Happy Sunday! This week in mobility... Uber and Motional hit the Las Vegas Strip with their public robotaxi service, and more.
Need to Know
This week, Uber and Motional, the driverless tech JV between Hyundai and Aptiv, launched a public robotaxi service in Las Vegas.
The launch follows the companies’ October announcement of a 10-year partnership to deploy AVs for Uber’s millions of riders. Previously, Uber and Motional launched autonomous deliveries for Uber Eats in Los Angeles.
Las Vegas riders can now call an IONIQ 5 robotaxi on Uber. As the companies are still scaling the offering, rides are not being charged for and will have a safety operator in the vehicle. Their goal is to offer a fully driverless commercial service to the public next year.
Uber's partnership and recent push back into AVs highlight the company’s recommitment to robotaxis following a brief hiatus after selling its autonomous vehicle research division to Aurora in 2020. In addition, Uber also signed a 10-year deal with autonomous startup Nuro to use the company's driverless delivery pods in California and Texas.
For Uber and Motional, the pilot is the necessary groundwork for much larger ambitions to bring autonomous technology to the masses at scale. As the pilot gets off the ground, it’ll be interesting to watch how the service plays out and what the reaction looks like from the public and industry.
In Other News
🏛 Regulatory. The Biden Administration signed the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium-and Heavy-Duty Vehicles at COP27, an international agreement supporting a path to 100% new zero-emission and heavy-duty vehicles sales by 2040 with a targeted floor of 30% new sales by 2030. Uber agreed to a $10 million settlement with the City of Chicago for listing local restaurants in the Uber Eats and Postmates food delivery apps without the restaurants’ consent and charging excess commission fees. Transport for London shared a draft plan to invest £1.8 billion over the next three and a half years in London’s road and rail networks.
🚘 Vehicles. Vauxhall/Opel revealed a pair of new EVs, the Astra Electric and Astra Sports Tourer Electric, ahead of their UK and Europe launch in 2023. Honda unveiled a light electric van to meet the high demand for commercial EVs. And the Squad solar electric city car plans to come to the US market for $6,250.
🚲 Micromobility. Lyric Cycles unveiled its Graffiti urban electric bike.
🛞 Tech Development. Apple reportedly delayed its self-driving car, with sources saying the vehicle is unlikely to be revealed before 2026. Toyota is leading a consortium to develop a prototype hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of its Hilux pick-up. Volkswagen announced its MEB+ platform, the follow-up to its Modular Electric Drive System (MEB) for its future EVs.
⚡ Mobility Ecosystem. Air Products and AES plan to invest ~$4 billion in a mega-scale green hydrogen production facility in Texas. Ultium Cells, a JV between GM and LG Energy Solutions, invested $275 million in its Tennessee battery plant to expand EV battery cell output by 40%. Honda is partnering with CATL, purchasing 123 GWh of batteries to power fully electric vehicles in China. Ford is investing £150 million in its UK plant to scale up its EV portfolio. GM is building its EV charger network, with 40,000 chargers at dealerships.
📍Go to Market. LOXO, a Swiss startup, unveiled its first autonomous vehicle for last-mile delivery, set for release in 2023. Clevon, an Estonian autonomous delivery startup, performed its first US autonomous delivery in Texas. French retailer Carrefour and autonomous delivery provider Goggo Network started testing autonomous delivery of Carrefour Drive orders for Paris residents.
💼 Business. Chinese EV startup Niutron is refunding its customers due to setbacks — a significant loss to its commercialization efforts. Navistar backed out of a plan to develop self-driving trucks with TuSimple. VinFast selected T-Mobile as its global connectivity provider for its EVs.
💰 Investments. Swedish startup Einride raises $500 million for its cabinless electric self-driving truck. Raytheon’s venture arm invested in EpiSci to help scale its Tactical AI platform and develop autonomy technology systems. Onomotion raised €21 million to expand their e-cargo bike urban logistics business. Sonatus, an automotive software company, raised $75 million in a second round of funding led by Foxconn. Mobility fintech company Moove raised $30 million from a debut sukuk issuance for its UAE expansion.
Interesting Reads
Tesla scored the highest brand intimacy rating for auto companies and second overall in 2022.
Lexus is working to keep the stick shift alive for EVs if drivers are willing to pretend.
A report looking at the business models and technologies reshaping vehicle ownership.
A new study from Juniper Research found that mobility‑as‑a‑service will generate revenue of $92 billion globally by 2027, up from $20 billion in 2022.