BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 17 JULY 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

Automotive Ventures is excited to announce the latest investment out of our new DealerFund: EV charging start-up Go Eve has raised £3m in its first-ever funding round. Go Eve has developed EV charging technology called DockChain, to make high-power DC charging cost competitive with lower-power AC charging options by extending the reach of single rapid DC chargers to service multiple parking spaces simultaneously. This technology aims to improve on current EV charging technology, which only allows for one or two vehicles to use a fast-charging station at a time. (Link)

The auto industry is beginning to crank out more electric vehicles (EVs) to challenge Tesla, but there's one big problem: not enough buyers. (Link)We're "crossing the chasm" in terms of EV adoption: the era of the early adopter is ending, and we're in a sort of no-mans land between electric vehicle enthusiasts snapping up anything they can, and regular people who just want a better car. (Link)Boosting U.S. EV sales above the current 7% market share level will be more costly and difficult than expected, even with federal and state subsidies. If production of EVs continues to outpace demand, automakers will have to choose between slashing prices and profit margins, or slowing assembly lines. More than 90 new EV models are expected to hit the U.S. market through 2026. Many will struggle to reach profitable sales volumes. (💲Link)In many cases, the automakers have compelled dealers to install charging stations with CCS-standard connectors in order to sell their EVs. But these investments may prove to be costly as the industry quickly moves to adopt the Tesla NACS EV plug standard. (Link)PwC forecasts the EV charging market needs to grow nearly tenfold to satisfy the charging needs of an estimated 27 million EVs on the road by 2030. (Link)Future electric vehicles are set to make modern ones seem heavy, antiquated, low on range, slow to charge, and expensive – if breakthrough battery developments at MG are any guide. (Link)Glenn Mercer: "Tesla’s other amazing achievement is mostly overlooked, and that is the radical simplicity of its product line. To cut to the chase, if Tesla can continue to make this product strategy work, it may redefine the way car companies have competed for the last century or so." (Link)Heavy-duty electric trucks are rolling out across the country. The electric grid upgrades and equipment needed to plug them in aren’t. Parking lots that once needed enough power for a few floodlights now might need to draw as much power as a skyscraper. (💲Link)Independent repair shops will continue to have access to the same diagnostic and repair information automakers make available to authorized dealer networks. (💲Link)Tiremakers aim for real-time data streams for Autonomous Vehicles: A tire that could track road conditions in real-time would be a ‘holy grail’ of vehicle control in self-driving cars. But the technical difficulties of creating one are high. (Link)Western carmakers have dominated China since they were first allowed to set up joint ventures with local partners decades ago. As homegrown brands solidify the trend of outselling foreign rivals, the era of Western dominance is over. (💲Link)Unlike Chinese EV giant BYD, which has ambitious plans in Europe but says the U.S. is off-limits for now, Geely’s premium brands (Polestar, Volvo and Lotus) want a piece of the American market. (💲Link)Connected car data was once touted as the "new oil," but an exit and a bankruptcy from two of the industry's largest players reflect a different reality. (Link)Utah is testing a first-of-its-kind technology that will automatically calculate the amount drivers should pay for their hyper-specific daily driving habits. (Link)General Motors is the latest automaker looking to patent a robotic EV charger. (Link)Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🗞️ On this week's Future of Automotive segment on CBT News, we explore why Tesla’s grip on EV fast charging could be a major headache for automotive dealers. (Link)

🌟 Sicona Battery Technologies develops next-generation battery materials technology used in the anodes (negative electrodes) of lithium-ion batteries. (Link)

🌟 About:Energy focuses on battery testing and software. Their data and models accelerate battery commercialization by reducing the reliance on physical research and enhancing design, management, and prediction. (Link)

🛠️Aftermarket & Repair

India-based VehicleCare

received Pre-Series A funding. The start-up's digital platform connects customers with nearby service centers, enables easy appointment booking, and provides real-time tracking of service requests. (Link)

