Notable reads and other tidbits
ADAS
Ford received approval from UK regulators for its eyes-on, hands-off, advanced driver assistance system, called “BlueCruise” system. This is very limited, at least for now. Ford said drivers of enabled Mustang Mach-E models can use the system on 2,300 miles of pre-mapped motorways in England, Scotland and Wales, designated as Blue Zones.
Autonomous vehicles
General Motors made a video with Chair and CEO Mary Barra, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt, GM President Mark Reuss and GM EVP Doug Parks (oh and was that a brief cameo by co-founder Dan Kan?) all taking a ride in the Cruise Origin in California. Take a look and note some of the changes in the vehicle since it was first unveiled back in January 2020.
Didi announced its working with Chinese carmakers to deploy robotaxis to the public on a 24/7 basis by 2025, which will complement its network of millions of drivered cars.
Waymo’s robotaxis were flummoxed by dense fog in San Francisco, causing the driverless vehicles to pull over and impede some traffic. The vehicles eventually moved out of the area.
Speaking of Waymo, an eagle-eyed Reddit user noted this nugget about future services in the company’s deployment program quarterly report filed with the California Public Utilities Commission. Under the section that asks the company to describe any new services that might be added in the near term, Waymo wrote that it is “currently exploring additional partnership opportunities for meal delivery, among other efforts.”
Zoox shared more information about its self-certification and occupant-protection efforts, including videos of its crash testing, following scrutiny from federal regulators.
Electric vehicles, charging & batteries
ElectraMeccanica Vehicles said it will offer to buy back the 429 SOLO vehicles that were recalled after discovering they could experience a loss of propulsion increasing the risk of a crash. Steering, braking, and lighting systems are not impacted, the company said. ElectraMeccanica said it will work directly with customers to complete the vehicle repurchase process, free of charge. Reservation holders will be issued a refund.
Ford plans to spend $1.34 billion (C$1.8B) to turn its 70-year-old Oakville facility in Canada into an assembly plant for its next-generation of electric vehicles. The upgrade includes completely retooling the facility that currently produces the internal combustion engine-powered Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus to one that only produces EVs. The project will begin in the second quarter of 2024.
Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to invest 24 trillion won (~$18 billion) in South Korea’s EV industry through 2030. The news comes a week after Kia, which falls under the Hyundai umbrella, announced its own 32 trillion won (~$24 billion) investment into electrification and future business areas.
Lucid Group said it produced 2,314 vehicles in the first quarter and delivered just 1,406 vehicles during the same period, suggesting that demand for the luxury EV is slipping.
Revel has finished building its second public EV fast charging station in Brooklyn, New York. The new hub has 15 public charging stalls capable of charging speeds up to 150 kW and is open to the public 24/7, with no entrance fee or limits on EV brand.
Tesla continues to lower prices, this time in Europe and Israel. Oh and could this be what the refreshed Tesla Model 3 will look like? Folks are abuzz after a photo purporting to be the next Model 3 made the rounds on Reddit.
In-car tech
Luminar said itscompleted the build-out of its factory in Monterrey, Mexico. The company said it first Iris sensors out of the facility are beginning to ship to customers. The new dedicated facility is operated by Celestica,
Ouster issued a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission and asked the agency to investigate what it describes as “unlawful imports” of Hesai lidar sensors. Ouster said the Hesai sensors infringe on five valid and enforceable patents owned by Ouster. Hesai responded to TechCrunch in an email with this statement: “We believe the claims have no merit and we will defend our IP rights.”
Legislation, lawmakers & lawsuits
California regulators are taking legal action against Tesla to force the company to comply with a state investigation into allegations of unlawful harassment of and discrimination against certain Black Tesla workers.
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), sent a letter to Tesla CEO Elon Musk demanding he provide information about policies in place at the company to prevent the unauthorized collection and distribution of customer data. The letter (maybe more of an ultimatum) comes a week after Reuters reported that Tesla employees shared private videos and photos captured by cameras in Tesla vehicles.
Washington’s Senate unanimously passed a bill that will make the state the first in the nation to grant ride-hail drivers the right to paid family and medical leave. The bill, HB 1570, builds on driver rights won in 2022’s Expand Fairness Act.
People
Aurora named Nat Beuse as its first “Chief Safety Officer.” (Note: Beuse was already heading up safety at Aurora before this executive level position was created.) Prior to joining Aurora, he was the head of safety at Uber ATG.
Harley-Davidson said that CFO Gina Goetter is leaving the company at the end of April. David Viney, who is vice president – treasurer will also serve as interim CFO until a replacement is found.
Nikola Corporation announced that Gerrit Marx, Lynn Forester de Rothschild and Mark Russell are retiring from its board at this year’s annual meeting scheduled for June 7, 2023.
Zeekr hired Spiros Fotinos, a former Lexus executive, to run its operations in Europe.
Ride-hailing and car sharing
Turo, the peer-to-peer car rental company, plans to block access to third-party services like CarSync and Fleetwire starting April 30, according to an email that hosts received and TechCrunch viewed.
Uber is committing $7.5 million to helping New Zealand drivers go electric, sort of. Starting July 1, the company is giving the first 750 eligible drivers (AKA drivers with an EV) a 50% service discount up to $5,000 per year over two years. The service fee is what Uber charges drivers for use of its platform, so now certain drivers with EVs will shell out 14% of their ride earnings rather than 28%. Uber will also launch Uber Green in the country in May, which allows riders to choose specifically a hybrid or electric vehicle to ride in.
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