January 10, 2019 Ola has regained its number two ranking in the pecking order of India’s most valuable startups, after securing $74 million in fresh funding from existing investor Steadview Capital in its latest funding round, which valued India’s leading cab-hailing service at roughly $5.7 billion. Ola, which has been in talks to raise at… Continue reading India: Ola’s valuation skyrockets to $5.7b after fresh funding from Steadview
Tag: Uber
Are the days of the private car really over?
A couple of months ago I wrote a wildly optimistic piece about how we’ve all probably bought our last cars. It drew on analysis that suggests that the convergence of electric cars and Uber-style ride hailing networks, together with autonomous driving technology, could completely reshape the car market. These new “robo-taxis” would be so cheap… Continue reading Are the days of the private car really over?
Top Automotive Industry News for Week of December 17 – December 23, 2018
Here is the most important news associated with the automotive industry
identified by the AEA for the week of December 17, 2018 – December 23,
2018.
We hope it helps you stay up to speed on the key developments in our
industry:
-AEA Membership News-
The next AEA Members Reception will be held on Thursday January 24th,
2019 in San Francio. Invitations have been sent to all current AEA
Members. Annual AEA Member Dues renewal will occur on January 2 nd, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact
memberservices@automotiveexecutives.com
-Automotive Manufacturing News–Automotive Manufacturing News-
Carlos Ghosn vows to 'restore my honor' in first remarks since arrest
(autoblog)
Ford's New Truck-like Explorer SUV To Debut Jan. 9 Ahead Of Detroit
Auto Show
(Forbes)
General Motors hints it could negotiate a way to keep one or more
plants open
(CNBC)
German automakers BMW, Daimler stand to benefit the most if China cuts
US auto tariffs
(CNBC)
Ghosn Rearrested, Now Faces 20 Years in Prison
(Forbes)
GM gets thousands of holiday letters about plant closings
(Detroit Free Press)
IIHS Unveils Top Safety Pick Plus Models for 2019
(The Detroit Bureau)
In the Switch to Electric Vehicles, Expect a Few Giants to Crash
(Bloomberg)
Jeep Wrangler plant uses rotisserie to crank out SUVs
(Detroit Free Press)
Nissan to lay off 1,000 Mexican workers, citing market challenges
(autoblog)
Tesla Survived Manufacturing Hell–Now Comes The Hard Part
(Forbes)
UAW scandal sending union's ex-No. 2 in Fiat Chrysler Department to
prison
(Detroit Free Press)
-Automotive Evolution News-
Daimler, BMW Get U.S. Approval for Mobility Company
(The Detroit Bureau)
How electric cars are slowly moving from niche to something 'people
want to buy'
(CNBC)
Laser Vision Upstart Luminar Reveals Self-Driving Tech Alliance With
Audi's AID Unit
(Forbes)
NHTSA Moves to Accelerate Autonomous Vehicle Petitions
(The Detroit Bureau)
Self-driving bill hits dead end in U.S. Senate
(The Detroit News)
The Year Of The Scooter: The Good, The Bad, And The Road Ahead
(Forbes)
Uber's self-driving cars are back on the road, nine months after a
fatal accident
(CNBC)
Zoox Inc. Snags First California Permit To Transport Passengers In
Self-Driving Cars
(NPR)
-Automotive Retail News-
Beating Predictions, 2018 New Car Sales to Surpass 2017 Results
(The Detroit Bureau)
CarMax's stock drops after earnings beat, but used car sales miss
(MarketWatch)
Fed Raises Interest Rate, Lowers Growth Forecast
(Auto Dealer)
Shopping for a new car? Buy before the Fed rate hike affects car loans
(MarketWatch)
Study: Dealers Overspend on Marketing
(Auto Dealer)
U.S. auto sales seen falling 1% in December, say J.D. Power, LMC
(autoblog)
-Automotive Wholesale News-
Car Values at Auction Continue Decline at Year's End
(Vehicle Remarketing)
-Automotive Ownership News-
'Dramatic drops' in gas prices: Less-than-$2 gas is here for many
American motorists
(USA Today)
-Automotive Enthusiast News-
In a blatant attempt to pull at our heart strings, Chevrolet is
offering an in-car Santa tracker
(CNBC)
The most amazing classic car stories of 2018
(FOX News)
-Automotive Servicing News-
Citing Fire Danger Ford Recalls 410,000 Pickups
(Forbes)
Report: 16.7M faulty Takata air bags still on US roads
(The Detroit News)
The Biggest and Smallest Automotive Recalls of 2018
(Car and Driver)
Tesla Model S catches fire in California town: Fire Department
(CNBC)
-General Business & Executive News-
ACV Auctions continues rapid disruption of $100B wholesale automotive
industry
(PR Newswire)
Car rental company Fair raises $385 million in SoftBank-led funding
round
(Reuters)
CU Direct's credit union network leads in auto loan originations
(Automotive News)
The real problem with the American auto industry
(CNN)
U.S. third-quarter growth trimmed; business spending slowing
