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Hey hey, it’s a brand new 12 months! I’ve missed you these previous two weeks. However I’m again, and in Las Vegas for CES 2025. As all the time, bulletins from the present got here quick and livid — some extra materials than others.
My massive takeaway: Autonomous autos are again, and the trough of disillusionment days are within the rearview. At the least, that was the sentiment from a lot of the people I spoke to whereas strolling across the Las Vegas Conference Heart. In the meantime, U.S. automakers had been absent this 12 months apart from Scout Motors, the VW Group spinoff.
Waymo had its largest exhibit but on the CES conference flooring, the place it confirmed off the Zeekr RT. There have been loads of different autonomous automobile startups (or AV adjoining firms) with displays, together with Utilized Instinct, Could Mobility, Japanese firm Tier IV, Polymath Robotics, and Zoox. John Deere even acquired in on the automated driving motion. Quite a few different AV startups, in addition to firms associated to automated driving, had executives milling about, together with people from Aurora, Serve Robotics, and Waabi.
The temper was uplifted — excited, even — however with out the identical unchecked hypey-ness I skilled six or seven years in the past.
Nonetheless, excessive challenges stay on the capital and operational entrance. Even Waymo, which arguably is the dominant pressure, has struggles, together with an incident the place a buyer acquired caught in one among its robotaxis.
Just a little hen
We love being at CES as a result of it offers us an opportunity to speak to a variety of little birds in individual for a change. This week, that included a number of the high brass at Volkswagen Group, who had a variety of confidence within the firm’s new offshoot startup Scout Motors.
Scout continues to be a couple of years away from manufacturing and continues to be early within the technique of constructing its manufacturing unit in Columbia, South Carolina. However Volkswagen Group expects massive issues from Scout. Executives mentioned that would even embrace utilizing Scout’s manufacturing unit to construct different autos because the startup ramps up manufacturing — probably even from new VW three way partnership accomplice Rivian, which is at the moment increasing its personal manufacturing unit in Illinois and has delayed plans for a brand new plant in Georgia.
Volkswagen appears at it this fashion: Its factories are constructed round producing platforms versus particular autos. If there are sufficient commonalities between varied automobiles or SUVs within the bigger portfolio — one thing that’s certain to occur as Rivian-VW software program and electrical structure begin to energy extra VW Group autos — then, within the firm’s eyes, it is smart to allow them to share manufacturing area and sources.
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Offers!
NXP, a Dutch semiconductor big, plans to amass TTTech Auto, an Austrian firm that makes a speciality of security software program for autonomous autos. The all-cash transaction is valued at $625 million.
NXP makes a speciality of semiconductors for automation throughout industries, and it gives chips for sensors and cameras which can be important to core automated driving features. The acquisition comes as chip firms — together with Nvidia and Qualcomm — double down on offering automotive-grade supercomputers and toolkits that may assist automakers supply autonomous automobile know-how.
Different offers that acquired my consideration …
Amazon AWS entered right into a 10-year, $1 billion partnership with Right here, which makes a speciality of mapping and placement tech. As a part of the deal, Right here can use AWS’s cloud infrastructure to assist auto producers get the sources they should develop and deploy automated driving options.
Serve Robotics raised $80 million from unnamed institutional buyers through a direct providing. This elevate got here the day after Serve introduced that it had raised $87 million all through the month of December by means of a mix of an ATM and train of warrants. Collectively, these funds will assist Serve prolong its runway previous 2026 and construct its fleet to 2,000 sidewalk robots by the top of 2025.
Notable reads and different tidbits
CES roundup
Earlier than we leap into the opposite information, listed here are some extra CES highlights that you simply may need missed:
BMW is revamping its in-car person interface, beginning with the Neue Klasse sedan later this 12 months, together with a widget-based system that lets customers customise the format in a means that initiatives visuals onto the windshield.
Delta Air Strains introduced a slew of updates, together with an AI-powered assistant in its app and upgraded in-flight leisure system, full with free onboard YouTube Premium and Music. The airline additionally introduced an unique take care of Uber that may see SkyMiles members earn miles by means of Uber rides and deliveries.
