Transportation Weekly: Polestar CEO speaks, Tesla terminology, and a tribute

Welcome back to Transportation Weekly; I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch . This is the fourth edition of our newsletter, a weekly jaunt into the wonderful world of transportation and how we (and our packages) move. This week we chat with Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath, dig into Lyft’s S-1, take note […]

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Vinli raises $13.5m Series B to expand its vehicle data intelligence platform

Connected car service provider Vinli today announced it closed a $13.5 million Series B financing round. The company says this infusion of capital allows it broaden its mobility services and integrations as it attempts to connect cars around the world. The funding came from new and existing investors and brings the total amount the company […]

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Toyota’s new car subscription company Kinto is gamifying driving behavior

Toyota has officially launched Kinto, a company first revealed late last year that will manage a car subscription program and other mobility services in Japan, including the sale and purchase of used vehicles as well as automotive repair and inspection. Kinto is jointly funded by Toyota Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota, and Sumitomo Mitsui […]

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BMW, Porsche, Jaguar Land Rover invest in roadside assistance startup Urgently

Urgently, the roadside assistance startup that connects car owners who need help with tow truck and other services, has raised $21 million in a Series B round that includes the venture arms of BMW, Porsche and Jaguar Land Rover. BMW has also signed Urgently as a vendor partner for its own roadside assistance platform (known […]

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‘Anti-Uber’ taxi strikes kick off again in Spain

Taxi drivers in major cities in Spain are on strike again to apply pressure for more stringent regulations to control app rivals such as Uber and Cabify which they view as unfair competition. In Barcelona the taxi sector called an indefinite strike on Friday, using their vehicles to block Gran Vía in the Catalan capital, […]

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Stratim, formerly known as valet startup Zirx, sues co-founder for theft

Stratim, the mobility services company formerly known as Zirx, is suing its co-founder and now-former COO Shmulik Fishman for breach of fiduciary duties, civil conversion, criminal conversion, theft, criminal mischief, deception, unjust enrichment and fraud. The lawsuit’s co-plaintiff is Adesa, a subsidiary of KAR Auction Services, which acquired Stratim earlier this year. Stratim powers fleet management […]

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Uber and Cabify pause services in Barcelona after taxi strike turns violent

A two-day taxi driver strike in Barcelona this week, called to protest against the number of ride-hailing vehicles on the streets and failure to enforce national regulations that are supposed to cap private hire vehicle numbers, turned violent yesterday with protestors attacking cars and local media reporting attacks on drivers too. The violence has led […]

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Mobility services platform Stratim, formerly known as Zirx, sells to KAR

 On the heels of its rebrand in November, mobility service STRATIM has sold itself to KAR Auction Services, a car remarketing company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. STRATIM, formerly known as on-demand valet and car services startup ZIRX, …

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Valet startup Zirx relaunches as Stratim, a mobility service for GM’s Maven, Ford’s Chariot and others

 When Zirx announced last February its plans to shut down its on-demand valet parking startup, it wasn’t clear what the company meant when it said it would focus on the enterprise. Today, Zirx co-founder Sean Behr is pulling the curtains off of Stratim, a platform for enterprise clients to manage their car fleets. Over the last year or so, Stratim has been conducting pilot tests with… Read More

View More Valet startup Zirx relaunches as Stratim, a mobility service for GM’s Maven, Ford’s Chariot and others