The Weekly Mobility News That Matters

BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | APR 15?2024?| VIEW ONLINE ??

CB Insights identified 15 emerging technology areas that the auto industry should be watching. It's nice to see two of Automotive Ventures' companies on here: Privacy4Cars and Kinetic .?| CB Insights

What We're Reading

??? Automotive

The Tesla Model Y sales comprised over a third of all-electric vehicle (EV) sales in the U.S. in the first quarter. Tesla’s sales overall represented 51.3% of the overall EV segment, the Model Y alone led the pack, making up a 35.4% segment share overall with 96,729 units sold. | Teslarati

Tesla dropped the monthly subscription price of its "Supervised FSD" (formerly known as "FSD Beta") to $99, down from $199, in a bid to get more dollars and data from drivers.?| TechCrunch

Tesla has decided to stop the planned development of a $25k electric vehicle. An inexpensive EV would have significantly increased Tesla’s total addressable market by dramatically undercutting the average sales price in the U.S., which is currently at around $47,000. It also would have given the company a product to hold its ground against a predicted onslaught of inexpensive Chinese EVs. | TechCrunch

When Volkswagen converted its Zwickau factory to manufacture nothing but electric vehicles, it caused a lot of anxiety. But, employment hasn’t fallen off a cliff, and suppliers of combustion vehicle parts haven’t been forced into bankruptcy en masse. Its experience offers some hopeful lessons for other places that depend on the auto industry.?| The New York Times ($)

BYD makes an average net profit of 9,000 yuan per car, equivalent to about $1,250 USD. Tesla on the other hand makes over $8,250 USD per car based on net profit of 14.9 billion dollars and sales of 1.81 million cars in 2023.?What this clearly shows is that BYD is going after market share rather than profits.?| Car News China

VINFAST last year generated 82% of its $1.1 billion of vehicle sales from companies that are part of parent company Vingroup. VinFast lost a combined $5.7 billion over the past three years.?VinFast received $11.4 billion of capital injections from Vingroup, its affiliates and the group's billionaire founder Pham Nhat Vuong between its inception in 2017 and Dec. 31, 2023.?| Reuters ?($)

Vehicle thefts continue to surge nationwide, challenging vehicle owners and law enforcement agencies hoping to curb this growing crime trend. A new report released by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), the nation's leading not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to identifying, investigating, preventing, and deterring insurance fraud and crime, shows another record-breaking year for vehicle thefts in 2023.?| PR Newswire

In one of the cruel twists of an inflation-weary U.S. economy, car prices are coming down after surging by record amounts during the COVID-19 pandemic. But at least part of those gains for consumers are getting gobbled up by rising auto insurance rates that for some models now account for more than a quarter of the total cost of owning a vehicle.?| Reuters ($)

5 reasons why car insurance keeps getting more expensive. | Bloomberg ($)

Very cool visual configurator from Carsized. (thanks to Alex Mitchell at Su$tainable Mobility for bringing this to my attention). | Carsized

In an era dominated by smartphones, the necessity of carrying physical driver’s licenses or ID cards may soon become obsolete. Across the United States, the momentum behind mobile driver’s license proposals is gaining significant traction. States, as well as the federal government, are increasingly viewing mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) as a promising solution to combat fraud and bolster digital ID verification. |?PYMNTS

??? Micromobility

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its analysis of roadway injury and fatality numbers for 2022. While roadway deaths are down slightly overall, cyclist roadway deaths are the highest in recorded history.?| Velo

The “15-minute city” has become a toxic phrase in the UK, so controversial that the city of Oxford has stopped using it and the transport minister has spread discredited conspiracy theories about the urban planning scheme. Parisians are enjoying their new 15-minute neighborhoods. | The Guardian ?

?? Autonomy

Japanese mobility device manufacturer WHILL is partnering with American Airlines to offer the first “autonomous devices” in U.S. airports. Initially launching in Los Angeles and Miami, the devices will ferry passengers with low mobility to their gates.?| Fast Company ?

?? Marine

Chinese automakers and shippers are ordering a record number of car-carrying vessels to support a boom in EV exports, putting China on course to amass the world's fourth-largest fleet by 2028.? | Reuters ?($) ?

?? Aviation

Most small drones from U.S. startups have failed to perform in combat, dashing companies’ hopes that a badge of being battle-tested would bring the startups sales and attention. It is also bad news for the Pentagon, which needs a reliable supply of thousands of small, unmanned aircraft.?| The Wall Street Journal ?($) ?

????Car of the Week

We have a new "Car of the Week": a 2013 Mclaren P1 VP3, owned by double F1 World Champion Mika H?kkinen since new. | Bonhams Cars

Have a great week,

Steve Greenfield ?