BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 27 FEBRUARY 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

What I'm Reading:

Tesla is translating every $100 of revenue into an industry-leading $26 of profit after production costs - the widest gross margin since the automaker started selling more than 50,000 cars annually in 2015. Tesla also scores the highest profit margin among the 10 largest automakers, providing a huge competitive advantage by allowing it to invest more money into improving its cars and developing new products than its peers. (Link)The number of drivers on the world’s roads continues to rise almost everywhere. The distance driven by American motorists hit a new peak last year. Getting a driving license was once a nearly universal rite of passage into adulthood. Now it is something that a growing minority of young people either ignore or actively oppose, into their 20s and beyond. That, in turn, is starting to create more support for anti-car policies being passed in cities around the world. (Link)The Biden Administration’s $7.5 billion EV charging initiative is supposed to help solve the U.S. EV charger infrastructure challenge. The administration laid out the final standards for its plan to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along highways, including a requirement that all EV chargers funded through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) must be built in the United States. (

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)All new cars sold in New Jersey will have to be zero emissions from 2035, Governor Phil Murphy (D-NJ) announced. Back in October, The NJ Department of Environmental Protection called for a gas car sales ban by 2035. Murphy’s new executive orders are the next step. The new EV regulations will be complete by the end of 2023. New Jersey joins New York, California, and the European Union in ending new gas vehicle sales by 2035. (Link)Most car executives agree that a transition to electric vehicles is inevitable. How rapidly to make the switch is a central question, one that is driving divergent strategies. Traditional automakers have pledged to gradually transform their vehicle lineups to EVs, but timelines vary. If car makers get ahead of consumers on EV rollouts, that could inflate their costs and hurt sales of gas-powered vehicles, profits from which are needed to fund investments in electrification. At the same time, lagging behind rivals in EV offerings could cost car makers the chance to establish themselves in a key growth area over the next few decades. (Link)Years of warnings about job losses from the transition to all-electric cars from internal-combustion powertrains are starting to become reality, as Ford announced it would cut nearly half of its European engineering staff of 6,200. Ford said the reason was that electric cars are much simpler. "These changes are driven by the transition to fully electric powertrains and drastically reduced complexity in our vehicles and operations." (Link)Software-based vehicle upgrades generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Mercedes-Benz last year. That's only a fraction of the more than $150 billion in global revenues the automaker earned in 2022, but the business could explode after 2025 when Mercedes launches its own operating system that will open the door to more digital services in vehicles. That's also when Mercedes will roll out a robust menu of on-demand services, including charging and automated driving features. (Link)Many owners of electric cars have wished for a battery pack that could power their vehicle for more than a thousand miles on a single charge. Researchers have developed a lithium-air battery that could make that dream a reality. The main new component in this lithium-air battery is a solid electrolyte instead of the usual liquid variety. The team's battery chemistry with the solid electrolyte can potentially boost the energy density by as much as four times above lithium-ion batteries, which translates into longer driving range. (Link)Dr. Ivan Terekhov from the Lufthansa Innovation Hub does an outstanding job of mapping out the major technologies shaping the future of aviation. (Link)Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🌟 AutoVision is a dealer software platform to automate and optimize dealerships' car buying, selling, and vehicle inventory management with a modular suite of interlocking tools, APIs, and deep statistical insights. (More here)

🌟 Crosswalk Labs tracks greenhouse gas emissions over time with unprecedented resolution — scouring hundreds of data sources, running constrained optimization protocols on billions of data points and benchmarking the results against atmospheric measurements. (More here)

🚘 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce

Gauge Automotive, an online auction for dealers to buy vehicles directly from consumers, raised $5.3M in Seed funding. The round was led by Maniv Mobility, with participation from Proeza Ventures and FJ Labs. The company currently operates in Salt Lake City and Phoenix and plans to open 10 additional markets in the next 24 months. (Link to article)Online car retailer Cazoo has sold its used car data insights platform Cazana to data enrichment company Percayso Inform for an undisclosed sum. Following the transaction, Cazana will be known as Percayso Vehicle Intelligence. (Link to article)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI:

indie Semiconductor has acquired Silicon Radar GmbH for an undisclosed sum of money. Indie is a NASDAQ-listed automotive component supplier and the acquisition provides automotive radar chip design capability.  Silicon Radar was founded in 2006 and was a fabless chip company that designed and delivered silicon chips for radar distance and speed measurement, healthcare, sense and avoidance systems or obstacle detection. (Link to article)​Third Wave Automation (TWA) announced a strategic investment from Qualcomm Ventures and Zebra Technologies, to invest in new products, as its autonomous forklift product, Third Wave Automation Reach, expands its select pilot programs. (Link to article)

Swap Robotics announced a $7 million seed round, led by SOLV Energy, a California-based solar provider. The company provides a robotic lawn mower with a modular design that allows for the quick swapping of batteries and functionality with attachments for things like snowplowing. (Link to article)

⚡ Electrification & Alternative Fuels:

