Trucks | FoT: Zum, Cake, Hesai

FoT is the intelligence arm of Trucks Venture Capital 

Notable:

With heavier curb weights, tests indicate US guardrail system can’t handle heavy EVs (link).

In new US Dept of Defense report, popular Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai is added to Section 1260H list of 'Chinese military companies,' which notes entities allegedly working with Beijing's military (link). Hesai has been used as a low-cost LiDAR on nearly every startup AVs I've seen (even in the US). On the company's website they still list Zoox and NVIDIA among their official AV partners. In a report last year, Forbes quoted data from Yole Group that stated Hesai had roughly 2/3 of the global LiDAR market (link). That appears likely to change.

Indian consumers love EVs, but for their infrastructure growing pains (link). 'More than 22.6 million vehicles, including scooters, were sold in India last year with EVs accounting for 6.3% of total sales. That may not sound like much, but it is a nearly 50% jump in EV's share of the market from a year earlier, according to government data. With just 11,000 charging stations nationwide, the government has acknowledged the need to dramatically boost that figure to meet ambitious goals for emissions-free electric vehicles.'

China challenges the west for driverless car supremacy (link). Via JT. 'Since early 2020, Wuhan has been infamous as ground zero for the Covid-19 pandemic. But the central Chinese city might now be on the cusp of global recognition for a different reason: boasting the world’s biggest fleet of cars that drive themselves. Wuhan is emerging as a key testing centre for the fledgling technologies, critical infrastructure and regulatory landscape underpinning autonomous driving in China.'

A cycle of misery: the business of building commercial aircraft (link). Via Diego. 'The cost of developing a new commercial aircraft can be a significant fraction of, if not greater than, the entire value of the company. The $186 million Boeing spent developing its first jet airliner in 1952, the 707, was $36 million more than the company was worth. When Boeing began development of the 747 in 1965, the company was valued at $375 million, less than a third of what it spent on the 747’s development. Most other programs aren’t quite so lopsided, but still represent enormous risk.'

Unpacking the DoE's $7B hydrogen hubs investment (link). Via Tom G.

Chinese AV startup TuSimple in export entanglement after trying to move NVIDIA chips to Australia (and allegedly China) (link). 'Autonomous-trucking company TuSimple, facing several federal investigations, was preparing to exit from the American market for China when the CEO directed his staff to ship advanced semiconductors out of the U.S. The 24 Nvidia chips, bound for a newly established subsidiary in Australia, never made it.'

Nat Bullard's annual report on decarbonization is self recommending (link). This is like if Mary Meeker's report focused on climate data and investments.

Video: a few examples of futuristic idiots wearing Apple Vision Pro while driving Teslas (link, link). Actually they aren't futuristic idiots, they are idiots now. Video: behind the scenes at the 2024 Dakar Rally (link).

Even as car industry looks to crush AM radio, US Congress may rescue it (link). 'Conservative talk show hosts, FEMA are fighting carmakers, tech industries in lobbying battle over drive-time radio.'

M&A / Deals / Changes:

Indian ride hailing startup BluSmart raises $25M (link). Led by ResponsAbility.

California school bus transport startup Zum raises $140M (link). Led by GIC.

Renault cancels planned IPO of EV unit Ampere (link). 'But the decision may mean that alliance partners Nissan and Mitsubishi may now not invest in the unit, finance chief Thierry Piéton said. Both Japanese carmakers still have the option to invest, but 'whether they come in or not is something we need to discuss,' Piéton said on Monday evening.'

Moon harvesting startup Interlune raises $15.5M (link).

GM plans budget cut on Cruise AV unit; planning $1B for 2024, down from roughly $2.5B in 2023 (link). That GM committed to a $1M figure is a surprising move; it seems to suggest that the company won't completely turn off Cruise (which was rumored over the first of the year).

Irish transport data startup Cityswift raises $7.5M (link). Led by Gresham House Ventures.

Swedish ebike manufacturer Cake files for bankruptcy protection (link).

Volvo Cars to stop funding Polestar, may hand stake to Geely (link).

Aptiv says in quarterly call that it will stop funding Motional, its AV joint venture with Hyundai that was formed after its NuTonomy acquisition (link).

Elon Musk's $55B pay package for Tesla performance is struck down by Delaware judge (link). Related: Elon's board keeps the boss's secrets (link). Via Weans.

UPS Weighs Sale of Coyote Logistics, which it bought for $1.8B in 2015 (link).

Board Changes:

Trimble: Kara Sprague, Ron Nersesian join board (link).

LiveWire: Edel O’Sullivan resigns from board (link).

SES AI: Brian Krzanich joins board (link).

Patents & Patent Applications:

GM's patent application for a gamified heads-up display experience during vehicle calibration (link).

Ford's patent application for a stair-climbing robot (link).

Featured Jobs:

Team Leader at Aurora Labs in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Tel Aviv District, Israel (link).

Landing Gear Design Engineer at JetZero in Long Beach, CA USA (link).

NA Sales Director at Ottometric in Detroit, MI USA or remote (link).

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

Statistics / Projections:

Chinese new-energy vehicles (fully electric and plug-in hybrids) to dealers in January dropped 37% from December to 700,000 units (link). Via China’s Passenger Car Association / Bloomberg.

Hybrids accounted for 9.3% of new light vehicle registrations in the United States from January to November in 2023, outstripping those of EVs by 1.8% (link). Via S&P Global Mobility / Reuters.

10 ways of looking at EVs in 2024, by Glenn Mercer (link).

The most loved automotive brands in the US: Rivian, Mini, BMW (link). Via Consumer Reports. 'Brands are ranked on the average percentage of owners who said in CR member surveys that they would buy the same vehicle again.'

Global clean energy investment jumps 17%, hits $1.8T in 2023 (link). Via BNEF.

China takes over lead from Japan as No.1 auto exporter globally (link). Via AP / Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association / China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. 'The Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association reported Japan exported 4.42 million vehicles in 2023, up 16% from a year earlier, while domestic auto sales totaled nearly 4.78 million vehicles. According to figures released earlier by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China exported 4.91 million vehicles last year. That was nearly 58% more than the year before. Much of the increase was driven by shipments of electric and hybrid vehicles.'

Germany’s dream of 15M EVs is fading away (link). Via Bloomberg / VDA. 'In Germany, sales are set to drop 14% this year in response to the government yanking subsidies in December, the first decline since 2016, according to the VDA lobbying group.'

Gridwise's gig driver mobility report (link). 'Uber experienced a notable 66.3% increase in trips from January 2022 to the end of 2023.'

The average cost of car insurance in the US rose more than 14% between the end of 2021 and 2022, before soaring another 20% by the end of 2023, the largest one-year increase since the 1970s (link). Via The Guardian / US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Thank you:

Thank you to Ismail Hammami (link), Shayle Kann (link), Conrad Metz (link), Aaron Peterman (link), David Rinder (link), Tobias Salzig (link), Adam Stein (link) and Rudi Thun (link) for offers of introductions to new founders, investors and friends over the last week.

Trucks portfolio companies mentioned in this issue:

Aurora Labs (link), JetZero (link), Ottometric (link). View the full portfolio of Trucks companies (link).

See you next week,

Reilly Brennan