✈️ Air Mobility & Space

Chinese advanced air mobility (AAM) startup Aerofugia — a subsidiary of carmaker Geely — raised more than 100 million yuan ($14 million) in a Series A funding round. (Link)BluJ Aerospace raised more than $2 million in a Seed funding round. The startup will use the funding for developing a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft powered by hydrogen fuel cell technology. (Link)Surf Air Mobility plans to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as a publicly traded company, using the ticker symbol “SRFM.” This listing is expected to occur during the week of July 24th, following its acquisition of regional carrier Southern Airways Express. (Link)Verity announced an $11 million funding round. The company's drones have been deployed in 13 countries and IKEA brought 100 of its drones for 16 of the furniture giant’s European warehouses. Drones are uniquely qualified for scanning inventory on warehouse shelves: they’re small, nimble, and can hit even the highest shelves. The secret sauce is systems with limited connectivity that allow drones to fly indoors and avoid collisions. (Link)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI

ROCSYS, a provider of autonomous charging systems for electric transportation, has raised a $36 million Series A financing. The investment is made up of roughly equal parts dept and equity financing. The company combines soft robotics, AI-based computer vision, and data-driven services to adapt existing chargers into an autonomous system that can plug in and out without manual intervention. (Link)Simbe Robotics raised a $28 million Series B. BJ's Wholesale Club is rolling out Simbe’s Tally robotics to all of its locations. Simbe focuses on "front-of-store" operations. Their "Tally" robot is designed to keep an eye on shelves, monitoring for missing items that may have been replaced or stolen. (Link)Syrius Robotics raised CN¥100,000,000. The company is the first in China to focus on AMR (Autonomous Mobile Robot) hardware, software, and supporting cloud services. Syrius' logistics solutions have been implemented in the warehousing sector, serving retail e-commerce and logistics groups. (Link)

🚘 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce

F&I provider Safe-Guard Products International has jumped into the service side of automotive retail with its recent acquisition of fixed operations facility development firm Dealer Solutions & Design. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. (Link)SKAIVISION, providing Computer Vision AI solutions for retail automotive dealerships, announced its Series A round. Skaivision aims to cement its position as the preferred choice for Computer Vision AI solutions for automotive retail. (Link)

⚡ Electrification & Alternate Fuels

Volkswagen Group and Stellantis are each committing $100 million in a complicated transaction that will create a publicly traded mining company producing nickel and copper from two Brazilian mines that run on hydropower. They are joining with SPAC ACG Acquisition Company Limited. (Link) BillionElectric, an E-Mobility as a Service (eMaaS) platform, raised USD $10 million in a Seed round of equity and asset lease funding. The funds will be used for the deployment of electric tarmac buses at the Bengaluru international airport and for the development of a mid-mile heavy EV trucks platform. (Link)Munich-based ChargeX, a company that develops and produces charging infrastructure solutions and products for electric vehicles, has secured €11.5M in a Series B round. (Link)e.GO Mobile, an innovative producer of urban battery EVs and unique production technology, closed a $75 million fixed-interest rate debt financing from Western Asset Management. (Link)Evos has raised $5 million, just weeks before the company launches its first electric car charger designed for consumers. The company builds electric vehicle charging equipment for fleets and households. (Link)Fisker (NYSE:FSR) will sell an institutional investor $340M in 0% senior unsecured convertible notes due 2025, with the option to enhance the principal amount to $680M. (Link)EV charging start-up Go Eve has raised £3m in its first-ever funding round. Go Eve has developed EV charging technology called DockChain, to make high-power DC charging cost competitive with lower-power AC charging options by extending the reach of single rapid DC chargers to service multiple parking spaces simultaneously. This technology aims to improve on current EV charging technology, which only allows for one or two vehicles to use a fast-charging station at a time. (Link)Hithium Energy Storage has raised over 4.5bn yuan ($622.2m) in its Series C funding round. Hithium specializes in the R&D, manufacturing, and sale of lithium-ion energy storage batteries and related technologies. (Link)AUDI AG is in talks with SAIC to buy an electric vehicle platform, IM Motors, from the Chinese state-owned automaker. The move comes as sales of Audi's electric vehicles in China fall sharply behind those of Tesla and domestic competitors such as NIO. (💲Link)Maxem Energy Solutions, a company that optimizes and manages charging stations, batteries, solar, and the grid with its (white-label) EV charging and EMS cloud, has secured €3M in a fresh round of funding. (Link)Planckian, an Italy-based startup focused on advancing quantum batteries, raised €2.7M in Pre-Seed funding. Planckian is developing the technological concept of the quantum battery. In its architecture, quantum effects can be harnessed so that qubits can reach their high-energy levels “collectively” and in a timespan that decreases as their number and, consequently, the energy to manage increases. (Link)Saudi Arabia’s SNB Capital has acquired a stake in South Korean battery manufacturer SK On for $100 million amid a boost in the adoption of electric vehicles globally. SK On, one of the world’s largest EV battery manufacturers, plans to use the proceeds to fund its expansion and increase its production capacity. (Link)EV startup Vegh Automobiles has secured a $5 million pre-series round of investment. The company has a manufacturing facility in Bathinda, Punjab, and has a production capacity of 60,000 units per year. (Link)

