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Welcome back to The Station, your central hub for all past, present and future movement of people and packages from Point A to Point B.
Last week, I noted that July is EV truck summer (for me). When I zoom out, though, it looks like summer of course editing. In other words, a lot of companies from carmakers and tech giants to suppliers and startups are restructuring, shuffling executives and laying off employees. And not just in America; this is happening in Europe also.
Just look at Volkswagen Group. CEO of VW . Group Herbert Diess are leaving – and quite suddenly. Suffice to say, the executive involved has been on the wire, so to speak, for a while. I was expecting this day to come, but not now and not this way.
The company announced his departure on Friday just hours after Diess posted a LinkedIn post that looked like a chat. Porsche boss Oliver Blume is taking his place, which raises many questions, including how this might affect Porsche’s IPO plans. Blume clearly holds the top position at Porsche and runs the entire VW Group. Other executive shuffles include Volkswagen of America CEO Scott Keogh to take the lead of VW brand new EV spinoff Scout.
In some other cases, entire companies are closing. Perceptual automation data was one of those who suddenly closed. Autonocast, the podcast I co-host with Ed Niedermeyer and Alex Roy, recently spoke with Sam Anthony about the demise of the startup, what he learned, and his thoughts on the AV industry . It’s rare for a founder to be so outspoken right after a demise like this. Listen.
And with that, let’s dive in.
As always, you can email me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share thoughts, criticisms, opinions or tips. You can also send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec
Micromobbin’
Welcome to the world of tiny electric cars. Let’s start with the news of the past week.
Goods sell e-bikes has doubled in the UK between January and May when petrol prices are high.
GetHenrya manufacturer of bicycles and tricycles, hence the name Cycle, Report by Haje Kampsas he scratched his head at the unconventionality of the new name choice.
Hawaii Residents can now get a e-bike discount $500limited to 20% of the purchase price.
Ola Palace To be invest 500 million dollars established a battery innovation center in India following a series of motorcycle fires.
Mercedes-EQ Formula E team has created a collection Luxury, high performance, sleek e-bike. The minimalist design includes concealed battery and motor, digital control panel, phone charging function and more. Currently taking pre-orders.
Swytch showing it off not-so-pocket-but-still-really-small battery it’s part of the company’s do-it-yourself e-bike adapter.
Floor its first test IoT module developed in-house, named ‘The Parrot’, in London and later Norway and France. Tier says Parrot gives the scooters improved geofencing and geofencing capabilities.
Weel only one new self balance bike built without chains or gears, but packed with smart car features – including sensors like cameras, radar, and the trunk lid.
HAVE Scooters launched a very cute e-scooter that goes up to 15 mph and costs $599.
ZapBatt has partnered with Toshiba to create a new battery option for micro-mobility, an option based on lithium titanium oxide, which the companies say makes for a faster, smarter, and cheaper battery. .
See you next week!
– Rebecca Bellan
Trading of the week
This is not a deal of the week. Multiple deal ecosystems have been created by Amazon’s effort to get as many products into the hands of customers as quickly as possible, combined with a decade of technological breakthroughs, labor shortages, and growth. E-commerce skyrocketed.
Here effective convergence led to major acquisitions and funding rounds for warehouse robotics startups. And growth seems to be infinite, according to CEO of Locus Robotics, Rick Faulk, Berkshire Gray SVP Jessica Moran and Melonee Wise, who founded Fetch and is now Vice President of Robotic Automation at Zebra Technologies. I interviewed the trio in Top collaborator session: Robots events last week.
Faulk revealed in the interview that Locus is planning an IPO within the next 12 to 18 months. Keep stable.
Here are some other deals that I noticed this week.
Bain Capital and a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agree to get Merchants Automotive Group, DBA Merchants Fleet and Merchants Auto.
Gbikea Korean e-scooter company, acquisition of the micro-platform of Hyundai ZET.
Koffie InsuranceBrooklyn, a New York-based road and transportation insurance company, raised 11 million dollars in a Series A funding round led by Anthemis Group, along with existing investors Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Plug and Play Ventures. New investors include CP Overture, Breakout Capital and Two Lantern Venture Partners.
