Trucks | FoT: Xiaomi SU7, Waymo, Zoomcar

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

China's Xiaomi unveils its first EV, the SU7 (link). Xiaomi is the world's second largest cell phone manufacturer (behind only Samsung), making this announcement a bit like a Chinese preview of the Apple Car. The exterior design of this is part Tesla and part Porsche. If the beating heart of a cell phone is software, power management and chips, who is to say the cell phone manufacturers will not become great car makers? Related: designer Chris Bangle gives his thoughts after a walkaround (link). I was able to interrupt our friend and China expert Mike Dunne during his holiday break for his thoughts on the SU7; his response: 'Billionaire founder Lei Jun entered China’s smartphone market during a period of extreme competition 13 years ago. Against all odds he found a way to win. Mr Lei aims to duplicate that success in China hyper competitive EV market. His edge will be a deep knowledge of what customers like in tech. And hundreds of millions of Xiaomi phone customers.'

Dr. Missy Cummings on the need for transparent AV safety metrics (link). Cummings points out the problems with recent papers published by Waymo: 'One of the most serious problems with P1 is its use of the Blanco et al. 2016 paper, which is not peer reviewed. Nowhere mentioned in either P1 or P2, which also relies on the Blanco, et al. paper, is the fact that Google, Waymo’s parent company, paid for this study. The fact that this was not disclosed anywhere in either P1 or P2 raises serious disclosure and transparency issues.'

Ohio governor signs law 'to safeguard the state from EV requirements' (link). EVs are becoming 2024's most active political weathervane.

LiDAR goes political as Hesai faces backlash from US competitors (link). 'The San Francisco-based lidar firm Ouster is appealing to Congress to stop the hemorrhaging by stoking fears that Chinese versions of the technology could be used to spy on Americans and deliver intelligence about sensitive U.S. infrastructure to Beijing...Hesai customers include robotaxi companies Cruise — which is backed by General Motors — and Zoox, along with automated trucking company Kodiak Robotics.' Quote from a Hesai customer: 'The Hesai scanning lidar is the only sensor on the market that has the performance and reliability we need to operate. There just simply isn’t another option available at any price.'

'Novel helmet liner 30 times better at stopping concussions' (link). Via Weans. 'Thevamaran built upon his previous research into vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) foams – carefully arranged layers of carbon cylinders one atom thick – and their exceptional shock-absorbing capabilities. Current helmets attempt to reduce rotational motion by allowing a sliding motion between the wearer’s head and the helmet during impact. However, the researchers say this movement doesn’t dissipate energy in shear and can jam when severely compressed following a blow. Instead, their novel foam doesn’t rely on sliding layers.' More here (link).

WSJ writer: 'Testing Tesla’s Autopilot recall, I don’t feel much safer — and neither should you' (link). 'Last weekend, my Tesla Model Y received an over-the-air update to make its driver-assistance software safer. In my first test drive of the updated Tesla, it blew through two stop signs without even slowing down.'

Preppers' new must-have: ebikes (link).

China's robotaxi players take a step back (link). 'Deeproute, which is backed by Alibaba, significantly scaled back its robotaxi operations this year and plunged right into supplying ADAS to automakers. Its production-ready solution, which includes its smart driving software and lidar-powered hardware, is sold competitively at $2,000.'

DriveGPT4 is an end-to-end AV driver via large language model (link).

Brad Templeton's AV 2023 in review: the fall of Cruise (link).

Inside Nio: Electric car group’s boss William Li and his fight for survival (link). 'Nio’s sales to the end of November this year are up 33% at about 142,000 vehicles, putting it ahead of almost all foreign brands in China’s EV market, though well behind Tesla and Warren Buffett-backed BYD, according to HSBC data. But making cars is notoriously expensive. Five years after listing on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange, Nio still loses $12,000 for every car that rolls off its production lines, president and co-founder Lihong Qin told the Financial Times recently.'

Video: Gordon Murray's first prototype T50 (link). Video: bike hunting in Amsterdam's canals (link). Video: Ford F-150 Raptor R vs. Rivian R1T Off-Road Comparison Test (link). Via Diego. Video: Polestar Synergy concept (link). Video: Matt Farah and Jason Cammisa discuss Jason't Cybertruck review (link). Audio: Alex Roy on the AI in Automotive podcast (link).

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Zoomcar closes SPAC deal, eyes immediate trading on Nasdaq (link).

Unpacking the failure of Superpedestrian (link).

Ola's planned 2024 IPO will test enthusiasm for India’s EV story (link). 'EV market penetration stood at about 5% of all two-wheeled scooters at the end of December, up from only 1.12% two years ago, according to data shared by Jato Dynamics, an automotive research firm. Bain believes that India’s two-wheeler EV penetration has the potential to jump to over 45% by 2030.'

Board Changes:

United Airlines: Garth Thompson resigns from board (link).

New Stuff:

Sixt to phase out Teslas from rental fleet due to poor resale value (link). Via MD.

China's first homebuilt superliner to make maiden voyage in January (link).

Browse Porsche color library through a visual color picker (link). Via Ed.

Alaska has a special license plate for Iditarod finishers (link). Via Ryan A.

Patents & Patent Applications:

BMW's patent application for reverse driving towing assistance (link).

Zoox's patent application shows remote monitor interface (link).

Featured Jobs:

Finance Manager / Head of Finance at Teleo in Palo Alto, CA, USA (link).

Chief Architect at Skyryse in El Segundo, CA, USA (link).

MobilityJobs is the No.1 job board for auto & transportation companies (link). Startups can now post standard jobs for free. Just use the code 'Trucks' at checkout.

Statistics / Projections:

'Ridesharing has decreased U.S. traffic fatalities by 5.4% in areas where it operates' (link). Via MIT research. 'Based on conventional estimates of the value of statistical life the annual life-saving benefits are $6.8 billion.'

Range Rover thefts increase, forcing higher insurance rates and lower residuals (link). Via Bloomberg / Auto Trader. 'The average cost to insure a Range Rover more than doubled to £3,270 in the year to October...The average price of a used Range Rover has fallen 9.3% since May to £35,224, versus declines of 5.7% for all luxury SUVs and 2.8% for all cars, data from car site Auto Trader shows.'

While 2023 numbers aren't yet official, Americans are on track to buy a record 1.44M EVs in 2023, about the same number sold from 2016 to 2021 total (link). Via Bloomberg NEF / The Atlantic.

Thank you:

Thank you to Brian Fellows for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

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

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan