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Uber makes changes in California to brace for new gig worker law

Sponsored Links ASSOCIATED PRESS Late last month, Uber and Postmates sued California in an attempt to block AB5, the law that would reclassify many gig economy workers as employees. While that fight is not over, Uber is also preparing for the event that AB5 takes effect. The company sent an email to over 150,000 drivers… Continue reading Uber makes changes in California to brace for new gig worker law

Waymo secures bigger award against workers who went to rival Uber

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Alphabet Inc’s Waymo said on Thursday that arbitrators had finalized a judgment of $128 million, plus undisclosed legal costs and interest, against two former employees who went to rival Uber Technologies Inc. FILE PHOTO: A Waymo Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid self-driving vehicle is parked and displayed during a demonstration in Chandler, Arizona,… Continue reading Waymo secures bigger award against workers who went to rival Uber

IndyCar Star Buys Porsche Taycan: Shares Impressions

IndyCar star and renowned petrolhead Graham Rahal recently added his first electric car to his garage, a Porsche Taycan. The six-time IndyCar race winner has quite the collection of machines, including a Ford GT, a Mercedes AMG GT R Pro, Acura NSX, several classic Ducati motorcycles, and numerous Porsches. Taking to Instagram, Rahal showed off… Continue reading IndyCar Star Buys Porsche Taycan: Shares Impressions

Softbank-backed delivery app Rappi lays off 6% of workforce-statement

SAO PAULO/MEXICO CITY, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Softbank-backed Latin American delivery app Rappi has laid off 6% of its workforce, the company said in a statement, without providing a raw number on the job cuts. Rappi said Softbank Group Corp , which is a major shareholder and has a board seat, was involved in the… Continue reading Softbank-backed delivery app Rappi lays off 6% of workforce-statement

Rinspeed unveils ‘MetroSnap’ electric vehicle developed with Stratasys 3D printing

At this week’s CES Show in Las Vegas, Swiss automobile manufacturer Rinspeed has unveiled its MetroSnap concept electric vehicle, developed with the help of leading 3D printer OEM Stratasys. Designed to showcase the “next generation of automated electric automobiles for city life,” the sustainable vehicle features over 30 3D printed interior and exterior parts, produced… Continue reading Rinspeed unveils ‘MetroSnap’ electric vehicle developed with Stratasys 3D printing

Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas and TomTom collaborate on developing next-gen smart navigation solution

Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, and TomTom (TOM2), the location technology provider, announced that they are collaborating on a proof of concept for the development of a new real-time hazard service for navigation and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). Through the collaboration, the companies will combine technological strengths to deliver real-time updates on the location of road hazards,… Continue reading Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas and TomTom collaborate on developing next-gen smart navigation solution

Brunswick and Sea Ray debut a boat loaded with futuristic features at CES

The automobile industry has experienced considerable change when it comes to powertrain and cabin technology features in the past decade, but what about boats? They’re also getting some cutting-edge upgrades made possible by the same technologies that are improving the power and performance of smartphones, and Sea Ray debuted a new top-end outboard boat at… Continue reading Brunswick and Sea Ray debut a boat loaded with futuristic features at CES

Ionis Adds Former Grail Chief Commercial Officer to Executive Team

January 9th, 2020 Xconomy San Diego — Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IONS) appointed Onaiza Cadoret-Manier as its chief corporate development and commercial officer, a newly created position. Cadoret-Manier was most recently chief commercial officer at Grail, a Menlo Park, CA-based startup spun out from Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) that is working to develop tests to detect cancer… Continue reading Ionis Adds Former Grail Chief Commercial Officer to Executive Team

Empirico Raises $17M, Inks 3-Year Antisense Collaboration with Ionis

January 9th, 2020 Xconomy San Diego — Empirico, a biotech that has developed tools to analyze genomics data and use those insights to identify potential therapeutic targets, has signed a collaboration deal with antisense drug developer Ionis Pharmaceuticals that includes a $10 million equity investment. The 14-person startup, founded in 2017, has developed technology that… Continue reading Empirico Raises $17M, Inks 3-Year Antisense Collaboration with Ionis

Mercedes/BMW Ride-Hailing Group “Free Now” Buys 60 Tesla Automobiles

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Published on January 9th, 2020 |

by Steve Hanley

Mercedes/BMW Ride-Hailing Group “Free Now” Buys 60 Tesla Automobiles

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January 9th, 2020 by Steve Hanley

Free Now is a mobility service owned jointly by Mercedes and BMW. What we call a mobility service today used to be known as a taxi company. The difference is that a mobility service uses a smartphone app to match up taxis with riders and handle payment. (There are also now taxi apps that do that.)

Credit: Free Now via Facebook

What is called Free Now today is a conglomeration of two prior app-based ride-hailing companies –mytaxi and Hailo. According to Wikipedia, mytaxi was founded in 2009 in Germany. In 2014, it was acquired by Mercedes-Benz. Hailo began in London in 2011 and merged with mytaxi in 2016, making mytaxi the largest licensed taxi e-hailing service in Europe and the UK. In February 2019, BMW became a partner with Mercedes and the name of the company was changed to Free Now.

According to a report by Handlesblatt, Free Now has decided to expand its fleet of electric taxis in Germany and will begin by adding 60 Teslas to its inventory of cars in Hamburg, which is where Free Now has its headquarters. The news report does not specify which Tesla models will be added to the fleet, but it’s a good bet that most if not all of them will be Model 3s.

Free Now is big business. It has about 28,000 drivers throughout Europe and the UK and experienced a 20% increase in ridership in Germany last year. It grossed over €2 billion in revenues in 2019 from 300 million trips by 39 million passengers. In all, it has 1,800 employees in 35 cities.

It is laudable that the company wants to expand its electric car fleet but sad that neither Mercedes nor BMW has electric cars of their own they consider up to the task. So, the score in the electric taxi revolution stands at Tesla 60, Mercedes and BMW 0. There’s no clearer indication of who is leading the charge toward an electric car future than that.