Apple car, Uber's quest for profitability and big money in deliveries
Electric vehicles are better for the environment - and MIT now says that their total cost of ownership (TCO) is better than ICE (internal combustion engine) cars. Check out this cool graph (also picture above).
And while on the emissions subject - Rhodium Group found that in 2020 the transportation sector (31% of total US emissions!) drove 15% less passenger miles and produced 273 million metric tons below 2019 levels.
Why shouldn’t Apple have a car? Google did it with Waymo. Amazon invested in electric vehicles Rivian and bought self-driving Zoox. Microsoft invested in Cruise to promote its cloud platform. Tesla’s stock jumped by more than 700% in 2020. So cars must be a good thing, shouldn’t they?
As all things Apple, mainly rumors and speculations. Last week Hyundai’s value surged by $9Bn after the company leaked possible cooperation that would put an Apple car on the road in 2024. Electric, Self-driving, of course. Latest rumor says the car will be manufactured in the US by Kia (Huyndai owned). Interested? more rumors and more. My guess? Yes to an electric car, but not self-driving. There is still much R&D to be done before we’re able to read text messages while driving. Safely.
In other automotive industry news, Fiat-Chrysler and Peugeot S.A. completed their $52Bn merger. Autonomous shuttle pilot in Columbus. Ford to launch a self-driving car in Israel. Ford is joining GM, Mobileye and Yandex who already operate autonomous cars on Israeli roads. Auto1, a german online car dealer, will IPO to raise €1Bn. Oxbotica, autonomous vehicle software from Oxford, raised $47M. $7.9M for autonomous tractors. And a list of the world’s top manufacturers by market cap.
Uber is continuing its quest for profitability. After selling its autonomous and its flying car units, the company intends to spin-off the delivery robot developed by Postmates, which Uber completed its acquisition in December. Reportedly intending to keep 25% stake, the sale would undoubtedly help cash flow while focusing Uber on its current operational business.
ioki faces tough time at Billbrook industrial park - only 40 riders per day. Blame Corona. Both Audi (in Texas) and BMW (in Nashville) cancelled/paused their vehicle subscription programs. Blame Corona. Turo is promoting black entrepreneurship. Uber is going back to Turkey (after being banned). Flying cars in Paris in June. Trump pardoned Anthony Levandowski. A pioneer of electric vehicles, Levandowski took Waymo IP with him when moved to Uber, and has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. London buses turned into ambulances. SWAT mobility & Willers partnered up.
Delivery: Deliveroo is expanding into 100 more UK cities & towns, now covering ? of the population. In the process the company raised $180M and is now valued over $7Bn. Delivery Hero launches 50M Euro VC to support innovation. Getir Turkish 10 minute grocery delivery raised $128M for international expansion. Glovo raised €100M to open ‘dark stores’ that allow 1 hour delivery.
Micromobility: How did Tier get to a $1Bn valuation? Better unit economics, pandemic boost and regulatory approvals. The future of micromobility is about supply chains, distribution and maintenance (long read).
Weirdest story of A-ha and Norway’s first electric car.