Consumers are not comfortable with the testing and deployment of robotaxis—defined as a fully automated, self-driving vehicle used exclusively for ride-hailing service—on their city streets, according to the inaugural J.D. Power U.S. Robotaxi Experience Study. The study provides the first consumer feedback from robotaxi riders and those who have interacted... Read more →

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved resolutions granting additional operating authority for Cruise and Waymo to conduct commercial passenger service using driverless vehicles in San Francisco. The approval includes the ability for both companies to charge fares for rides at any time of day. The requirements for the resolutions... Read more →

Kia Corporation and Kakao Mobility, South Korea’s leading mobility as a service (MaaS) platform service company, are collaborating to develop purpose-built vehicles (PBVs) optimized for ride-hailing and new mobility services linked to PBVs. (Earlier post.) Under the agreement, Kia will develop customized PBVs using operation data of vehicles to meet... Read more →

bp and Uber announced a new global mobility agreement which will see the companies work together to help accelerate Uber’s commitment to become a zero-tailpipe emissions mobility platform in the US, Canada and Europe by 2030 and globally by 2040. The agreement, thought to be an industry first between a... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group announced its 2023 first-half ZER01NE Accelerator program, an open innovation platform to facilitate collaboration between startups and various teams under the Group on various projects. This program aims to discover valuable startups and explore the possibilities of strategic use case of their innovative technologies. Startups can apply... Read more →

CARIAD, an independent automotive software company in the Volkswagen Group, plans to acquire the Mobility Services Platform business unit of German software development company Hexad GmbH. With this the software company of the VW Group will gain new competencies in the development of cloud services. These services are part of... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group has started two pilot delivery service programs using autonomous robots based on its Plug & Drive (PnD) modular platform (earlier post) at a hotel and a residential-commercial complex located in the outskirts of Seoul. The delivery robot consists of a storage unit integrated on top of a... Read more →

A new study from Juniper Research found that MaaS (Mobility‑as‑a‑Service) will generate revenue of $92 billion globally by 2027; up from $20 billion in 2022. Growing by 357% over the period, the main drivers will be the cost and convenience of MaaS solutions and the increased investment into MaaS infrastructure.... Read more →

bp ventures has invested $6 million in all-electric ride-hailing business Freebee, a Miami-based company that provides free, on-demand transportation to local communities through their mobile app Ride Freebee. bp led the business’ $8-million Series A funding round, with support from Freebee’s current infrastructure capital partner, Tensile Mobility. Freebee’s free-to-the-user trips... Read more →

Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), the newly formed mobility joint venture between Honda and Sony (earlier post), held a press conference announcing its establishment and outlining its direction and approach to becoming a software-oriented “Mobility Tech Company” providing high value-added products and services. The new company’s defines its EV concept as... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group announced a new global strategy to transform all vehicles to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) by 2025. The initiative, presented during the Group’s Unlock the Software Age global online forum, will give customers the freedom to upgrade the performance and functionality of their vehicles remotely. The Group also shared... Read more →

A new study from Juniper Research has found MaaS (Mobility as a Service) will generate fuel cost savings of $10.8 billion by 2027 globally, increasing from $2.8 billion in 2022—a growth of 282%. The research anticipates these savings will be achieved by MaaS’ ability to reduce congestion by displacing private... Read more →

SAIC recently put 80 MAXUS MIFA hydrogen fuel cell vans into operation in Shanghai through Xiangdao Chuxing, SAIC’s mobility service platform. The vans feature a next-generation air filtering system that can purify 99.9% of PM2.5 and other particulate matter in the air. The 70Mpa hydrogen storage tank can withstand a... Read more →

Supernal revealed its initial eVTOL vehicle cabin concept at Farnborough International Airshow, providing the first look at how Hyundai Motor Group is integrating automotive capabilities to develop the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) market. Supernal partnered with the Group’s design studios to create the cabin concept as the company works to... Read more →

Software République, an open innovation ecosystem for intelligent, secure and sustainable mobility launched one year ago by Atos, Dassault Systèmes, Orange, Renault Group, STMicroelectronics and Thales, has presented its first milestones. These include: Creation of a “GIE” (Groupement d’Intérêt Economique, or economic interest group) to develop Software République’s activity and... Read more →

Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new company to engage in the sale of high-value-added electric vehicles (EVs) and provide services for mobility. The announcement is the furtherance and result of discussion of a strategic alliance in the mobility field... Read more →

Uber Freight and Waymo Via announced a long-term strategic partnership to connect their technologies and deploy autonomous trucks at scale on the Uber Freight network. This partnership brings together the power of Waymo’s autonomous driving technology with the scale of Uber Freight’s network and leading marketplace technology, unlocking a roadmap... Read more →

Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) announced that its Michigan-based production development teams have been modifying Indiana-produced 2022 Sienna minivans, adding a vehicle control interface, to create a new vehicle platform compatible with third-party autonomous driving kits and sensors (“Autono”) for use in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) applications. The resulting vehicle is called... Read more →

Volvo Autonomous Solutions (VAS), a Volvo Group company, will offer a new hub-to-hub autonomous transport solution, designed to serve four main customer segments: shippers; carriers; logistics service providers; and freight brokers. Each solution will be configured to suit the business needs of the specific segments while addressing the growing demand... Read more →

General Motors and INRIX, a leader in mobility analytics and connected car services, are collaborating to develop safety solutions to help transportation and planning agencies achieve road safety goals. Available first in the US, Safety View by GM Future Roads & INRIX is a cloud-based application that provides transportation officials... Read more →

Volta Trucks revealed its first Volta Trucks Hub that will deliver its Truck-as-a-Service customer-focused operations as the first full-electric Volta Zeros start customer evaluation in mid-2022. This milestone confirms the first location where vehicles will be serviced and maintained in Paris, with confirmation of the London Hub location due shortly.... Read more →

bp and Uber Technologies announced a new global strategic convenience delivery partnership, extending their existing local arrangements to reach more consumers across the world. Together, the partners will offer a range of convenience products, including fresh and prepared ranges, from select retail locations. bp is the first convenience retailer to... Read more →

The Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF)—a £500-million investment fund to deliver low-carbon, sustainable projects and infrastructure in London—is providing capital to Vehicle-as-a-Service provider Breathe, supported by fintech Zeti’s pay-per-mile platform ZERO, for the deployment of 100 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles to private hire drivers, including Uber, in... Read more →

Curb, a ride-hailing app for licensed taxi and for-hire rides in North America, announced the execution of a strategic partnership agreement with Uber that will enable Curb-connected drivers to receive trip requests from Uber users. The integration will provide wider transportation options for riders and more trips for drivers as... Read more →

Volvo Trucks North America’s customer WattEV has ordered 50 Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric trucks to launch its Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) model in California. WattEV’s TaaS model provides shippers and carriers access to battery-electric trucks at a per-mile rate, including charging, that is on par with the total cost of operating... Read more →

Sony Group Corporation and Honda Motor signed a memorandum of understanding that outlines their intent to establish a joint venture through which they plan to engage in the joint development and sales of high value-added battery electric vehicles (EVs) and commercialize them in conjunction with providing mobility services. The two... Read more →

Mack Trucks and Mack Financial Services (MFS) recently launched an all-inclusive Vehicle-as-a-Service (VaaS) program to help simplify the purchase process and help customers better manage expenses associated with acquiring the Mack LR Electric battery-electric truck (earlier post). Mack LR Electric Eco-Cycle VaaS includes the vehicle chassis, the refuse body, applicable... Read more →

by Brent Wilson, CEO of Galvanic Energy. Perhaps the most common argument against electric vehicles (EVs) has been the lack of recharging infrastructure. Many people think EVs are great for commuting or for driving around town, but take one on a road trip and things can get dicey. Who wants... Read more →

Hyundai Motor used CES in Las Vegas as the platform to describe its new “Metamobility concept”, which will incorporate the use of robotics in both the real world and the metaverse to allow “unlimited freedom of mobility” unconstrained by the physical limitations of movement in time and space. The company... Read more →

Hitachi America and REE Automotive announced a newly formed strategic agreement to ease and accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EV) across the entire EV value chain, including enabling EV manufacturing at scale, delivering commercial vehicle charging infrastructure and energy management, and providing comprehensive digital fleet management and operations for... Read more →

The Toyota Mobility Foundation (TMF), Energy Systems Network (ESN), the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and the City of Fishers have joined with May Mobility, a leader in autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and shuttle operations, to inaugurate a free, public autonomous shuttle service on 20 December 2021 to serve the... Read more →

Pony.ai has received approval to run paid autonomous Robotaxi services in the Beijing Intelligent Networked Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone in southeastern Beijing. With this approval, Pony.ai will be permitted to charge fees for Robotaxi services provided to the public. This represents a significant milestone on the company’s path to commercialization,... Read more →

High adoption of shared micromobility in the US coud save 2.3 billion gasoline-equivalent gallons per year nationwide, according to a new study by a team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The paper is published in Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment. Travel demand data at the national... Read more →

Gridtractor has launched from stealth to develop charging technology, fleet electrification, and energy management services for electric tractors and heavy farm equipment. Gridtractor will help farmers integrate electric charging and vehicle to grid (V2G) into their operations to strengthen the power grid with its smart energy platform. In addition, the... Read more →