(Reuters)
-AEA Reminder-
Did we miss something? Let us know via our
Contact Us Page >>
. If you have specific important news going public soon that you would like
to share with your fellow AEA Members, submit your
PR Distribution Request >>
Have a great week,
Member Services
memberservices@automotiveexecutives.com
Automotive Executives Association
www.automotiveexecutives.com
Report: Self-driving car startup Aurora is raising capital at a $2B valuation
Early last year, LinkedIn co-founder and prolific venture capital investor Reid Hoffman called Chris Urmson “the Henry Ford of autonomous vehicles (AV).” The vote of confidence and big check from Hoffman, coupled with a team of deeply knowledgable AV entrepreneurs, has catapulted his company, Aurora Innovation, squarely into “unicorn” territory. Aurora, the developer of a full-stack… Continue reading Report: Self-driving car startup Aurora is raising capital at a $2B valuation
Autonomous cars will never exist says Waymo boss – AutoExpress
Fully autonomous cars that can drive in any conditions and on any road without human input will never exist, according to the boss of a leading driverless vehicle firm. Waymo CEO John Krafcik told the Wall Street Journal’s D.Live conference “autonomy will always have constraints.” • Jaguar teams up with Waymo to build driverless I-Pace SUVs… Continue reading Autonomous cars will never exist says Waymo boss – AutoExpress
Volkswagen buys wireless car service from Volvo
Volkswagen MOIA electric ride-pooling van
In automotive electronics news that doesn't come from this week's CES, Volkswagen announced late last month that it is buying wireless automotive technology from Volvo.
The technology is expected to enable VW's upcoming We car sharing program as well as to allow drivers to control some vehicle functions remotely, which could impact things such as charging for electric cars.
Automakers are scrambling to catch up with Tesla's ability to update cars remotely, and also to enable car-sharing services to compete with companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Google in launching self-driving shuttle and taxi services.
READ THIS: The Apple car to finally hit the road, only it's a VW Bus
The deal is worth $122 million, for Volvo's WirelessCar division, which was founded in 1999, which has been a subsidiary of Volvo since 2007.
Microsoft will also provide wireless services aimed at updating VW cars—and almost certainly first models from VW's luxury divisions, Audi and Porsche—over the airwaves.
DON'T MISS: VW updates I.D. Cargo Buzz with solar for LA Show
The companies plan to develop a secure platform to such updates that won't be vulnerable to the kind of attacks that hackers have demonstrated in principle.
Secure communications and the ability to send commands and updates to cars remotely will be necessary pieces for automated taxi services.
CHECK OUT: Electric car-sharing programs expanding in U.S.
For example, such a service could send updated maps with live construction detours to cars that might venture into areas with weak cellular service.
The sale is expected to be completed in the first half of 2019.
Uber’s IPO may not be as eye-popping as we expected
Uber is expected to raise $10 billion later this year in one of the largest U.S. initial public offerings in history. The float will value the ride-hailing giant somewhere between $76 billion — the valuation it garnered with its last private financing — and $120 billion — a sky-high figure assigned by Wall Street bankers… Continue reading Uber’s IPO may not be as eye-popping as we expected
Ride-hailing app backed by German carmakers takes on Uber
More than 500 transport groups sign up to offer services on new mobility platform Go to Source
Tesla urges tariff exemption for Chinese-made car computer ‘brain’
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tesla Inc has asked the Trump administration to exempt the Chinese-made car computer “brain” of its new Model 3 sedan from 25 percent tariffs imposed in August, saying they threaten the electric carmaker’s bottom line. FILE PHOTO: A car carrier trailer carries Tesla Model 3 electric sedans, is seen outside the Tesla… Continue reading Tesla urges tariff exemption for Chinese-made car computer ‘brain’
Futuristic Hotel Suite Would Drive You Around While You Sleep
On the Road Again So much time is lost in transit, from spending hours in line at airport security to getting stuck in traffic. But Toronto-based design studio Aprilli has cooked up a futuristic solution that could turn those lost hours into valuable time. The firm’s “Autonomous Travel Suite” concept combines the ease and comfort of a… Continue reading Futuristic Hotel Suite Would Drive You Around While You Sleep