile mode, GM is spending $435M per quarter on Cruise (link).

Valeo and TotalEnergies partner on immersive cooling solution for batteries (link).

Boeing reportedly considering selling off its space business (link).

Board & Executive Changes:

Southwest Airlines: David Cush, Sarah Feinberg, David Grissen, Gregg Saretsky, Patricia Watson join Board, succeed Gary Kelly, David Biegler, Veronica Biggins, Roy Blunt, William Cunningham, Thomas Gilligan, Jill Soltau (link).

Eaton: Andre Schulten joins board (link).

Quantumscape: Dennis Segers, Gunther Mendl join board as Volkswagen designees; Segers appointed Chair of Board (link).

Featured Jobs:

Director of People at Nauto in Bay Area, CA, USA (link).

Sr. Design Engineer (Mechanical/Electro-mechanical) at Joby Aviation in San Carlos, CA, USA (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:

Wayve starts US testing of its AV service, in San Francisco (link).

License plate as a vehicle wrap (link). Via Ed.

Amazon announces fuel, EV savings for Prime Members at certain US retailers (link). 'Prime members can now save $0.10 per gallon at approximately 7,000 bp, Amoco, and ampm gas stations across the U.S...in 2025, Amazon plans to add an electric vehicle charging savings offer with bp pulse, bp’s electric vehicle charging business.'

FTC hits Lyft with $2.1M penalty for luring drivers with false earnings claims (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application for an augmented cooling system for a backup battery (link).

Waymo's patent shows vehicle routing based on how much/little the rider would like to interact with the vehicle (link). This is one of the rare instances of Waymo filing new IP regarding semi-autonomous applications, not just fully L4 autonomy.

Statistics / Projections:

Unpacking the impact of Hurricane Milton on EV chargers in Florida: Milton made landfall on October 9th and by the October 11th over 85% of chargers in Florida were back online (link). Via Stable.

Thank you:

Thank you to Robin Hutcheson (link), Mohsen Moazami (link) and Jason Townsend (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

BasiGo (link), Joby Aviation (link), Nauto (link), Skyryse (link), Stable Auto (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

schieß dem fenster,

Reilly Brennan