MOVSa Swedish micromobility subscription service, has raised $4.3 million to expand across Europe.
Natron Energymaker of sodium-ion batteries, has raised $7 million from Nabors Industries.
Notable news and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicle
BaiduChinese search engine giant has invested money in AI and autonomous vehicle technology, has revealed a new all-electric robotaxi which they plan to deploy on a large scale across China.
Kodiak Robotics founder Don Burnette Explains Why Automated freight can prevent inflation (subscription TC+)
Pony.ai scored a license to charge for unmanned robotaxi rides in Beijing, in an area of 60 square kilometers.
A turtle (more phones than autonomy) has partnered with hospitality giant Sodexo to bring a Mobile smart store to Comic-Con This year.
Income
Earning season is upon us and Tesla was the first. Result? Tesla’s second quarter earnings report tells two stories: one about a quarterly decline due to manufacturing challenges, and the other showing incredible year-over-year growth. The question is whether the pain in the second quarter is present in the rearview mirror?
In our opinion, a lot of news came out of the call, including some surprisingly positive solar number (not solar roof tile) and plan price increase of its trademarked “full self-driving” beta software, the advanced driver assistance system that the CEO Elon Musk said would mean the difference between a company “worth a lot of money or essentially zero value.” Musk confirms that Cybertruck will really until the middle of 2023. Will this day slip again?
On another note, Tesla can manage on its own, but Musk’s important projects can distract other projects. Along Controversy in TeslaMusk also has a number of issues and controversies outside of the company, namely the Twitter deal that has gone awry and is now disputed and a alleged adultery with the wife of Google co-founder and longtime friend Sergey Brin, can make it difficult for him to focus on the company.
Tram
Amazon has started delivering packages in more than a dozen cities using custom electric truck built by Rivian.
Cadillac reveal it six-figure Celestiq sedan is expected to drive the brand’s electrification portfolio. It’s a great looking car but I wonder if the timing is off (economically speaking).
Ford reveal a plan that tells what its plan looks like strengthen its battery supply chain is part of a global strategy to sell more than 2 million EVs annually by 2026. The automaker, is investing $50 billion to expand its battery-electricity portfolio through 2026., said it plans to increase battery capacity, shorten its supply chain and use lithium iron phosphate batteries for some of its electric vehicles.
Tesla get one dedicated border patrol lanes for suppliers traveling from Nuevo León, Mexico, to Texas. The automaker is also subject to another special investigation by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in connection with the crash of a Tesla Model Y in 2021 kill a motorcyclist in California earlier this month.
Toyota is cooperating with Suzuki Motor Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co. and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies to build commercial electric truck next year.
Xiaomia Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer specializing in e-scooters and more, is launching First electric car the next month.
The future of flight
Joby Aviation applied to its aircraft design certified in the UK. Startup eVTOL is also currently pursuing “type certification” with the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Rolls royce car and Hyundai are working together to develop fuel cell electric propulsion system for advanced air mobility.
Vertical aerospace partnered with Babcock International, an aerospace, defense and security company, to explore new applications for its VX4 eVTOL.
Call and deliver
Altoa ride-hailing company that does not employ a contract economist, expand to friday market. Can it be successful?
Lyft yes expand its joint trips to other markets, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, Washington DC, Boston, Portland and San Diego. While it expands, it also pruning staff and end-to-end programs, such as home car rental programs.
Uber Eats To be update its grocery delivery service with new features like scheduled delivery, better support for in-store shoppers, and live order tracking for customers.
Uber agree to settle a lawsuit Alleged that the bus company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by charging too much for people with disabilities.
Of Great Britain Application Drivers and Courier Providers Alliance organize a 24-hour strike hold Uber accountable for its findings Uber fileA series of leaked classified documents show how the bus company broke the law, secretly lobbied the government and exploited the safety of its drivers to expand dramatically from 2013 to 2017.
People
One Hyundai Motor Subsidiaries have use child labor at a plant that supplies parts for the South Korean automaker’s assembly line in nearby Montgomery, Alabama, Reuters reported. A wonderful and terrible story for which I am grateful is about to come to light.
