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Hi there,
Over the past year, the dockless bike-sharing craze that took off in China has swept out into the rest of Asia, Europe, and now the US.
Unlike government-operated or public-private docked systems, private startups have led the dockless charge, with US players extending the model to new form factors like e-scooters.
As we've poked fun at before, these models have also wreaked havoc on urban streets, spurring regulatory backlash. Concerns about oversupply, lost bikes, and long-term economic viability of the model also loom large.
But if the model gains traction in the US and elsewhere, it would add to the ballooning array of urban transportation options, both competing with and augmenting existing automotive-centric services.
Check out our brief for an overview of the emerging trends, players, and outstanding challenges in the dockless sharing space.
Waymo gears up
Big news from the former Google Self-Driving Car project, which unveiled a new partnership with Jaguar on the eve of the New York Auto Show.
The deal with Jaguar Land Rover involves the purchase and deployment of up to 20,000 of the OEM's recently unveiled I-Pace SUVs for Waymo's robotaxi service, becoming Waymo's first pure EVs.
It's a logical pairing: Jaguar has a production-ready, long-range EV with proven manufacturing capacity. The full scope of the Waymo deal would move the needle for Jaguar's overall output moreso than other OEMs (Jaguar sales came in around 180k in 2017, with corporate sibling Land Rover representing the majority of JLR's volume).
Most other manufacturers with readily available long-range EVs (such as GM and Tesla) have invested heavily in either organic or inorganic AV projects that now compete with Waymo. By comparison, JLR's efforts to date are in their very early stages.
On the vehicle itself, Waymo's proprietary vision suite is more neatly integrated than in its current Pacifica minivans, particularly the wing-mounted and front/rear sensors. The I-Pace's sleek lines and fastback roofline certainly don't hurt compared to the Pacifica's utilitarian design, albeit at the expense of interior volume.
Drive safe,
Kerry
@kerrygwu
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Deal spotlight
Teutonic rivals BMW and Daimler have confirmed rumors of a tieup, forming a joint venture for mobility services from ride-hailing and car-sharing to EV and parking services.
Such a partnership between historic foes is a sign of the (rapidly-evolving) times. It remains to be seen how the companies will handle integration of their disparate mobility stakes, acquisitions, and in-house projects.
Refresh yourself on Daimler's mobility strategy with our research brief:
Clients can also see a deep dive on the startup moves of BMW, Daimler, and the three other most active OEMs in private companies:
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CB Insights hits
The global bike-share boom
Since their introduction in 2015, dockless bike-sharing systems have moved from East to West as they sweep through urban transportation markets. Check out the trends and analysis.
(Expert Intelligence) Aerospace companies are making hypersonic aircraft a priority
Aerospace companies are under pressure to develop technology that can reach Mach 5 and above. We took a look at research to date. See the brief.
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This week in Auto Tech
A curated mix of recent articles on mobility tech financings, exits, announcements, hirings, partnerships & perspectives.
Deals & Funds
Desktop lands $65M. Ford led the round into the 3D metal printing startup.
TechCrunch
Blackmore inks $18M. BMW i Ventures led the Series B round for the lidar company.
PR Newswire
Ascent Robotics attracts $10.3M. SBI Investment led the Series A round for the autonomous driving training software developer.
The Bridge
Bestmile gets $11M. Road Ventures led the Series A round for autonomous driving fleet management platform.
CB Insights
BMW, Daimler merge mobility services. The automakers will each hold a 50% stake in the combined car-share, ride-hailing, charging, and on-demand services entity.
TechCrunch
Didi invests in Yestock, partners with CHJ. Ride-hailing giant Didi invested in vehicle leasing service Yestock for an unknown amount. Didi continued its auto deals by partnering with CHJ Automotive for customizing EVs for vehicle sharing, on the heels of CHJ's $473M Series B led by Matrix Partners China.
China Money Network (Yestock) / China Money Network (CHJ)
News
Uber divestment(s). Following deals in China and Russia, Uber sold its operations in Southeast Asia to Grab for a 27.5% stake; rumors surfaced that the same could happen with Ola in India. We highlighted Southeast Asia as a potential drawdown for Uber in our strategy teardown last September, and discussed SoftBank's affinity for consolidation in a January issue.
Reuters (Grab) / Reuters (Ola)
Uber accident fallout, settlement. In the aftermath of the fatal Uber pedestrian strike, Uber settled with the victim family, while Nvidia and Toyota suspended open-road AV testing. The Guardian profiles Uber's cozy relationship with Arizona governor Doug Ducey.
Reuters (settlement) / Reuters (suspensions) / The Guardian (Ducey)
Cruise, Uber Freight departures. Cruise CTO A.G. Gangadhar departed after less than half a year, citing disagreements with CEO Kyle Vogt. Former Otto co-founder Lior Ron is also departing Uber's Freight program.
Bloomberg (Cruise) / CNBC (Uber)
Waymo's new EV. Waymo unveiled its latest vehicle as part of a new partnership with Jaguar, with the potential to add up to 20,000 SUVs.
Medium
Beijing allows AVs. Baidu is the first company permitted to test autonomous vehicles on the streets of Beijing.
MIT Tech Review
Alibaba's auto updates. Alibaba's mapping unit, AutoNavi, launched its own carpooling business. Ford and Alibaba launched their car vending machine in Guangzhou, China.
China Money Network (AutoNavi) / TechCrunch (vending machine)
Drive Change. Drive Electric. The Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers launched a new campaign at the New York Auto Show to convince consumers to drive EVs.
The Verge
Tesla selloff. Tesla bonds tanked following Moody's credit rating downgrade, spurred by production issues. Tesla stocks also tanked following a fatal Model X crash in California (with Autopilot active). The company is exhorting workers to push Model 3 production past 300 cars per day.
CNBC (Moody's) / Bloomberg, Tesla (crash) / Bloomberg (volunteers)
Zagster layoff. A month after its $15M, bikesharing startup Zagster laid off some employees to focus on the new Pace model.
TechCrunch
Cruise AV gets ticket. One of the company's vehicles was ticketed by San Francisco police for intruding on a pedestrian crosswalk; Cruise is disputing the ticket.
CBS
Articles, Perspectives, & Studies
Scotty Labs launch. The company, which is working on teleoperation solutions for autonomous vehicles, launched with a Voyage partnership.
Medium
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New sheetmetal / New tech
More evidence that where there's motive power, there will be a race for a speed crown. Behold, the newest challenger for the title of world's fastest lawnmower:
Honda claims that its creation will actually be able to mow grass while traveling over 100 mph.
Jalopnik
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