The Week in Mobility News — 11 December 2020

Elsewhere in the Industry

Owing to the mammoth amount of news this week, this week is a bumper summary of industry updates before the final newsletter of the year next week!

• Why Amazon will struggle in Europe — Sifted.com
• Sokowatch has partnered with Indian electric tuk-tuk manufacturer Gayam Motor Works (GMW), a first in Africa in the commercial electric tuk-tuk sector for hyperlocal deliveries — Cleantechnica
• Zoox / Amazon autonomous car revealed — Forbes
• Canoo’s electric delivery van will be revealed next week — CNET
• The European Commission proposes to modernise EU legislation on batteries, delivering its first initiative among the actions announced in the new Circular Economy Action Plan — EU Commission
• Ebusco, supplier of electric buses and depot chargers and robotics company Rocsys are working to automate bus depots through robotisation of CCS plugs — New Mobility
• Joby Aviation welcome $75 million investment from Uber as it moves to takeover Uber Elevate, the company’s E-VTOL arm — PR Newswire
• California Energy Commission approves plan to invest up to $115M for hydrogen fueling infrastructure; 111 new stations by 2027 — Green Car Congress
• Honda pauses production in Swindon, UK amidst port woes — BBC News
• Ride Hailing firm Bolt, plans to install 500 EV chargers across London — electrive.com
• Mercedes-Benz announces next-gen eSprinter electric van coming to North America — Electrek
• Scientists say the weight of human-made objects will likely exceed that of living things by the end of the year — BBC News
• Finn.auto is a car subscription service that offsets CO2 emissions of customer driving — Finn
• A boutique apartment building in New York is being constructed with an airtight external shell. Fresh air, treated with ultraviolet light, will be constantly pumped into each room — is clean air the next luxury asset? — WSJ
• State-owned automaker SAIC Motor, a major player in China, unveiled this week a new electric vehicle arm called Zhiji, in which Alibaba and a Shanghai government-backed entity are minority shareholders — TechCrunch
• Japan set to ban ICE vehicles by mid 2030s — TechXplore.com
• Food delivery giant, DoorDash, hopes to add €11 billion to its valuation during public offering — TechCrunch
• Bosch reduces investment in Nikola — Automotive News Europe
• The Renault Zoe is the best selling EV in Europe — Renault Media Site
• Lunaz to convert classic Range Rovers to EVs — Auto Express
• Alfen’s smart AC chargers will be installed at the homes of British Gas employees to speed up the electrification of their own company fleet — electrive.com
• UK’s first electric forecourt opens in Braintree, Essex — The Guardian
• The Netherlands is transforming ash trays into electric bike charging stations — Fast Company

Imogen Pierce — Head of Experience Strategy