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receive back to The Station , your cardinal hub for all retiring , present and next means of moving people and packages from Point A to Point B.
It was an absolutely wild week on the robotaxi front , and more specifically for GM ’s self - ram car subsidiaryCruise .
The calendar week get down off with theCalifornia Department of Motor VehiclessuspendingCruise ’s driverless and deployment licence ( with theCalifornia Public Utilities Commissionfollowing concisely after ) , efficaciously ending the companionship ’s robotaxi trading operations in San Francisco just month after receiving the last necessary license to commercialize its operations .
Two days later , Cruise decided topause driverless operationsin every grocery it had started to load for its robotaxi overhaul , let in Austin , Houston and Phoenix .
That decision was surprising to me based on how source had describe an all - hands meeting earlier in the hebdomad that was led by cobalt - beginner and CEO Kyle Vogt . In that confluence , which come the daylight after the DMV suspend Cruise ’s permission , Vogt and other leaders told staff the company had not hesitate mathematical process elsewhere besides California and gave no indication that the company was plan to . Instead , Vogt order employees the company was re - evaluating how it let on data to regulators to control it is clear put across , according to an account from sources who heard the call .
Cruise had even restfully launched driverless operations in Miami ( just a few vehicles ) , a move that suggested the company was moving forrader despite its significant trouble in California .
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What changed ? Perhaps Cruise EXEC were pressured by GM or they looked around and realized that they were lose support from other states . Either agency , Cruise said it ’s now going to examine “ process , systems , and tools and reflect on how we can well mesh in a way that will bring in public trust . ”
That might be a hefty challenge , especially in California . As the Cruise drama unfolded , opposition against robotaxis grew in urban center likeLos Angeles . Andtwo of the biggest groupsto fight down robotaxi enlargement in California are now officially working together .
Want to make out with a tip , comment or ailment ? Email Kirsten atkirsten.korosec@techcrunch.comor Rebecca at rebecca.techcrunch@gmail.com .
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Micromobbin’
Taiwanese battery swapping giantGogorocame to play at the Japan Mobility Show 2023 , point off how its scooter batteries can also be used to power a tiny automobile . The tiny car in question ? Project X , a concept build by the Foxconn - led Mobility in Harmony Consortium ( MIH ) . The cute little EV is a three - seater ; the spot in the backseat where you ’d normally induct a fourth person is taken up by two Gogoro battery clique slots .
At the event , MIH say it direct tosell 100,000 of the minicarsper year in India , Thailand and Japan start in 2025 . The company will initially target fleet wheeler dealer and ride - acclaim table service rather than individual customers . MIH says Project X supports autonomous take Levels 2 to 4 calculate on the user ’s needs . The price is n’t yet fixed , but should top around $ 20,000 .
It ’s not absolved if Gogoro ’s swappable battery will be used to power the vehicle belong frontwards . After all , that would take Gogoro to set up up a swapping connection in those region . But if so , it would signalize a new revenue flow for the company , which has been struggling to accomplish lucrativeness amid softening need and large investments into international expansion .
— Rebecca Bellan
Deal of the week
Well this is a fun one .
Flexportis in talks to get the technology ofConvoy , the once buzzy digital freight inauguration that abruptly shuttered after failing to detect a purchaser . This potential heap , which was reported by WSJ , did n’t have any other details , but it still made me raise an eyebrow .
Lest you forget , Flexport founder Ryan Petersen just took back the CEO deed of conveyance after his hand - picked successor was push out . Petersen ’s big message has been getting the company ’s financial house back in order and has criticized former CEO Dave Clark of overspending , specifically around rent and expanding too rapidly . Petersen has spent the past month cut costs , includinglaying off about 20 % of its workers , or about 600 people .
If Flexport acquires the technology , the company plans to restitute Convoy ’s truckage avail for as many customers and married person as possible , harmonise to WSJ ’s source . And folk , that ’s going to cost money . Is Petersen ’s reign of financial frugality already over ?
Other mass that get my aid …
Faction , the driverless technical school developer , raised an undisclosed amount in a round led by TDK Ventures . Ducera Partners , Trucks Venture Capital and Fifty Years also joined the round .
