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Hey hey, it’s a brand new 12 months! I’ve missed you these previous two weeks. But 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 least, that was the sentiment from many of the people I spoke to whereas strolling across the Las Vegas Convention Center. Meanwhile, 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 had been loads of different autonomous automobile startups (or AV adjoining firms) with displays, together with Applied Intuition, May Mobility, Japanese firm Tier IV, Polymath Robotics, and Zoox. John Deere even obtained in on the automated driving motion. Numerous 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.
Still, excessive challenges stay on the capital and operational entrance. Even Waymo, which arguably is the dominant power, has struggles, together with an incident the place a buyer obtained caught in one among its robotaxis.
A bit of fowl
We love being at CES as a result of it provides us an opportunity to speak to a number of little birds in particular person for a change. This week, that included a number of the prime brass at Volkswagen Group, who had a number of confidence within the firm’s new offshoot startup Scout Motors.
Scout remains to be a number of years away from manufacturing and remains to be early within the means of constructing its manufacturing facility in Columbia, South Carolina. But Volkswagen Group expects massive issues from Scout. Executives stated that would even embody utilizing Scout’s manufacturing facility to construct different autos because the startup ramps up manufacturing — doubtlessly even from new VW three way partnership accomplice Rivian, which is presently increasing its personal manufacturing facility in Illinois and has delayed plans for a brand new plant in Georgia.
Volkswagen appears to be like at it this manner: Its factories are constructed round producing platforms versus particular autos. If there are sufficient commonalities between varied vehicles or SUVs within the bigger portfolio — one thing that’s sure 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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Deals!
NXP, a Dutch semiconductor big, plans to accumulate TTTech Auto, an Austrian firm that focuses on security software program for autonomous autos. The all-cash transaction is valued at $625 million.
NXP focuses on semiconductors for automation throughout industries, and it supplies chips for sensors and cameras which might be essential 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 expertise.
Other offers that obtained my consideration …
Amazon AWS entered right into a 10-year, $1 billion partnership with Here, which focuses on mapping and placement tech. As a part of the deal, 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 traders by way of 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. Together, these funds will assist Serve lengthen 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
Before we bounce into the opposite information, listed below are some extra CES highlights that you just 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 structure in a method that initiatives visuals onto the windshield.
Delta Air Lines 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 cope with Uber that may see SkyMiles members earn miles by means of Uber rides and deliveries.
Honda unveiled the most recent in its futuristic 0 Series, 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 first is Xyber, a dust bike that’s not even road-legal but, and the second is Xafari, a extra traditional, customizable step-through bike. Both are full of tech and are available in beneath $3,000.
Scout Motors, the VW spinoff, stood out at CES for having a extra traditional strategy to its two autos, the Traveler SUV and Terra pickup. They’ve obtained regular door handles, non-obligatory gas-powered vary extenders, and, miraculously, buttons! Instead of all touchscreens! That doesn’t imply the vehicles are mild on tech, although; one cool function they’ll have is built-in satellite tv for pc connection.
Uber additionally teamed up with Nvidia this 12 months, asserting it will use the chipmaker’s new generative world mannequin simulation software, 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 expertise to have people pilot empty autos to rental clients, is increasing operations in Las Vegas, with plans to extend its fleet measurement 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 point of mass-produce this 12 months.
ADAS
Tesla’s “Actual Smart Summon” function, which lets Tesla house owners 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 duties 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 damage, but it surely’s an attention-grabbing case research of what occurs as our streets develop into full of various kinds of AVs.
Electric autos, charging, & batteries
Lucid produced and delivered a report 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, vehicles, and vans in 2024, up 3x from 2023. The firm additionally constructed 49,476 EVs final 12 months, which is 8,000 fewer than Rivian’s July steerage.
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: Check out 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 lodge in Las Vegas and allegedly blew it up. Both people had clear data, so what might Turo have finished to stop this?
Miscellaneous
Tesla administrators will now must 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
Within hours of touchdown in Las Vegas, I headed to Zoox’s operations heart, which is situated off the Strip. My mission: take a trip in a Zoox robotaxi. Mission achieved. And twice, for that matter. Stay tuned for my full writeup and video within the subsequent day. But till then, listed below are a number of ideas.
During my two separate Zoox journeys, each of which had been at night time, the robotaxi dealt with quite a few advanced 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, despite the fact that logically I understood this was not regular. At least not but.
Zoox nonetheless has a bit of labor to do, although. While the robotaxi obeyed all visitors guidelines and operated safely, there have been a number of occasions when it hit the brakes a bit arduous. The suspension might additionally use some work to make it a extra comfy trip.
What is “This week’s wheels”? It’s an opportunity to be taught concerning the totally different transportation merchandise we’re testing, whether or not it’s an electrical or hybrid automotive, an e-bike, or perhaps a trip in an autonomous automobile.
