Online used car startup Shift Technologies has tacked on another $40 million in equity funding, hired a new COO with Amazon and Enjoy roots and scaled up its engineering staff — all in the past several months — as the company aims to double its revenue this year. The recent activity, along with what executives… Continue reading Online used car startup Shift adds another $40M, snags COO in road to IPO
Category: Automotive
The right way to do AI in security
AI often falls short when it comes to cybersecurity, but the benefits can be significant when done correctly Kelly Shortridge 11 hours Artificial intelligence applied to information security can engender images of a benevolent Skynet, sagely analyzing more data than imaginable and making decisions at lightspeed, saving organizations from devastating attacks. In such a world,… Continue reading The right way to do AI in security
Blue Motor Finance simplifies stock lending for dealers
Blue Motor Finance has announced the launch of a new tailored stock lending product to support SME motor dealers. Blue developed the new product to provide dealers with a simple and flexible route to accessing stock finance. The new lending facility will enable dealers to finance new stock investments and is a form of secured… Continue reading Blue Motor Finance simplifies stock lending for dealers
SK in talks over battery ventures with Volkswagen, China partners – Automotive News Europe
SEOUL — SK Innovation is in talks to set up separate battery-making joint ventures with Volkswagen and Chinese partners, as the South Korean petrochemicals producer aggressively expands its involvement in electric vehicles. The company confirmed talks with Volkswagen for the first time, saying the two companies were discussing building a factory together. The JV would… Continue reading SK in talks over battery ventures with Volkswagen, China partners – Automotive News Europe
Waaijenberg Mobiliteit paas evenement
De tijd veranderd, de showroom is aan het veranderen, maar ook de manier waarop de consument kijkt naar het aankopen van producten veranderd enorm. Steeds vaker maken we gebruik van abbonnementsvormen om in onze wensen en behoeften te voorzien. Tijdens de paasshow informeren wij u graag nader over de private lease mogelijkheden welke er zijn… Continue reading Waaijenberg Mobiliteit paas evenement
US lawmakers begin push to expand federal electric vehicle tax credits
How taxpayers have boosted Elon Musk and Tesla
10:06 AM ET Mon, 22 Oct 2018 | 07:43
A bipartisan group of lawmakers plans to introduce a bill to expand federal tax credits for buyers of electric vehicles, in what could be a boon for the growing EV market.
The existing $7,500 tax credit for buyers of EVs phases out over 15 months once an automaker sells 200,000 electric cars. The tax credit for Tesla buyers was halved to $3,750 on Jan. 1; General Motor's tax credit was likewise cut in half starting April 1.
The bill, dubbed the Driving America Forward Act, would grant each automaker a $7,000 tax credit for an additional 400,000 vehicles after it exhausts the first 200,000 vehicles eligible for tax credits. It would shorten the phase-out schedule to nine months. The credits are paid directly to consumers, who can write them off on their tax returns.
“At a time when climate change is having a real effect on Michigan, today's legislation is something we can do now to reduce emissions and combat carbon pollution,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., one of the sponsors of the legislation, said in a statement. “Our bill will help create American jobs and cement Michigan's status as an advanced manufacturing hub.”
Tesla shares rose 1.6 percent in morning trading Wednesday on the news.
Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., signed on to the bill.
Tesla dismisses sales employees as part of earlier-announced cuts
4:18 PM ET Mon, 8 April 2019 | 01:07
Electric vehicles comprise a tiny, but growing, share of the U.S. vehicle market. Support for low- and no-emissions vehicles has grown both in the U.S. and in other major automotive markets, such as China. Though Tesla has been a market leader in EVs, several automakers are planning to release fully electric cars, trucks and SUVs over the next few years.
“This would be a major shot in the arm for Tesla as this could be a much needed potential catalyst for demand in the U.S.” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives. “Ultimately, while there are still hurdles to get this legislation passed, it would result in an additional 40,000 Tesla vehicles sold domestically in 2019 based on our estimates. After a tornado of bad news the last few months this would finally be a positive data point for Musk & Co.”
— CNBC's
Phil LeBeau
and Meghan Reeder contributed to this article. Reuters also contributed to this report.
UK car production could halve in no-deal Brexit scenario – study
Automotive industry With investment down 80% in past three years, industry faces ‘death by a thousand cuts’ The Jaguar Land Rover factory in Solihull. The company has issued a warning about a no-deal Brexit. Photograph: Getty Car production in Britain could collapse by almost half by the mid-2020s in a no-deal Brexit scenario, with plant… Continue reading UK car production could halve in no-deal Brexit scenario – study
Bekasi and Via Launch TRON to Transform Riding Angkot in Indonesia
Published April 9, 2019 11:00 pm, Via NYC
Bekasi and Via Launch TRON to Transform Riding Angkot in Indonesia
The new ridesharing deployment will launch in March near Jakarta, beginning with 150 vehicles
April 10, 2019 (Bekasi, Indonesia) — Residents of Bekasi will soon be served by the next generation of Angkot as PT. Teknologi Rancang Olah Nusantara introduces TRON, a new form of on-demand public transportation. Launching on April 10, TRON is developed in partnership with Via, the world’s leading provider of on-demand shared mobility solutions.
