The Volkswagen Group is presenting its activities in the intelligent transport of people and goods at the 25th ITS World Congress in Copenhagen (17 – 21 September 2018). As a member of ERTICO – ITS Europe, a network of more than 100 partners, the Group and its brands are partnering actively with cities to implement… Continue reading Volkswagen Group expands its activities for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
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Volkswagen is pushing forward preparations for potential IPO of TRATON GROUP
Volkswagen is pushing forward preparations for a potential Initial Public Offering (IPO) of TRATON GROUP. Further steps to this end were decided by the Volkswagen AG Supervisory Board in today’s meeting. TRATON GROUP will now strengthen the team preparing a potential IPO with external experts. For this purpose, investment banks and legal advisors will be… Continue reading Volkswagen is pushing forward preparations for potential IPO of TRATON GROUP
Statement on FAZ Regarding Daimler AG: No intention to increase stake
“ Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) has noted media speculation in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) concerning its alleged interest in increasing its strategic investment in Daimler AG. To avoid unnecessary speculation, Geely Holding has today issued the following statement: Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (Geely Holding) has noted the speculative media report carried by Frankfurter… Continue reading Statement on FAZ Regarding Daimler AG: No intention to increase stake
Delivering a World-Class Driver Experience with Two New Lyft Leaders
We’re excited to welcome Cal Lankton and Geoffrey Bain to Lyft as Vice President of Infrastructure Operations and Senior Director of Retail Operations, respectively. Cal and Geoffrey will work closely with Karim Bousta, who was recently brought on as Vice President of Driver Experience Operations. Together, this group will develop and execute Lyft’s long-term vision… Continue reading Delivering a World-Class Driver Experience with Two New Lyft Leaders
Mahindra Group companies sign up for commitments addressing Climate Change:
Mahindra Group companies sign up for commitments addressing Climate Change:
Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd, Mahindra Heavy Engines Ltd sign up for EP 100; Mahindra Electric joins EV 100 and Mahindra Holidays commit to RE 100
Mumbai, 12th Sept: As the world looks to heavy industry to help drive emissions cuts, Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd, Mahindra Heavy Engines Ltd have, today, pledged to put energy efficiency at the heart of their business growth strategies by joining EP100.
EP100 is a global collaborative initiative on energy productivity led by The Climate Group in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy. By setting ambitious targets and integrating energy efficiency into business strategy, EP100 members are driving clean tech innovation while delivering on emissions reduction goals. Today’s announcement comes just ahead of the Global Climate Action Summit (September 12-14), where Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, will address leaders from business, states, regions and cities who will come together in San Francisco to “Take Ambition to the Next Level”.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, said, “I am excited to see such a significant group of large energy users’ step up their efforts on energy efficiency. Lowering energy use in sectors like auto-manufacturing is an ambitious task, but the figures speak for themselves – making smarter use of energy boosts the bottom line and drives down greenhouse gas emissions. These announcements will inspire many more to come on board, accelerating a clean economy.”
Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers Ltd has committed to doubling its energy productivity by 2041 (2016 baseline); Mahindra Heavy Engines Ltd by 2041 (2016 baseline). Mahindra & Mahindra and Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. are already members of EP100, having joined in 2016. Mahindra & Mahindra, a leader in the automotive and farming equipment sectors with operations spanning 21 industries in more than 100 countries, has, to date, invested INR 44.7 Rs Cr in 1,757 energy efficiency projects globally, saving 8.3 KWh, 67,655 tons of carbon emissions, and INR 66.7 Cr over the last four years.
Speaking about this commitment, Vijay Kalra, Chief of Manufacturing Operations – M&M, Auto Division said, “Operating in a country like India which is energy deficient, energy security and energy cost is of vital importance for sustainable business performance. By joining the EP100 program, we demonstrate our commitment to our employees, society and the nation at large. As we take aspirational targets to enhance energy productivity there will be innovation and development of new technologies that will change the way we live and work. It’s all about arriving at a win-win situation for all. Be it business, employees and society.”
