Notable reads and other tidbits Autonomous vehicles Cruise has sent two of its autonomous Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles to Dubai to begin mapping the city in preparation for a planned launch in 2023, according to Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority. Kodiak Robotics completed a commercial run between Texas, California and Florida for 10 Roads Express, as part of a pilot program with the USPS mail carrier. Electric vehicles & batteries Apple has hired Luigi Taraborrelli, a 20-year veteran of supercar maker Lamborghini, to work on the tech company's not-so-secret electric autonomous vehicle program, Bloomberg reported. Ars Technica released a guide to EV charging. Bentley Motors has delayed its first EV. General Motors launched a program and digital platform called EV Live to educate car shoppers about EVs and target first-time buyers, as the automaker searches for ways to catch up to and outpace rival Tesla. Faraday Future is faltering— again. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has delayed production of its FF91 flagship electric vehicle due to lack of money and supply chain issues. Rivian started laying off about 6% of its workforce (about 900 people) as part of a restructuring plan, according to an internal email from founder and CEO RJ Scaringe (and viewed by TechCrunch.) The layoffs are hitting every department with one major exception — manufacturing operations at its Normal, Illinois factory. Sono Motors’ solar EV is finally here! Well, sort of; there’s the sticky business of production to contend with. The startup unveiled the final production design of the vehicle as well as a solar bus kit, a new product that is a series of solar panels designed to be retrofitted onto 12-meter public buses. TechCrunch’s Tim de Chant takes a deep dive into the 725-page Manchin-Schumer bill, which includes some EV transportation spending. He also wrote up another TC+ (subscription) article examining whether VW’s new CEO will hamstring its EV push? U.S. Department of Energy revived an old loan program and its first recipient is the joint battery venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, which received a $2.5 billion loan from the agency to help it finance the construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities. Ford released the law enforcement version of its all-electric F-150 Lightning truck. Earnings The big three U.S. automakers reported earnings this week and the big themes that repeatedly came up were inflation, supply chain issues, China and EVs. General Motors kicked things off with a rather dismal Q2 report that saw profits fall 40% year over year to $1.69 billion. The culprit? GM blamed its weak performance on a drop in North American production due to supply chain disruptions and semiconductor chip shortages that caused bottlenecks at its factories. And let’s not forget the pandemic-related factory shutdowns in China. Another tidbit: GM’s self-driving subsidiary Cruise is burning through cash with expenses hitting around $550 million compared to $332 million during the same quarter of last year. Operating losses topped $605 million, up from $363 million last year. The increase in cost can be attributed to a headcount increase from revving up Cruise's robotaxi service, as well as a change in the compensation expense, according to CEO Kyle Vogt. Ford also saw losses in China, but gains in other regions helped the automaker bring in $40.2 billion in revenue, a 50% increase from the same period last year and an adjusted operating income that tripled to $3.7 billion. Spotify announced during its second-quarter earnings call that it has stopped manufacturing “Car Thing," the company's in-vehicle device for controlling music. Future of flight Urban Movement Labs in Los Angeles is partnering with South Korea’s Institute of Aerospace Industry-Academia Collaboration (IAIAC) to explore research opportunities around air mobility planning and integration. IAIAC is working to integrate advanced air mobility within the Incheon metro region. People Bosch is reorganizing its Mobility Solutions business sector, which will now be headed up by Markus Heyn. Hyundai Motor North America promoted Randy Parker to be CEO of Hyundai Motor America effective August 1. Lyten, an advanced materials company developing lithium-sulfur batteries and other high-performance product, hired Celina Mikolajczak as chief battery technology officer. Ride-hailing Uber is expanding its ‘Comfort Electric’ product, which is basically just all-electric Uber rides, to seven additional cities, including Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Austin, Philly and Baltimore. Uber originally launched the luxurious EV service in May in San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles. Also in Uber news, the ride-hail giant apparently does not have to provide a wheelchair-accessible service in every market, a judge rules. This just a week or so after Uber settled a lawsuit from the DOJ for allegedly overcharging disabled riders. |
Commentaires
Enregistrer un commentaire
Thank you to leave a comment on my site