Autonomous driving company Aurora has released its first commercial beta of the Aurora Driver, which consists of the hardware, software, and data services needed to safely operate an autonomous Aurora-powered vehicle. Aurora Driver Beta is currently hauling loads between Dallas and Houston, TX, in a commercial pilot of Aurora Horizon,... Read more →

bp ventures has made its first direct investment in India, investing $13 million in integrated EV ride-hailing and charging company BluSmart. bp ventures led a $25 million Series A round that also saw support from Mayfield India Fund, 9Unicorns and Survam Partners, alongside other existing investors. BluSmart will use the... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group is opening the 2021 EV Open Innovation Challenge following the successful completion of the EV and Battery Challenge launched in 2020 (earlier post). The 2021 EV Open Innovation Challenge is a program to facilitate collaboration with startups on various projects related to charging infrastructure and service solutions... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group, in partnership with SP Group and Komoco Motors, launched an E-mobility pilot program in Singapore. The program aims to identify real-world customer concerns and requirements for enhancing customer value and experience and establishing a robust EV ecosystem in the city-state. The E-mobility pilot plans to offer EV... Read more →

Vitol, the world’s largest independent trader of energy, and BYD, a leading manufacturer of electric vehicles, rechargeable battery and energy storage systems, formed a partnership to provide fleet mobility as a service in select markets worldwide. Together they will offer municipal, corporate and others a comprehensive solution including electric vehicles,... Read more →

Aurora shared the first look of the Toyota Sienna hybrid powered by the Aurora Driver, designed for a convenient and comfortable ride-hailing experience. This represents a significant milestone in Aurora’s path to commercializing Aurora-powered Toyota vehicles designed specifically for ride-hailing. This modified Toyota Sienna is Toyota’s first mass-produced “Sienna Autono-MaaS”... Read more →

DeepRoute.ai has closed a Series B funding round with the investment totaling to more than US$300 million. The funding will further research and development, help scale automaker collaboration and fleet operation, and support the expansion of the team. DeepRoute.ai’s long-term strategy includes developing medium-duty trucks for urban logistics, improving transit... Read more →

Honda will start a testing program for autonomous vehicles in September 2021, taking a step toward an autonomous vehicle mobility service (MaaS) business in Japan, which Honda is planning to launch under collaboration with Cruise and General Motors. The testing program for autonomous vehicles mobility service technologies will be conducted... Read more →

Mobileye, an Intel company, unveiled the 6-passenger, road-ready electric autonomous vehicle (AV) that will be used for commercial driverless ride-hailing services in Tel Aviv and Munich starting in 2022. Equipped with the Mobileye Drive self-driving system featuring 8 EyeQ5 SoCs in the AVKIT58, the all-electric Mobileye AVs will operate under... Read more →

Volkswagen is now offering car subscriptions for the ID.3 and ID.4 EVs in Germany with the launch of the Volkswagen AutoAbo subscription model. Customers can take out a monthly subscription, starting at €499 for the ID.3. This will enable us to achieve a key milestone in our Business Model 2.0.... Read more →

Micromobility services Bird and Ford-owned Spin are the latest to integrate with Google Maps for Mobile (GMM). People using Google Maps for efficient and reliable journey planning are now able to discover Spin e-scooters and e-bikes and Bird scooters when given route options for their journeys. Google Maps users are... Read more →

Argo AI, Lyft and Ford Motor Company are collaborating to commercialize autonomous ride hailing at scale. The partnership brings together all of the pieces necessary to create a viable autonomous ride hailing service, including the self-driving technology, vehicle fleet and transportation network needed to support a scalable business and deliver... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company will begin a test operation of its RoboShuttle service on 9 August in South Korea. The demand-responsive, high-occupancy vehicle service, powered by autonomous driving and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, will operate along a 6.1-km route in Sejong Smart City. The pilot operation will be conducted using Hyundai... Read more →

Volkswagen Group executives laid out the basics of the new Group strategy “NEW AUTO – Mobility for Generations to Come”, which will see the Group realign from being a from vehicle manufacturer to a leading, global software-driven mobility provider. The guiding principle is to be the development of sustainable, connected,... Read more →

China-based self-driving startup AutoX unveiled its full Gen5 self-driving system this week. The autonomous driving platform, which is specifically designed for robotaxis, uses NVIDIA DRIVE automotive grade GPUs to reach up to 2,200 trillion operations per second (TOPS) of AI compute performance. In January, AutoX launched a commercial robotaxi system... Read more →

A new forecast from Juniper Research concludes that the revenue generated by the use of MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service) platforms, which integrate different transport services (including buses, taxis, rail and metro) into a single app, will exceed $52 billion by 2027, up from $405 million in 2020. The new research, Mobility-as-a-Service: Business... Read more →