VinFast, the Vietnamese automaker under Vingroup, was one of the LA Auto Show’s numerous newcomers this year aiming to make an impression with consumers. The company showed off two all-electric crossovers at the show. And like so many new entrants to automotive — or in VinFast’s case, new to the United States — the vehicles […]
What the Mini’s electric future looks like
The Mini, the diminutive and unexpectedly fun to drive car born out of the late 1950s fuel crisis in the U.K., is undergoing another revolution. This time, it’s being driven by climate change and parent company BMW’s plan to go all-electric by 2030. Mini isn’t new to battery electrics — the Mini E pilot program […]
Key executives resign after Pony.ai combines trucking and passenger car R&D units
Pony.ai, the self-driving startup that operates in both the U.S. and China, has lost at least two executives from its trucking team following the combination of the company’s passenger car and self-driving truck R&D teams. The development, initially detailed by two sources familiar with the internal restructure that happened quietly in September, was later confirmed […]
Baidu’s robotaxi service aims to be in 100 cities by 2030
Baidu keeps ramping up its autonomous driving ambitions. The Chinese tech company made its name in search engines and still relies greatly on search ads for revenues. But it’s hoping that its heavy bet on autonomous driving will pay off down the road. Apollo Go, Baidu’s robotaxi service, aims to be in 65 cities by […]
How BMW plans to corner the U.S. scooter market with its all electric CE 04
A weird thing has happened in the past two years. After years of decline, motorcycle and scooter sales have bounced back. That’s good news for BMW’s Motorrad division and its latest electric scooter, the CE 04. The two-wheel retro-futuristic bike, which was showcased in Los Angeles this week at an event ahead of the LA […]
Subaru’s first all-electric vehicle makes its American debut
Subaru pulled the cover off its first all-electric crossover for the second time in November. This time, the 2023 Subaru Solterra electric crossover — the Toyota bZ4X doppelgänger — made its U.S. debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The first all-electric subcompact crossover is a joint project, like the Subaru BR-Z and the Toyota […]
Waymo Via expands UPS partnership to include autonomous freight with Class 8 trucks
Waymo Via, the delivery division of Alphabet’s self-driving arm, is expanding its existing partnership with UPS to carry freight via autonomous Class 8 trucks. The six-week pilot, which kicked off last week and will continue until the end of the year to support the holiday season, takes place in Texas between Houston and Dallas-Forth Worth. […]
Canoo is setting up headquarters in Walmart’s hometown, picks Panasonic as battery supplier
Canoo, the electric automaker that became a publicly traded company last year, is expanding its U.S. footprint with plans to establish its headquarters and an advanced manufacturing industrialized facility in Bentonville, Arkansas — a city most famously connected with Walmart. “This is an advanced manufacturing facility that will allow us to produce vehicles for unique […]
Bird’s first public earnings show missed Q3 revenue, but potential for full-year growth
Today after the bell, scooter-sharing company Bird disclosed its third-quarter earnings, the first time it has done so as a public company. Bird recently merged with a SPAC, bringing cash and public-status to the formerly private unicorn. In the third quarter, Bird’s revenues missed expectations, but given an expanded global footprint and an expectation that […]
E-scooter startup Tier buys Nextbike to double down on commitment to e-bikes
Berlin-based Tier Mobility, one of the largest e-scooter operators in Europe, has just acquired German bike-sharing platform Nextbike. The move signals Tier’s commitment to the same multi-modal approach that competitors like Lime and Voi have followed to take advantage of existing market share. It’s also the latest big acquisition in the micromobility industry that might […]