With its Greenlots acquisition, Shell is moving from gas stations to charging stations

In a bid to show that it’s getting ready for the electrification of American roads, Royal Dutch Shell is buying Greenlots, a Los Angeles-based developer of electric vehicle charging and energy management technologies. Shell, which is making the acquisition through its Shell New Energies US subsidiary, snatched the company from Energy Impact Partners, a cleantech-focused […]

View More With its Greenlots acquisition, Shell is moving from gas stations to charging stations

Argo.AI acquires permit to test autonomous vehicles in California

Argo.AI, the self-driving car startup that burst onto the scene in 2017 with $1 billion in backing from Ford, has obtained a permit to test its autonomous vehicles in California. The permit, issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, is for one vehicle and two drivers. Unlike other self-driving car companies, California isn’t the […]

View More Argo.AI acquires permit to test autonomous vehicles in California

Southeast Asia’s Grab is adding Netflix-like video streaming to its ride-hailing app

Grab is Southeast Asia’s top ride-hailing firm thanks to its acquisition of Uber’s local business last year. Its biggest competitor gone, the company is on a push to go beyond transport and become an everyday ‘super app’ and that strategy just embraced video streaming today. That’s because Grab is integrating video-on-demand service HOOQ — a […]

View More Southeast Asia’s Grab is adding Netflix-like video streaming to its ride-hailing app

Los Angeles is using ride-hailing startup Via to shuttle people to public transit

Los Angeles is partnering with on-demand shuttle-based service Via as part of a pilot program that will give people rides to three busy public transit stations. The pilot program, which launched Monday, aims to solve the first- and last-mile problem that makes it challenging for people to get to and from public transit stations. Under […]

View More Los Angeles is using ride-hailing startup Via to shuttle people to public transit

China’s Didi teams up with state-owned BAIC to deepen electric vehicle push

Didi Chuxing, China’s largest ride-hailing startup which claims over 550 million registered users, is deepening its focus on electric vehicles after it announced a joint venture with BAIC, a state-owned automotive giant. ‘Jingju’ — as the venture is called — is a partnership between Didi and BAIC affiliate Beijing Electric Vehicle that will develop “next-generation connected-car […]

View More China’s Didi teams up with state-owned BAIC to deepen electric vehicle push

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 […]

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

Lightning Motorcycles is taking reservations for its $12,998 electric motorcycle

A teaser image of headlights plus a few details about the upcoming electric Strike motorcycle from Lightning Motorcycles was apparently too much for some to bear. The company, prompted by an unexpectedly high number of customer requests, has now opened reservations for U.S. customers. Customers will still have to wait until March to see what the Strike […]

View More Lightning Motorcycles is taking reservations for its $12,998 electric motorcycle

Whim, the all-in-one mobility app for ride sharing, public transit, and rentals is coming to the US

MaaS Global, the company behind the all-in-one mobility app Whim, which offers a subscription service for public transportation, ride-sharing, bike rentals, scooter rentals, taxis, or car rentals will be making its U.S. debut later this year. The company will choose its American launch city from Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami, according to Sampo Hietanan, […]

View More Whim, the all-in-one mobility app for ride sharing, public transit, and rentals is coming to the US

Elon Musk says Tesla vehicles will soon get a ‘Sentry Mode’

Tesla owners may soon have a way to see (and record) damage that happens to their vehicles when they’re unattended. Tesla will roll out “Tesla Sentry Mode” for all cars with Enhanced Autopilot, CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet Tuesday. Musk didn’t provide any more information about when this feature might be available and […]

View More Elon Musk says Tesla vehicles will soon get a ‘Sentry Mode’

Waymo plans to open a self-driving car factory in Michigan

Waymo and Magna plan to build thousands of self-driving cars at a factory in southeast Michigan, including autonomous versions of the all-electric Jaguar I-Pace and Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan. Waymo, the former Google self-driving project that spun out to become a business under Alphabet, announced Tuesday that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation voted to approve […]

View More Waymo plans to open a self-driving car factory in Michigan

Sony venture arm invests in geocoding startup what3words

Sony’s venture capital arm has invested in what3words, the startup that has divided the entire world into 57 trillion 3-by-3 meter squares and assigned a three-word address to each one. Financial details were not disclosed. The startup’s novel addressing system isn’t the whole story. The ability to integrate what3words into voice assistants is what has […]

View More Sony venture arm invests in geocoding startup what3words

Veteran Googler heads to Lyft to lead 1,000-plus person engineering team

Eisar Lipkovitz, a veteran Google executive who most recently led the video and display advertising team there, is leaving the company to head up engineering efforts at Lyft . As executive vice president of engineering, Lipkovitz will be leading Lyft’s engineering team, which now eclipses 1,000 people. Eisar’s hiring comes on the heels of massive […]

View More Veteran Googler heads to Lyft to lead 1,000-plus person engineering team