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Automakers reported car sales for the first quarter and, well, it turns out that prices do matter if you want to sell electric vehicles. Who would have thought? TO recent survey by Edmunds reaches a similar conclusion (at least for American buyers), finding a large gap between what consumers want and what is actually available on the market.
Here's the thing. According to the Edmunds survey, 47% say they are looking to purchase an electric vehicle under $40,000, and 22% are interested in electric vehicles priced below the $30,000 threshold. Today, there are no new electric vehicles priced under $30,000 and only four under $40,000. The average price of an electric vehicle in 2023 was $61,702, while the rest of the vehicles amounted to $47,450.
This mismatch of realities is putting pressure on automakers as they try to move inventory by cutting prices. This downward pressure has forced automakers like Ford delay future launches of electric vehicles and allocate more resources to hybrids. Even teslaa benchmark in the world of electric vehicles, fell well below analyst expectations with deliveries falling 20% from the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the electric vehicle startup rivian posted lukewarm results.
Which is the answer? Well, at Tesla, it seems the solution is twofold: cut prices again and try to capture revenue through sales of its $12,000 fully self-driving software, which is currently offered on a free one-month trial. all clients.
Okay, folks, let's move on to the rest of the news!
a little bird
Founders, investors, engineers, policy experts and others tell us things. And we are here to pass on the verifiable information that those small birds have shared with us.
This week, a little bird warned us of the closure of Phantom autonomy, which had raised over $220 million and recently partnered with OpenAI. A couple of calls, emails and a new post on the company's website confirmed the information. About 100 people were affected.
As I noted in my article, Ghost has changed several times since its founding in 2017. When I asked founder and CEO John Hayes what happened, he said the company had completed an on-road driving product and was moving into urban environments to through what he described as “last mile delivery.”
“In the end, the years required to bring the product to market could not be financed,” he wrote to me in an email.
Do you have a suggestion for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at [email protected] or Sean O'Kane [email protected]. If you prefer to remain anonymous, Click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging applications.
Offer of the week
Startup founders, listen up: a new fund just closed. Prepare your slideshows.
crankThe Israel-based, now New York-based venture capital firm raised a $140 million fund with plans to stick to its early-stage investment strategy of backing startups at the intersection of mobility, transportation and energy. .
As I noted in my longer article, the company's focus has evolved somewhat by expanding geographically and diversifying its investor base. The company has also largely stopped using the once-fashionable umbrella term “mobility” (often leaving it out of its original name Maniv Mobility) in favor of talking about deep tech, decarbonization and digitization of the transportation sector. .
The fund's investors are no longer dominated by automakers and tier-one suppliers. Instead, Maniv has opened up to a broader swath of strategic and institutional financial investors, including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and the venture arms of Shell and Enterprise Mobility.
The Maniv III fund also includes yield investors Valeo and Jaguar Land Rover's venture arm InMotion Ventures. Also participating in the fund were Toyota Motor Corp.'s Woven Capital, vehicle leasing company Arval, transportation infrastructure giant Ferrovial, industrial manufacturing company ITT Inc., fleet payments company WEX and an insurance company. unidentified European.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Alsym EnergyA Massachusetts-based startup developing non-flammable battery chemistry, raised $78 million in a Series C round led by General Catalyst and Tata, the Indian conglomerate, with participation from Drads Capital, Thomvest and Thrive Capital.
BlaBlaCarThe French ride-sharing and bus ticketing company obtained a revolving credit line of 100 million euros ($108 million at current exchange rates).
Notable readings and other tidbits
autonomous vehicles
Waymo and Uber expanded into a continued association which will affect Uber Eats customers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Now, when people order a burrito, pizza, or any other treat through Uber Eats, a Waymo vehicle may deliver the food. The partnership will begin with select merchants in Chandler, Tempe and Mesa, including restaurants such as Princess Pita, Filiberto's and BoSa Donuts.
Electric vehicles, charging and batteries.
Apple is laying off 614 employees in California after abandoning its electric car project. According to the WARN notice released by the California EDD, most of the affected employees were working in buildings related to its canceled car project, while others were working in a facility for the development of its next-generation display, Bloomberg twitter&utm_content=tech&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter–tech” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>reported.
canoo finally reported its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. Hidden within the regulatory filing is a nugget about the use of CEO Tony Aquila's private jet, just one of many expenses that illustrate the gap between expenses and income in electric vehicle startups. Tl;dr: Canoo spent twice its annual income on the CEO's private jet in 2023.
Future Faraday narrowly avoided an eviction from its Los Angeles headquarters. The company reached an agreement with the building's owner, Rexford Industrial, to remain at the facility as long as it meets a few conditions. If Faraday violates any of the terms, Rexford has the right to activate a 48-hour payment demand and can start the startup if he does not pay. If Faraday Future makes its payments, it will be able to remain in the building until September 2025, when the lease expires.
He National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a third investigation into fisherman Ocean SUV, this time focused on problems opening the doors.
tesla It is reportedly abandoning its plan to build a lower-cost electric vehicle that is believed to cost around $25,000, according to Reuters, despite that vehicle's status as a critical product for the company's overall growth. Tesla will apparently focus on a planned robotaxi that is being built on the same small electric vehicle platform that was also supposed to power the lower-cost vehicle. This is where it gets a little silly. Just a few hours after the Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Reuters was lying, posted on x that Tesla's robotaxi would be revealed on August 8. Imagine.
This week's wheels
This week's wheels will take a week-long break while I enjoy my vacation for a bit. But don't worry, we'll be back next week and I've got a few vehicles lined up, including the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic It gets damaged Lexus LC500 hybrid and a Mercedes eSprinter. In addition, some electric bicycles will be added soon.
What vehicles (including two-wheelers) are you interested in reading about? I'll put them on my list.
