BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 6 FEBRUARY 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

What I'm Reading (news from the past week):J.D. Power expects the U.S. auto industry to suffer a decline in total dealership gross profits this year, but it is still expected to finish with the third-best profit level in history as the industry rebalances itself. (Link)S&P Global Mobility believes that a bloody battle for market share this year will lead to bloating new vehicle inventories, discounts, and incentives. (Link)As the Honda-Sony JV (brand name "Afeela") comes to market, they may look for non-Honda/Acura dealers to represent the brand. (Link)Teslas with damaged batteries are so expensive to repair that they're often written off as "total loss". (Link)Ford announced that the chip shortage is far from over. (Link)John McElroy from Wards Auto writes an incisive piece noting that the automakers may have challenges recouping their massive investments into EVs. (Link)General Motors says they will include their franchised dealers (and compensate them in some form) as part of its strategy around future software sales after a vehicle purchase. (Link)Only just over half of Lincoln's dealers have agreed to invest as much as $900k to be eligible to sell future EVs. (Link)China is positioned to become the world's no. 2 exporter of passenger cars, behind Japan and Germany, but ahead of the U.S. and South Korea. (Link)Automakers, fearful of conceding the in-cabin experience to tech giants like Apple and Google, continue to spend billions of dollars bringing software competency in-house. (Link)In a new study, researchers focused on the role that electric vehicles may play in grid-storage demands. EV end-of-vehicle-life batteries may still have years of use in less-demanding grid-storage applications. (Link)The Teamsters and lawmakers push back on fully-autonomous trucks on public roads, citing safety as a concern for keeping humans behind the wheel. (Link)Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🎙️ Automotive News printed an Op-Ed piece from Steve Greenfield on "The 3 Auto industry Trends to Watch this Year." (More Here)🎙️ Kyle Mountsier and ASOTU had Steve Greenfield on the show to catch up on NADA and a bunch of other industry-related topics. (More Here)📰 On this week's "Future or Automotive" segment on CBT News we featured two new Companies to Watch: Move2Order.com and itselectric.🎙️ Steve Greenfield will moderate a Reuters webinar event ("The Digital Dealership of the Future") on February 9th. (More Here)📰 Steve Greenfield's "Point of View" article from the Automotive Ventures February Intel Report. You can download the latest for free here 

🎙️Privacy4Cars announced an exclusive, multi-year distribution agreement for the Canadian market with HeyAuto. (More Here)

🌟 Move2Order.com is a patented digital ordering platform that allows customers to directly send photos and text of products they need to the businesses that sell them. Dealers will have the ability to receive and communicate parts orders from the text and pictures completing the transaction. (More here)

🌟 itselectric has a mission to bring curbside EV charging to cities across the U.S. and advance the adoption of electric vehicles. Increased access to affordable public charging not only encourages the adoption of EVs, but leads to cleaner air and healthier communities. (More here)

🚗 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:

Congratulations to Doug DeMuro for raising $37 million for Cars & Bids from The Chernin Group. Doug is arguably the most successful automotive YouTuber, with over 4.5 million subscribers, and his 20-30 minute car reviews regularly earn more than a million views. He’s become a central figure in America’s automotive culture. (Link to article)EBlock and parent company E INC have signed a deal to purchase Houston Auto Auction for $5.5 million in cash. The company anticipates the deal will close by Feb. 1. (Link to article)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI:

Atomos Space just closed a $16.2 million Series A investment, led by Cantos Ventures and the Yamauchi-No.10 Family Office (the family that founded Nintendo), with participation from Upheaval Investments, Dolby Family Ventures, Arden Road Investments, Elefund and Techstars. The funding will allow Atomos to complete its demonstration mission where it will show off its docking and towing capabilities. The company is building a series of Orbital Transfer Vehicles (OTV) that makes it possible to reposition satellites in space. (Link to article)Phantom AI, developing an autonomous driving platform, raised $36.5 million in Series C funding, bringing the company’s total funding to $80.2 million since its start in 2017. While there are many companies in the autonomous vehicle space, Phantom AI is hoping to set itself apart from others with its unique strategy. The company aims to quickly democratize autonomous driving by advancing ADAS technologies. (Link to article)