TRON is a new mobile application that allows users to request a 15 person shared van in real-time, similar to those used for Angkot. After registration, riders request their travel and are directed to a nearby virtual pickup point indicated in the application. The new service will begin with 150 vehicles, giving riders a fully dynamic new way to travel around Bekasi.
“With TRON in Bekasi, we are confident that we will give a new experience in riding public transportation,” said TRON CEO David Santoso. “This new service powered by Via is a great way to encourage people to ride public transportation.”
The vehicles hailed by the TRON mobile app will run in two zones — one along the former K-11 route that was divided into three routes, and another along the former K-12 route. The K-11 service will run from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., while the K-12 will operate from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Each trip is a fixed-fee, costing riders just 5000 rupiah.
“People in Bekasi no longer need to walk a long distance to search for Angkot because TRON provides on-demand booking and efficient routing, making it possible for Angkot drivers to pick up riders much closer to their homes and taking them on a more direct route to their destinations,” said Santoso.
Via’s advanced algorithms enable multiple riders to seamlessly share a vehicle. The powerful technology directs passengers to a nearby corner — a virtual bus stop — for pick up and drop off, and dynamically routes the vehicle in real-time, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours, or inconvenient fixed routes and schedules.
“We are delighted to partner with the innovative city of Bekasi to bring Via’s technology to Indonesia,” said Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via. “Via’s vision is to provide cutting-edge mobility solutions that are smart, efficient, and help to reduce congestion and emissions globally, and the TRON service demonstrates how public transportation and technology can work together to make a city smarter.”
Via has been tapped by cities and transportation players around the world to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via now has more than 60 launched and pending deployments in more than 15 countries. To learn more about Via, visit www.platform.ridewithvia.com.
About TRON
Aplikasi TRON adalah produk dari PT. Teknologi Rancang Olah Nusantara dan merupakan afiliasi dari Digiasia Bios. TRON merupakan aplikasi ride sharing yang saat ini dapat digunakan untuk naik Angkot di Bekasi dengan layanan pembayaran non tunai yang disediakan oleh KasPro.
The TRON application is a product by PT. Teknologi Rancang Olah Nusantara and affiliated by Digiasia Bios. TRON is a ride sharing application that currently can be used to ride City Transport (Angkot) in Bekasi with cashless payment service provided by KasPro.
About Via
Via is re-engineering public transit, from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via’s mobile app connects multiple passengers who are headed the same way, allowing riders to seamlessly share a premium vehicle. First launched in New York City in September 2013, the Via platform operates in the United States and in Europe through its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans, ViaVan. Via’s technology is also deployed worldwide through dozens of partner projects with public transportation agencies, private transit operators, taxi fleets, private companies, and universities, seamlessly integrating with public transit infrastructure to power cutting-edge on-demand mobility. For more information, visit www.platform.ridewithvia.com.
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Ford develops software to target most effective places for public chargers
Ford Transit Custom plug-in van
More electric cars need more electric chargers—especially in and around cities.
Most charging may be done at home but to give drivers confidence to go where they want, or for city-dwellers to effectively drive electric cars, convenient public charging will be key.
Now, Ford says it has developed a new algorithm to help locate public chargers—especially fast-chargers—where drivers travel so they don't have to go out of their way to get to charger. The announcement came Tuesday as London implemented a new ultra-low emissions zone.
“In locating these additional charging points, we've attempted to take into account regular driving and stopping patterns so that topping up slots into drivers regular day-to-day activities,” said John Scott, city data solutions project lead for Ford Mobility in a statement.
READ THIS: Shell buys its first electric car charging station firm in Europe
The program is based on two trials in London. In the first, Ford's City Data Solutions Report, the company tracked 160 gas-powered Ford Transit vans over 625 miles and 15,000 vehicle-days of use. The company says it collected more than 500 million data points about where the drivers went, where they stopped and for how long. Ford says that although the vehicles were not electric, it could track them and identify ways that charging could be integrated into their routes as if they were.
The second fleet trial in London followed 20 plug-in hybrid Transit Custom vans over 50,000 miles to look at charging behaviors. In that study, Ford found that the plug-in hybrids operated in electric mode an average of 35 percent of the time, and that percentage increased the closer the vans got to London's city center. (Plug-in vehicles are exempt from the city's congestion charges as long as they have appropriate permits.)
CHECK OUT: ChargePoint commits to build charging stations for 2.5 million cars by 2025
Interestingly, the plug-in vans started their day with only a 45-percent charge on average. As the study progressed, the fleet operators were better at keeping the vehicles charged, primarily at their depots, rather than by using public charging stations.
If Ford can use the software to determine where to install chargers in the most convenient locations, it could increase the number of electric miles such fleets could drive.
Uber is expected to seek $10 billion in IPO
Uber is reportedly making its S-1 publically available tomorrow, according to Reuters. According to the IPO paperwork, Uber will sell around $10 billion worth of stock, Reuters sources say. If true, Uber’s IPO would be one of the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) in the tech industry since Alibaba’s 2014 IPO. While previous reports have… Continue reading Uber is expected to seek $10 billion in IPO