In addition to this, Mahindra Electric, a Mahindra Group company, has signed EV100, a global initiative bringing together forward looking companies committed to accelerating the transition to electric vehicles (EVs) and making electric transport the new normal by 2030. Another Group company, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd. has committed to RE 100, setting a 100% renewable electricity target for its entire global operations by 2050.
About Mahindra
The Mahindra Group is a USD 20.7 billion federation of companies that enables people to rise through innovative mobility solutions, driving rural prosperity, enhancing urban living, nurturing new businesses and fostering communities. It enjoys a leadership position in utility vehicles, information technology, financial services and vacation ownership in India and is the world’s largest tractor company, by volume. It also enjoys a strong presence in agribusiness, aerospace, commercial vehicles, components, defense, logistics, real estate, renewable energy, speedboats and steel, amongst other businesses. Headquartered in India, Mahindra employs over 2,400,000 people across 100 countries.
Learn more about Mahindra on www.mahindra.com / Twitter and Facebook: @MahindraRise
Media contact information:
Shubhada Dharwadkar
Group Communications
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Tel:+91-22-24901441
Dharwadkar.shubhada@mahindra.com
Indonesia’s Go-Jek could ‘soon’ launch its ride-hailing app in Thailand
Indonesia’s Go-Jek could expand into Thailand ‘very soon,’ its president says
1 Hour Ago | 01:32
Indonesia's largest ride-hailing, payments and services company, Go-Jek, plans to expand its presence across more markets in Southeast Asia in the near future, according to its president.
After officially launching its services in Vietnam earlier this week, Go-Jek is building up its operations in Thailand and working with regulators in Singapore and the Philippines, Andre Soelistyo told CNBC on Friday.
“Thailand is coming very soon … the team is already working to operationalize the product,” he said, adding that, for Singapore and the Philippines, “we're still working it out with local regulators, local teams to make sure that all the requirements are being checked properly, before we do the expansion.”
Earlier in May, Go-Jek announced that it would invest about $500 million to move into the four markets over the next several months. The company said it would provide “technological support and expertise” to local founding teams that would then work on gaining traction in each of those countries.
The mobile app that was launched in Vietnam is called Go-Viet and is now available in the major cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. On that app, users can book two-wheel rides and make use of courier services — the company said there are plans to introduce four-wheel ride-hailing, food delivery and digital payment services on the application in the future.
Soelistyo said the decision to launch first in Vietnam had several motivations, including its cultural similarity to Indonesia, and the high social media penetration rate.
“Motorcycle penetration is very high, and that's very key for our platform” he said. “We saw a lot of excitement from the local team, and local partners, and they really wanted to push this. So, we started with Vietnam as a result.”
Ultimately, Go-Jek's goal is to consolidate transactions on its app by building new technologies on top of it that can do various functions such as making payments, buying goods and services online and ordering food, according to Soelistyo.
In Singapore, reports previously suggested that Go-Jek was in talks with the country's largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro, to forge a partnership ahead of the company's entry into the market. Soelistyo declined to comment on that report, and instead said Go-Jek always takes a “very partnership-driven” approach.
Go-Jek's expansion into Southeast Asia is set to potentially fill the void left by Uber. The U.S. tech company earlier this year sold its regional business to local competitor Grab. The two Southeast Asia-based companies already compete in Indonesia and will now do the same in Vietnam.
Both companies have notable backers: Grab counts SoftBank, China's Didi Chuxing, Toyota, global asset manager OppenheimerFunds and China's Ping An Capital among its investors. Go-Jek, which reportedly raised about $1.5 billion in funds in February, is backed by Google, Singapore's Temasek Holdings and tech giant Tencent.
ChargePoint commits to build charging stations for 2.5 million cars by 2025
2014 BMW i3 REx fast-charging at Chargepoint site, June 2016 [photo: Tom Moloughney]
At the Global Climate Action Summit this week in San Francisco, several companies made commitments to reducing climate change.