Ola Electricraised $ 384.4 millionin a backing cycle , which include about $ 240 million in debt . Singapore ’s supreme wealthiness fund Temasek led the backing round and Indian politics - backed lender State Bank of India bankroll the debt . The raw round rate the Bengaluru - headquarter galvanic vehicle startup at about $ 5.4 billion
Pony.ai , the Chinese sovereign vehicle inauguration , scored $ 100 millionfromNeom , Saudi Arabia ’s futuristic urban center and maturation projection . As part of the deal , a joint speculation will be established to produce , manufacture and deploy autonomous vehicles and smart infrastructure in Neom and central markets in the Middle East North Africa region .
Neom also announced plans this week to fix up a $ 10 billion joint speculation with Danish freight forwarderDSV .
Stellantismade a€1.5 billion deal($1.59 billion ) to take a 20 % stake in Chinese galvanic vehicle maker Zhejiang Leapmotor Technologies , just days after terminate manufacturing in the country . The deal includes the formation of Leapmotor International , a 51 % to 49 % Stellantis - led joint venture that has exclusive rights for the export and cut-rate sale , as well as manufacture , of Leapmotor products outside China .
Notable reads and other tidbits
Autonomous vehicles
Waymodriverless vehiclesare now availablethrough theUberapp , starting with Phoenix . The launch come in five month since the two companies announce a multi - twelvemonth agreement for the autonomous vehicle serving to be accessed via the Uber app .
Electric vehicles, batteries & charging
Fordis delaying about$12 billion in planned investments on EVs , include construction of a 2nd barrage fire plant with joint speculation collaborator SK On due to dampen demand for higher - price premium electric vehicles . While EV sales agreement have grown , consumer are n’t unforced to pay a exchange premium for an EV over a gas or crossbreed vehicle . That price pressure has compress net income , and in the case of Ford ’s EV business have losses to grow .
General Motorsand longsighted - time partnerHondahaveended plansto build millions of affordable and lowly electric vehicles as the car maker fare to terms with high-pitched interest rate and shelling costs coupled with softening EV demand . Anyone spotting a movement here ?
Nikola , the electrical and hydrogen - power lowering truck Godhead , wasawarded $ 165 millionfrom its laminitis and former executive chairman , Trevor Milton , in an arbitrement legal proceeding .
Niohas open up its 2,000th Power Swap Station in China , nearing its goal to establish 2,300 post by the remnant of 2023 . The troupe has expand on its strategy of swapping out EV stamp battery , rather than charging them , an base - intensive mental process that has the potential drop to make go past up a electric battery as quick as fill up a gas tankful .
Teslahas the aid of the U.S. Department of Justice — again . This clock time it has received postulation for information , includingsubpoenas from the DOJrelated to perks , the advertised range of its EVs and personnel decisions .
In-car and mobile tech
Google MapsandWazestoppedlive traffic updatesin Israel and the Gaza Strip at the postulation of the Israel Defense Forces . A Google spokesperson said the power to see alive traffic condition and business info was halted temporarily out of “ thoughtfulness for the safety of local communities . ” Google did something like in 2022 amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine because the apps were being used to track military motion .
XPeng , often called the Taiwanese competition to Tesla , hasremoved high - definition mappingin its XNGP assisted drive feature comply its rival ’s lead .
Ride-hailing and car-sharing
Rapido , the eight - year - old Native American motorcycle taxi startup , isexpanding into the cabriolet marketin the South Asian nation , where Uber and its homegrown competitor Ola dominate .
Peer - to - peer car - communion marketplaceTurohas introduced a buy - now - pay - later selection . Now you could hold a railroad car without instantly paying for it until seven sidereal day before a trip . Turo says it build up the BNPL pick in - home .
UAW strike
Progress was made as theUnited Autoworkersstrike wrapped up its sixth week . The UAWstruck tentative dealswithFordandStellantisthis past week . Workers still have to ratify the hatful , but with UAW chairwoman Shawn Fain ’s support that outcome is likely .
However , over atGM , it appears that negotiation are moving in the paired direction . The UAW forebode for a surprise walkout at GM ’s Spring Hill , Tennessee factory , a plant where 4,000 actor set up locomotive and three Cadillac models .
