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TechCrunch’s traffic team – at least me and senior reporter Rebecca Bellan are visiting the road. Destination: SXSW, annual technical, music, film and cultural conference in Austin. We both have panels. If you are on SXSW, check these and introduce yourself.
Keep your eyes and ears open for transportation news coming out of the event, including an on-stage interview with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. And you all know that I’ll scout the city for Waymo Robotaxis, which is only available on the Uber app.
The SXSW panel includes an interview with Autodesk’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dara Treseder on March 11, with San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan focusing on transforming urban space. On March 12th, Rebecca will talk with executives from GM, Dolby and Google about entertainment in the car. I will interview Wing CEO Adam Woodworth, Walmart Vice President of Dedicated Delivery Warren Moore and Professor Clinton Plutel of the University of North Texas about the future of drone delivery.
Before diving into the rest of the news, I wanted to touch on tariffs enacted by the Trump administration, which is expected to overturn the automotive industry.
For a month after a request from executives of the Big 3 automaker, it will follow the development of the roller coaster rollout of this policy, including President Trump’s decision to delay car imports from Canada and Mexico. catch? The administration expects GM, Ford and Stellantis to move offshore operations to the United States by April 2nd.
I feel safe with this prediction: it doesn’t happen.
Little bird
When Volkswagen still revealed the cheapest EV, there were some winks and nods about the software that we wondered about. A small bird has seen what is in our minds.
Volkswagen’s Ultra-Stable EV Every1 (a small four-door hatchback revealed this week), will be first deployed in Libian software and architecture. The EV is being produced at a starting price of 20,000 euros ($21,500) in 2027, and will be the first to ship with Libyan vehicle architecture and software as part of a $5.8 billion joint venture that was attacked last year between German automakers and US EV makers.
According to our sources, another inexpensive EV called ID.2All, which is supposed to be released in 2026, is based on the E3 1.1 architecture and software developed by VW’s software unit Cariad.
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Great deal!
Let’s call this the transaction Didi dream of. I’m hunting with Chinese riding company Dididi Didi for fresh funds for a self-driving car technology unit that cherishes it for $5 billion.
Didi Autonomous Driving is a unit DIDI created in 2020, raising a total of $1.55 billion so far. A source familiar with the issue told Bloomberg (reporting the scoop) that the unit is aiming to raise hundreds of millions more dollars and aims to measure interest with investors, including the Beijing-based fund.
Also, in other huge trading news, Chinese electric car maker BYD has raised $5.6 billion in major stock sales. The company sold 199.8 million shares more than expected.
Other deals that caught my attention…
Connected vehicle technology and data privacy startup Aiden Auto has raised $4.2 million in a seed funding round led by Nuri Venture Partners. Other investors include Insurance, Tengoventure, Band of Angels, Mentor Funds, Start Equity Venture, Conx City, Welsom Capital, and unnamed groups of angel investors and family offices. Founded by a former Volvo engineer, the San Francisco-based startup has raised $6.1 million so far.
Canoo CEO Anthony Aquila has bought almost all of the assets of EV startups that have been discontinued from bankruptcy. price? $4 million.
Capow, the company that developed motion electric charging systems for the robotics fleet, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Toyota Ventures. Investors Elements VC, IL Ventures, Payton Planar Magnetics Ltd., Mobilion and Doral Energy-Tech also participated.
California’s Clean Mobility Options Voucher Program has issued a $33 million award to address mobility gaps, including electric school buses and electronic bikes, and to reduce air pollution.
Notable readings and other information
Self-driving cars
Avride has yet another partnership, this time with Hyundai. The company agreed to jointly develop self-driving cars. The agreement will focus on AV technology designed for Robotaxis. Avride is also expanding its fleet of Hyundai Ion Ik 5 vehicles, which will be integrated with autonomous driving systems. History Note: Waymo and Hyundai also have transactions.
Politecnico di Milano set up a new autonomous speed record using an Indy Autonomous Challenge using a Maserati MC20 coupe that reached 197.7 mph.
Uber CPO Sachin Kansal and I recently talked about his career at the ride company and his promotion in October. The deployment of self-driving cars through Uber’s 14 partnerships (and perhaps more in the future) is the next big challenge for the new Chief Product Officer.
The “Waymo on Uber” Robotaxi service currently lives in Austin. This means that Austin Uber users can choose between Waymo Robotaxi and human drivers. Speaking of Waymo, the company records over 200,000 paid Robotaxi rides each week. I’ve doubled my weekly Robotaxi rides within a year.
Electric cars, charging, batteries
Ben Horowitz, co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz, donated a fleet of Tesla Cybertrucks to the Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas. He has a history of giving technology to the department.
Volvo has unveiled the ES90 sedan, the company’s first mass-produced EV, with an estimated 435 miles range under the European WLTP rating system. Fun fact: This Volvo is equipped with Luminar’s Iris Lidar integrated into the vehicle’s roofline.
Comfortable ride
Tesla has applied for a permit with the California Public Utilities Commission to operate transportation services within the state. It is important to note that applications for a Tesla transport charter party carrier permit are different from those that ride app companies Lyft and Uber have. A TCP permit means that the company (in this case Tesla) owns the vehicle and uses the employee as a driver. It is also the first step required for an automaker if they want to ultimately run Robotaxi services there.
Uber pilots teenager-focused Uber in India to teenage service. The service is open to Bengaluru, Delhi NCR and Mumbai. The company plans to expand its services to 35 cities in the coming weeks, including Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.
This week’s wheels
There’s nothing this week, but look forward to it.
What is “This Week’s Wheel”? This is your chance to learn about the various transportation products we are testing, electric and hybrid vehicles, e-bikes, and even self-driving vehicles.