Happy Friday! This week in mobility... new vehicles are on the horizon, and more.
Need to Know
The headline this week is new vehicle hype. To keep things short and sweet, let’s do a quick hits of some notable announcements…
Acura unveiled its Precision EV concept, inspired by boats. Polestar announced that the roadster concept it unveiled in March, the O2, will become the Polestar 6 and enter production in 2026. Lucid showcased its 2024 Air Sapphire tri-motor flagship vehicle. GAC Trumpchi Emkoo was launched in China with a striking design. And Mahindra updated the twenty-year-old design of its Scorpio Classic in India.
In Other News
🏛️ Regulatory. The US is doubling the number of clean transit buses in the country with $1.6 billion in funding from the latest infrastructure bill. The US DoT awarded $49.2 million in grants to support innovation for the country’s transport systems. The UK plans for its first self-driving vehicles to be on public roads by next year. Tesla’s Supercharger Network is facing some legal challenges in Germany, where the chargers do not meet current requirements for EV chargers. And China’s State Grid has reduced EV charging power during peak hours in some parts of the country amid a power crunch.
🛞 Autonomous Tech. Xiaomi unveiled the Xiaomi Pilot Technology for autonomous driving.
⚡ Mobility Ecosystem. Ford, General Motors, and BMW are partnering with Sacramento’s utility to roll out an EV charging scheduling program. Duke Energy, an American utility, is testing Ford F-150 Lightnings as a grid resource in Florida.
📍Go to Market. Lyft deployed Motional’s IONIQ 5 autonomous vehicle on its network in Las Vegas, with a fully driverless service expected in 2023. Reports say that NIO plans to enter the US market in 2025. Roam and M-KOPA signed a supply agreement to bring electric motorcycles to Africa. And Volkswagen and Mahindra formed a partnership to electrify the Indian vehicle market.
💼 Business. Uber is sunsetting its free loyalty program in favor of subscription membership. IM Group to sell Ora Funky Cat when the quirky EV arrives in the UK. Finally, Karma sued DeLorean, alleging intellectual property theft.
✨ Investment. Exponent Energy, an EV rapid charging startup, raised a Series A round of $13 million. Korea’s SK invested $100 million in EV charging provider Atom Energy. WiTricity, an EV charging startup, closed $63 million in funding. And FM Capital brought the former Ford president on as a venture partner to expand its automotive portfolio.
Interesting Reads
Smart UK CEO on why now is a “great time” to launch an EV-only brand.
A survey found that only a quarter of EV buyers would be happy to rely just on public chargers.
Los Angeles covered 1 million square feet of roads with special paint to cool down the city.