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Automakers have reported their car sales for the first quarter, and sure enough, it turns out that price certainly matters if you want to sell electric vehicles. Who would have thought? A recent survey conducted by Edmunds comes to a similar conclusion (at least for American buyers), finding a big gap between what consumers want and what is actually available in the market.
Here is the crucial point. According to the Edmunds survey, 47% say they are looking for an EV purchase under $40,000, and 22% are interested in EVs priced below the $30,000 threshold. Today, there are no new electric vehicles priced below $30,000 and only four below the $40,000 mark. The average price of an electric vehicle in 2023 was $61,702, while that of all other vehicles was $47,450.
This mismatch of realities puts a strain on automakers who are trying to move their inventories by reducing prices. This downward pressure has forced automakers like Ford delay future electric vehicle launches and devote more resources to hybrids. Even You’re herea benchmark in the world of electric vehicles, fell well below analyst expectations with deliveries down 20% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, electric vehicle newcomer Rivien released lukewarm results.
What is the answer? Well, at Tesla it seems the solution is twofold: cut prices again and try to generate revenue through the sale of its Full Self-Driving software which costs $12,000 and is currently offered as part of a one-month free trial to all customers.
OK, friends, let’s move on to the rest of the news!
A small bird
Founders, investors, engineers, policy specialists and others tell us things. And we are here to pass on the verifiable information that these little birds shared with us.
This week, a little bird warned us of the closure of Phantom autonomy, which has raised over $220 million and recently partnered with OpenAI. A few calls, emails and a new posting on the company’s website confirmed the information. Around a hundred people were affected.
As I noted in my article, Ghost has pivoted several times since its founding in 2017. When I asked founder and CEO John Hayes what happened, he said the company had point a highway driving product and moved around in an urban environment thanks to what it had done. described as “last mile delivery”.
“Ultimately, the years needed to bring the product to market could not be funded,” he wrote to me in an email.
Do you have any advice to give us? E-mail Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or Sean O’Kane sean.okane@techcrunch.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, Click here to contact uswhich includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and various encrypted messaging applications.
Offer of the week
Startup founders, listen up: a new fund has just closed. Prepare your slideshows.
ManivThe Israel-based and now New York-based venture capital firm has raised a $140 million fund with plans to stick to its early-stage investment strategy of backing startups at intersection of mobility, transport and energy.
As I noted in my longer article, the company’s approach has evolved a bit by expanding geographically and diversifying its investor base. The company has also largely stopped using the once-fashionable generic term “mobility” (often excluding it from its original name Maniv Mobility) and has instead chosen to talk about deep technology, decarbonization and digitalization of the transport sector.
The fund’s investors are no longer dominated by automakers and tier-one suppliers. Instead, Maniv opened itself to a wider range of strategic and institutional financial investors, including BNP Paribas Personal Finance and the venture capital arms of Shell and Enterprise Mobility.
The Maniv III fund also includes returning investors Valeo and InMotion Ventures, the venture capital arm of Jaguar Land Rover. Tissé Capital of Toyota Motor Corp., vehicle rental company Arval, transportation infrastructure giant Ferrovial, industrial manufacturing company ITT Inc., fleet payments company WEX and an unnamed European insurance company have also participated in the fund.
Other offers that caught my attention…
Alsym Energya Massachusetts-based startup developing non-flammable battery chemicals, raised $78 million in a Series C round led by General Catalyst and Tata, the Indian conglomerate, with participation from Drads Capital, Thomvest and Thrive Capital.
BlaBlaCarthe French carpooling and bus ticketing company, has obtained a revolving credit line of 100 million euros ($108 million at the current exchange rate).
Notable readings and other information
Autonomous vehicles
Waymo And Uber expanded an ongoing partnership that will impact Uber Eats customers in the Phoenix metro area. Now, when people order a burrito, pizza, or other treat through Uber Eats, they can have their meals delivered by a Waymo vehicle. The tie-up will begin with select merchants in Chandler, Tempe and Mesa, including restaurants like Princess Pita, Filiberto’s and BoSa Donuts.
Electric vehicles, charging and batteries
Apple The company lays off 614 employees in California after abandoning its electric car project. According to the WARN notice issued by the California EDD, most of the affected employees worked in buildings related to its canceled car project, while others worked in a facility intended for the development of next-generation displays, a reported Bloomberg.
Canou finally released its fourth quarter and full year results. In the regulatory filing is a nugget regarding the use of CEO Tony Aquila’s private jet — one of several expenses that illustrate the gap between the EV startup’s expenses and revenues. Tl;dr: Canoo spent double its annual revenue on the CEO’s private jet in 2023.
Faraday Future narrowly avoided expulsion from its Los Angeles headquarters. The company entered into an agreement with the building’s owner, Rexford Industrial, to remain on the premises provided it met certain conditions. If Faraday violates any of the conditions, Rexford has the right to trigger a payment request within 48 hours and can boot the startup if it fails to pay. If Faraday Future makes its payments, it will be able to stay in the building until September 2025, when the lease expires.
THE National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a third investigation into by Fisker Ocean SUV, this time focused on door opening problems.
You’re here has reportedly scrapped plans to build a less expensive electric vehicle, estimated to cost around $25,000, according to Reuters, despite that vehicle’s status as a product critical to the company’s overall growth. Apparently, Tesla will instead focus on a planned robotaxi, built on the same small EV platform that was also supposed to power the vehicle more cheaply. This is where it gets a little silly. Just hours after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Reuters was lying, he posted on X that the Tesla robotaxi would be revealed on August 8. Go figure.
This week’s wheels
This week’s wheels are taking a week’s break while I enjoy a bit of vacation. But don’t worry, it’s back next week and I have a few vehicles waiting, including the Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 4Matic sedan, a LexusLC500 hybrid and a Mercedes eSprinter. In addition, some electric bikes will soon be available.
What vehicles, including two-wheeled ones, would you like to know more about? I’ll put them on my list.
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