ChargePoint, one of the oldest electric-car charging networks in the U.S., said Wednesday that it aims to complete enough charging stations globally by 2025 to cover 2.5 million parking spots. The commitment does not include thousands of home chargers that ChargePoint also sells. Each station could cover one or two parking spots, a ChargePoint spokeswoman said.
READ MORE: ChargePoint invests in commercial charging for buses, delivery vans, taxis
According to the company's website, it currently has 45,000 charging locations across the U.S. and has begun expanding in Europe.
Setting such a goal by 2025 represents a huge challenge for the company.
ChargePoint Express Plus modular DC fast-charging system for electric cars, launched at 2017 CES
“Our commitment to deploy 2.5 million charging spots by 2025 comes as the company embarks on the most significant period of growth in our history and in the midst of a revolution in transportation,” said Pasquale Romano, president and CEO, ChargePoint. “The time for transformative change is now, and broadly distributed, substantial and immediate investments in charging infrastructure are necessary to usher in the future of e-mobility.
“We're at a huge tipping point here,” he said, “where this thing begins to accelerate very, very quickly.”
Even as the Trump Administration in Washington, D.C., begins dismantling the legal framework that incentivized electric cars, Roman said, it's a “train that has already left the station.”
CHECK OUT: Gas stations aren't a model for electric-car charging: ChargePoint CEO
Romano said that he expects the electric-car business to grow from almost $78 billion last year to almost $128 billion by 2022.
The additional chargers from ChargePoint will help expand public charging at businesses, workplaces, apartment buildings, as well as charging for commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses.
ChargePoint recently acquired Kisensum, a data analytics firm focused on helping utilities manage power loads.
Facing increased competition, especially from Electrify America, operating under a court mandate to spend $2 billion expanding public charging in the same time frame, Romano says there is room for multiple charging networks in the industry, but he expects some consolidation.
A Tesla investor says he was recently questioned by US regulators about that infamous ‘funding secured’ tweet
Last week, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt, regulator Jina Choi, who heads the SEC’s wide-reaching San Francisco unit, declined to confirm or deny that the SEC is investigating Tesla CEO Elon Musk for possible fraud. Said Choi, “I can’t tell you about any particular investigation in our office. And I can’t confirm or deny the existence… Continue reading A Tesla investor says he was recently questioned by US regulators about that infamous ‘funding secured’ tweet
Nio becomes first Chinese automaker to go public in US
Nio Formula E race car, EP9, ES8 and Eve concept car
Electric carmaker Nio became the first Chinese automaker to go public on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.
In August, the Nio [NYSE: NIO] announced that it hoped to raise $1.3 billion in its initial public offering. Trading in its opening day fell short of that at just over $1 billion.
DON'T MISS: Chinese electric carmaker Nio seeks public funding in US
The company planned to used the funds to develop future electric cars for the U.S. and Chinese markets and to develop self-driving software.
Nio currently sells an electric SUV, the ES8 in China, designed to compete with the Tesla Model X.
The ES8 sells for $65,000 in China, about half what a Tesla Model X costs, and has 220 miles of range and 644 horsepower.
CHECK OUT: Chinese electric-car startup Nio gets $1 billion in funding: report
Nio became one of the most promising Chinese automakers after it introduced the EP9 electric supercar in 2016, then put the ES8 SUV into production.
The company also builds a race car for the Formula E series and has plans for a second electric production car, a luxury sedan based on its Eve concept car.
Nio doesn't sell the ES8 in the U.S., but has an office in San Jose, California to work on self-driving technology and bringing its cars to the U.S.
Online used car startup Shift raises $140 million
Shift Technologies, an online marketplace for used cars, has closed a Series D financing round of more than $140 million in equity and debt. The round, which consists of about $70 million in debt and $71 million in equity, was led by automotive retailer Lithia Motors. Bryan DeBoer, CEO and president of Lithia, will join Shift’s… Continue reading Online used car startup Shift raises $140 million