💲Finance & Insurance

Sigo Seguros, a startup with a "Spanish-first" approach to providing auto insurance services for immigrant and working-class communities, has raised an additional $5.1 Million in its pre-Series A funding round. Sigo Seguros is revolutionizing car insurance by offering accessible and equitable coverage to immigrant and working-class drivers, starting with Latino and Spanish-speaking communities. Its bilingual, mobile-first platform eliminates additional fees and biased rating factors, like credit score and employment.  (Link)Yendo, the company that created the first-ever vehicle-secured credit card, closed its $24 million Series A financing. Yendo provides a prime credit offering to the millions of Americans who previously lacked access to the financial system because of their credit score. (Link)ZURU raised a $680K pre-seed round. The Peruvian startup provides digital access to high-quality cargo insurance coverage for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) involved in foreign trade and supply chain activities. The company has a strong presence in Peru and Mexico. (Link)

🚢 Maritime

Bedrock, the autonomous ocean-mapping startup, has raised a $25.5 million A round (following an $8 million seed in 2021). (Link)Auckland boatbuilding startup Seachange landed a $500,000 government grant. Seachange and Fullers360 are partnering on a hydrofoil electric vessel called the F8, due in 2023. (Link)

🗞️ Media & Lifestyle

biped.ai, a mobility aid for people with visual impairment, spatial neglect, hearing loss, or wheelchair users, will receive up to 40,000 Swiss Francs as part of Biopôle Lausanne's Start-up Fund. Biped.ai offers a smart harness, worn on shoulders, that uses self-driving technology from Honda Research Institute to help avoid obstacles with short sound feedback and get GPS instructions. (Link)Mumbai-based used car platform CarTrade.com will acquire online marketplace OLX India's auto sales business for Rs 537 crore (approximately $65m USD). (Link)

🛴 Micromobility

Rybit, an electric bike producer (B2C) and last-mile delivery fleet management platform for businesses (B2B), secured a $10m Series A. The B2C part of Rybit's business involves leasing the electric bike to riders for a monthly fee. The B2B side of the business implements an IoT system in the bike to track location, speed, and errors amongst other data. (Link)

🅿️ Parking, Traffic & Smart City

Hardt Hyperloop, a hyperloop network technology platform, has secured €12M in a fresh round of funding from key public and private investors. According to the Dutch startup, this milestone supports the construction of the European Hyperloop Centre (EHC) and Hardt’s hyperloop test vehicle, paving the way for testing to begin in 2024. (Link)

📱Shared Mobility & Subscriptions

Goodhood, a Dallas-based subscription-first care tech startup, raised $2.6M. Goodhood is a mobile auto repair service that delivers car maintenance and repair services to customers’ homes. (Link)

RideTandem, a UK-based startup focusing on delivering public transport services in partnership with local, licensed, often family-run, minibus and coach companies, announced a £2.3 million in funding. (Link)

🚛 Supply Chain & Logistics

Alvys, an end-to-end operating system for middle-mile logistics companies with a focus on carriers, has raised a $6.3M seed round. Alvys' operating system helps trucking companies increase efficiency across all departments to deliver a seamless experience to their clients while remaining at the forefront of freight-tech innovation. (Link)MOOVA, a logistics technology platform serving Central America, secured a $5 million investment. Moova aims to revolutionize logistics by utilizing idle capacity and providing valuable solutions through digitalization and artificial intelligence. (Link)Raft, a startup that helps freight forwarders and logistics players apply AI to their tasks and customer interactions, closed a $30 million Series B funding round. (Link)

🏭 Vehicle Production & Assembly

Indian IT services major HCLTech will buy German automotive engineering services firm ASAP Group for an enterprise value of about 251 million euros ($279.83 million) as it looks to grow in the automotive space. (Link)

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