Volume 19
| Welcome to the next edition of our bi-weekly recap of the latest and greatest in connected and on-demand mobility. If you’re not already receiving this email, you should be: Subscribe |
| Uber reportedly in talks to sell its autonomous vehicle business NY Post, November 16th Uber may be close to waving the white flag on its autonomous driving ambitions. The ride-hail giant is reportedly in talks to sell its Advance Technologies Group — which has been beset by infighting and setbacks — to self-driving car startup Aurora. |
| Interest in carsharing and car subscription services quadruples amid COVID-19 Cision PR Newswire, November 12th New data from a survey conducted in late September 2020 by mobility company Ridecell Inc. reveals significant changes in transportation preferences in the US amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty-two percent of respondents have changed their preferences for transportation, including expressing a rising interest in carsharing and car subscription services. |
| Robotaxis get the green light for paid rides in California The Verge, November 23rd California has long been ground zero for autonomous vehicle testing in the US, but the state has never allowed companies to use those vehicles to make money from a commercial ride-hailing service. That changed last week when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved two new programs that allow autonomous vehicle operators to launch their own robotaxis in the state. |
| Rivian sells out first version of its electric pickup truck Electrek, November 22nd Rivian confirmed that it has already sold out the reservation slots for the first version of its electric pickup truck. All without even giving the wider public access to the configurator. |
| Lyft’s Thanksgiving travel push receives backlash amid worsening pandemic KITV, November 18th As coronavirus cases continue to rise across the United States, Lyft is enticing people to get on the road for Thanksgiving — a message that doesn’t jibe with the recommendations from many local health and government officials. |
| RideShare Rental (YayYo) launches EV strategy Seeking Alpha, November 23rd RideShare Rental, formerly YayYo (OTC:YAYO +0.7%), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, RideShare Car Rentals plans to foray into the EV space with a model that will generate revenues and profits upon its launch. |
| Approov partnership with BMW Group provides car share experience Embedded Computing, November 12th Approov announced a partnership with BMW Group to provide a secure, safe, and seamless car-sharing experience. Per the companies, the BMW Group Car Sharing Platform, including the Approov SDK, has already been deployed in several thousand vehicles globally. |
| DoorDash releases filing to go public, reports $149 million in losses on revenue of $1.9 billion through September CNBC, November 13th DoorDash, the leading food delivery app in the U.S., filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. The company will list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DASH. |
| Netradyne expands product line with new Driveri D-210 The Press, November 19th Netradyne, a leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing focusing on driver and fleet safety, today announced the expansion of its Driveri® product line with the introduction of Driveri D-210. The D-210 joins the flagship Driveri (now named D-410), a vision-based safety platform that combines artificial intelligence with video, advanced onboard sensors and edge computing to detect, reason and determine causality of events. |
| Hyundai gets the green light to launch fully driverless cars in Las Vegas Jalopnik, November 22nd The state of Nevada has given Motional, the self-driving car company backed by Hyundai and Aptiv, the green light to debut autonomous cars in Las Vegas without a human driver behind the wheel. |
| Lyft may wade further into restaurant delivery Restaurant Drive, November 11th Lyft, which reported a 48% drop in revenue during the third quarter, is looking into expanding into delivery, which it piloted early in the pandemic to provide drivers with additional ways to earn money while rides were down. |
| US takes first step toward future self-driving car regulations Road Show, November 20th We are long, long time away from widespread use of self-driving cars, though governments around the world are trying to get ahead of the game with regulations. In the US, any steps have been minimal at best, but now, it looks like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is ready to take a real step forward. |