BP will acquire TravelCenters of America (Nasdaq: TA), one of the country’s leading full-service travel center operators for $1.3 billion in cash. TA’will provide options to expand and develop new mobility offers including electric vehicle (EV) charging, biofuels, renewable natural gas (RNG) and later hydrogen, both for passenger vehicles and fleets. (Link to article)Electra Vehicles, the B2B electric vehicle AI software company that produces Cloud and onboard software to optimize the performance of electric vehicle battery systems, has raised $21M,led by United Ventures through the fund @UV T-Growth, and additional investment from Stellantis Ventures. Existing investors LIFTT, Club degli Investitori, and BlackBerry also participated in the round. (Link to article)

UK green hydrogen pioneer GeoPura received a £36m investment led by GM Ventures and co-led by Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital with participation from SWEN Capital Partners and Siemens Energy Ventures to scale its green hydrogen business, which is replacing diesel-fuelled generators and enabling zero-emissions energy across the board. (Link to article)Northvolt is preparing to go public in the next twelve months, according to insider sources. The Swedish battery company could be valued at over $20 billion. The news was broken by Reuters, writing that the Swedish battery cell maker is close to engaging investment banks for a listing in New York or in Europe. Northvolt had already hinted at a possible IPO within two years in June 2022. (Link to article)

 💵 Finance & Insurance

British-Ukrainian car financing startup Carmoola has raised £8.5 million in series A funding led by fintech investment fund QED Investors, plus a debt facility of up to £95 million from NatWest. Carmoola provides a budget for car buyers, generates a history check, and facilitates payments both online and in a showroom via a virtual card. (Link to article)

Naspers is backing rent-to-buy car firm Planet42 in a $100 million debt and equity fund-raising. The startup, which mainly operates in South Africa where Naspers is based, will use the funds for growth within the country and further expansion in Mexico. The firm, founded in 2017, provides vehicle financing mostly to people who can’t access it from banks. Other participants in the equity and debt raise include ARS Holdings and Rivonia Road Capital. (Link to article)

🛴 MicromobilityEstonian-based micromobility companies Ampler Bikes and Kõu Mobility Group have signed an investment and share-swap agreement that makes Kõu Mobility Group the new majority shareholder of Ampler. Ampler will become one of the business units in the group alongside Comodule, Äike and Tuul. (Link to article)

📱Shared Mobility & Subscription:

Greek car-as-a-service startup instacar announced a €55M Series A round, led by Velocity Venture Partners, Autohellas/Vasilakis group and the Olympia Group of Companies, with new investors such as Elikonos 2 S.C.A. SICAR joining as well. (Link to article)Cazoo (NYSE: CZOO) has agreed to sell its German subscription business, Cluno, to ViveLaCar and The Platform Group. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The total portfolio includes several thousand cars in the German market. The disposal concludes Cazoo’s withdrawal from the German market as part of its strategy to focus exclusively on the UK market. Following this transaction, together with previously announced sales of other businesses and assets in Europe, the withdrawal of Cazoo from mainland Europe is now largely complete. (Link to article)Dida Inc. is considering raising about $200 million through its planned Hong Kong IPO, paving the way for the first listing by a Chinese ride-hailing startup since DiDi’s ill-fated share sale in 2021. Dida refiled for the IPO without giving any details on the fundraising size and timeline in its preliminary prospectus. The startup could list in Hong Kong as soon as June. The company has obtained assurances from Chinese regulators for the share sale to go ahead. (Link to article)

Online travel aggregator ixigo has invested Rs 26 crore (around $3.1 million) in Bengaluru-based electric bus startup Freshbus for the launch of inter-city electric bus services across India. The EV company, which will commence its services simultaneously from Hyderabad and Bengaluru with the launch of 24 electric buses, plans to scale up its operations to over 1,000 buses pan-India in the next 2-3 years. It will likely announce its first operational routes in March 2023. (Link to article)

Global mobility and urban services platform inDrive (formerly known as inDriver) raised $150 million. inDrive’s app facilitates ride-hailing, intercity transportation, cargo and freight delivery, task assistance, delivery and employment search. Job classifieds and group buying services were added during the past year to the services already offered by the app. The app is used in 47 countries, up from 37 in 2021. (Link to article)

transferz has raised 6.5 million euros (about $7 million) to expand its B2B mobility platform for pre-booked ground transportation. The company’s platform connects travel brands and local transfer companies to facilitate ground transportation service to and from airports, seaports, and train stations. (Link to article)

🚛 Supply Chain & Logistics:

BlueCargo (YC S18) has raised $11 million in a new round led by Soma Capital and Left Lane Capital. The company optimizes logistics in port terminals and reduces late fees for drayage trucking companies and shippers. Other investors in the company include Cathexis Ventures, Expa, SpringTime Ventures and HyperGuap. (Link to article)

🏭 Vehicle Production & AssemblyFrench car parts maker Faurecia has agreed to sell its SAS Cockpit Modules arm to automotive supplier Motherson Group, in a transaction based on an enterprise value of 540 million euros ($577.5 million). (Link to article)

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