⚡ Electrification & Alternative Fuels:

Battery startup Our Next Energy (ONE) raised $300 million in its series B funding round. The investment valued the Michigan company at $1.2 billion. The company intends to use the funds for building the second phase of a $1.6 billion battery-cell factory slated for completion in 2024. The company's long-term approach relies on developing batteries not dependent on hard-to-source rare earth elements and instead relies upon a lithium iron phosphate chemistry. (Link to article)

Lotus Technology will go public by combining with SPAC L Catterton Asia Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ: LCAA). Upon completion of the transaction, Lotus Technology Inc. will be listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "LOT". The Business Combination implies an estimated enterprise value of approximately US$5.4 billion for Lotus Tech. (Link to article)Lithium is becoming a battleground for automakers looking to win the electric-vehicle wars. General Motors is investing $650 million in Lithium Americas Corp. to develop a lithium deposit in Nevada. The mine, referred to as Thacker Pass, is projected to begin lithium production in the second half of 2026. The Thacker Pass investment should amount to all the lithium GM needs to meet its goal of selling 1 million electric vehicles in North America by mid-decade. (Link to article)Electric car subscription service Onto raises a new credit funding line of £100 million from global investment group Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and independent asset manager Pollen Street Capital, boosting its mission to accelerate electric car adoption and provide a flexible alternative to the traditional car ownership model. Onto’s monthly subscription model is all-inclusive of insurance, breakdown coverage, and free public charging. It empowers subscribers with flexibility – no deposit, no long-term commitment, and the option to swap cars or stop the subscription every month. (Link to article)ABB E-mobility, a global leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, has signed an agreement with four minority investors to raise an additional CHF325 million in funds, in exchange for a total shareholding of approximately 12% in the company. The investors taking part in the second round are BeyondNetZero; GIC; Just Climate; and Germany-based Porsche Automobil Holding SE. (Link to article)

✈️ Air Mobility & Space:

A Japanese maker of flying motorbikes will list on the Nasdaq stock exchange and start trading as early as Friday in New York. Tokyo-based ALI Technologies is going public through a merger with the blank-check firm Pono Capital Corp. Its market cap is expected to be at least $600 million, in line with its target last year despite a market selloff. Its ticker will be AWIN. Pono Capital’s shares soared 24% after Bloomberg’s report, the largest gain since the SPAC went public in 2021. (Link to article)

🏭 Vehicle Production & Assembly:

Technology company Tau Group has concluded a series-B round raising €9 million with Solvay Ventures as a lead investor. Solvay Ventures is joined by existing shareholders including Finindus, a Belgium-based joint venture of ArcelorMittal and the Flemish Region, as well as management and private individuals. Tau has established itself as an innovative supplier to the automotive industry by setting a new global standard in winding wire for e-mobility. (Link to article)

🛴 Micromobility:

Helbiz (NASDAQ: HLBZ), a leading provider of micro-mobility solutions, has announced its acquisition of Wheels Labs. Since its initial year of operation, Wheels has established a presence in 12 cities and 4 Universities across the United States, including major markets such as New York City, Honolulu, and Austin. (Link to article)

💵 Finance & Insurance:

Cheche Technology, China’s leading auto insurance technology platform, and Prime Impact Acquisition I (NYSE: PIAI), will merge and be listed on Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol CCG. Cheche Technology has created a unique ecosystem with powerful, self-reinforcing network effects. As of June 30, 2022, Cheche Technology had facilitated a broad range of auto insurance transactions covering over 4,000 vehicle makes with approximately 100 insurance carriers, 400 third-party platforms, and 820,000 referral partners in its ecosystem. (Link to article)

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