Honda unveiled the newest in its futuristic 0 Collection, a midsized electrical SUV prototype referred to as the 0 SUV. Honda guarantees to debut a manufacturing model of the 0 SUV within the first half of 2026.
Segway got here to play this 12 months with two sick new e-bikes. The primary is Xyber, a mud bike that’s not even road-legal but, and the second is Xafari, a extra basic, customizable step-through bike. Each are filled with tech and are available in beneath $3,000.
Scout Motors, the VW spinoff, stood out at CES for having a extra basic method to its two autos, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup. They’ve acquired regular door handles, non-compulsory gas-powered vary extenders, and, miraculously, buttons! As an alternative of all touchscreens! That doesn’t imply the automobiles are mild on tech, although; one cool characteristic they’ll have is built-in satellite tv for pc connection.
Uber additionally teamed up with Nvidia this 12 months, saying it might use the chipmaker’s new generative world mannequin simulation instrument, Cosmos, and cloud-based AI supercomputing platform, DGX Cloud, to assist the event of AVs.
Vay, the Berlin-based startup that makes use of teleoperations know-how to have people pilot empty autos to rental clients, is increasing operations in Las Vegas, with plans to extend its fleet dimension to 100 autos.
Xpeng Aero HT unveiled its “modular flying automotive” that’s primarily an enormous electrical van with a small, foldable eVTOL that may roll out and launch into the skies. And, apparently, Xpeng is on the brink of mass-produce this 12 months.
ADAS
Tesla’s “Precise Sensible Summon” characteristic, which lets Tesla homeowners use their app to summon their automotive to them autonomously, is beneath federal investigation following a number of crashes.
Autonomous autos
Aurora Innovation has misplaced Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi as one among its board members after he resigned final week, citing a need to deal with his tasks at his ride-hail and supply firm.
A Serve supply robotic and a Waymo robotaxi collided at a Los Angeles intersection. No robots had been harm, nevertheless it’s an fascinating case examine of what occurs as our streets turn into full of several types of AVs.
Electrical autos, charging, & batteries
Lucid produced and delivered a file variety of autos in 2024. The EV startup met its manufacturing goal with 9,029 EVs and delivered 10,241 autos.
Rivian delivered 51,579 electrical SUVs, vans, and vans in 2024, up 3x from 2023. The corporate additionally constructed 49,476 EVs final 12 months, which is 8,000 fewer than Rivian’s July steering.
Tesla noticed fewer deliveries final 12 months in comparison with 2023, marking the automaker’s first ever year-to-year drop. Not even the Cybertruck, Tesla’s first true new mannequin since 2020, boosted Tesla’s development. (Bonus: Take a look at all the guarantees Elon Musk made for Tesla in 2024.)
Turo was concerned in some significantly messy enterprise after two people rented EVs from the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform and used them to carry out acts of violence. First there was the man who drove a Ford F-150 Lightning right into a crowd of individuals, then the man who drove a Tesla Cybertruck to the Trump resort in Las Vegas and allegedly blew it up. Each people had clear information, so what may Turo have finished to stop this?
Miscellaneous
Tesla administrators will now need to pay as much as $919 million again to the corporate after a Delaware decide accredited a settlement, resolving allegations that they overpaid themselves.
This week’s wheels
Inside hours of touchdown in Las Vegas, I headed to Zoox’s operations heart, which is positioned off the Strip. My mission: take a experience in a Zoox robotaxi. Mission completed. And twice, for that matter. Keep tuned for my full writeup and video within the subsequent day. However till then, listed here are a couple of ideas.
Throughout my two separate Zoox journeys, each of which had been at evening, the robotaxi dealt with quite a few complicated conditions, together with building zones, two automotive crashes (we weren’t concerned), double-parked autos, and turning proper on a crimson mild. This expertise felt regular, although logically I understood this was not regular. At the least not but.
Zoox nonetheless has a bit of labor to do, although. Whereas the robotaxi obeyed all site visitors guidelines and operated safely, there have been a couple of occasions when it hit the brakes a bit exhausting. The suspension may additionally use some work to make it a extra snug experience.
What’s “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to study in regards to the completely different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automotive, an e-bike, or perhaps a experience in an autonomous automobile.
