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Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility — your central hub for news and insights about the future of transportation.
Before we move into the startup and tech battle, I wanted to touch on some of the activity happening on the Hill – Capitol Hill. The Biden administration has released two new (and separate) proposed standards – via the Department of Energy (DOE) and the EPA – that will affect US automakers, and ultimately you. While both regulations were relaxed to appease the auto industry, auto dealers and unions, they also set standards that were tougher than they had been before.
The Department of Energy has issued a nice “petroleum equivalence factor,” which gives EVs a score, of sorts, under the government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The original proposal would have made it harder for automakers to meet CAFE standards, which would have meant billions of dollars in fines. (E&E has a nice explanation.)
Meanwhile, the EPA released its 2027 to 2032 exhaust standards for cars and light trucks that will place more stringent requirements on automakers but give them more flexibility to meet the proposed rules across a variety of engines. In other words, the standards are not dependent on technology and can be met without converting an entire fleet to battery electric use. It is also much less stringent than the original proposal, which would have required electric vehicle sales to make up 67% of the total U.S. passenger vehicle market by 2032.
What does this mean for electric vehicle startups? Not much since battery electric cars, like those made by Rivian, Tesla, and Lucid, meet the clean car standard with a CO2 emissions limit of 85 grams per mile by 2032 (a 50% drop from the 2026 standards). There are real implications for legacy automakers, which invest billions in developing, building and selling electric vehicles, but make profits from vehicles with internal combustion engines. If there's one clear winner here, it might be a hybrid.
This week's news also includes articles about Rivian's partnership with Tesla, electric boat startup Candela, the ongoing financial fallout at Fisker, a startup trying to tackle the risky world of extended warranties, and more!
Let's go!
Little birds
Last month, a little birdie told us that Clevon, a company that began developing self-delivery technology in 2018, was struggling to find new investment and was on the verge of shutting down. The company's co-founder said at the time (in an email seen by TechCrunch) that it was looking for buyers for its hardware and software IP and AV assets, and was even acquiring its workforce.
Clevon is still going strong, according to co-founder and CEO Sander Sebastian Ajur. He did not provide many details but said the company was funded and “entered into an exclusive agreement to be incorporated by an American electric vehicle company.” The agreement is expected to be finalized by the first half of June.
The company has to make some cost cuts in the meantime and has laid off about 17 employees.
Got a tip for us? Email 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 us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and several encrypted messaging apps.
Deal of the week
It seems like Uber is everywhere, so it may surprise you that the company just made its first investment in an Africa-based startup. And it's big.
Moove, an African mobility fintech company that provides vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery app drivers, has raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Uber. The sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, Dubai-based The Last Ventures, AfricInvest, Palm Drive Capital, Triatlum Advisors, and Future Africa also participated in the financing round. Moove is now worth $750 million.
Why would Uber be interested in Moove? Uber is Moove's largest auto financing and vehicle supply partner. Moove, which has made electric vehicles a big part of its business strategy, aligns with Uber's commitment to a zero-emission fleet by 2040.
Other deals that caught my attention this week…
Amber, a Bay Area startup founded in early 2023 that just launched Tesla's aftermarket extended warranty product, has raised $3.18 million in a seed round co-led by Era and Primer Sazze, with Alcove Fund, Virta Ventures, Global Millennial Capital, Root & Shoot. Join projects.
Candela, a maker of electric boats, has raised $25 million in a round led by Groupe Beneteau, with participation from EQT Ventures, Ocean Zero LLC, and Kan Dela AB.
Pelikan Mobility, a French startup that develops fleet management software for commercial electric vehicles, has raised €4 million ($4.4 million) in a seed round from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp and others.
Stellantis has invested an undisclosed sum in SteerLight, a French startup developing low-cost lidar devices designed for advanced driver assistance systems. In a separate, non-auto-related deal, the automaker bought 8.3 million shares of Archer Aviation stock. Stellantis said this indicates its confidence in Archer's plans to bring electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft to the market starting in 2025.
Notable Readings and Other Stories
Applications
Apple was sued this week by the US Department of Justice over alleged monopolistic practices. Here's an explanation and all our coverage so far. Inside the lawsuit is a section on cars, specifically the smartphone display feature known as Apple CarPlay. The US government claims in the lawsuit that Apple told automakers that next-generation Apple CarPlay would take over all of the car's displays, sensors and gauges, forcing users to experience driving as an iPhone-centric experience if they wanted it. To use any of the features provided by CarPlay. Some have even speculated that this explains why GM is ditching Apple CarPlay entirely.
We're a bit skeptical here. First, automakers can choose which screen Apple CarPlay will be displayed on, just as with rival Android Auto. Automakers still have their core home-grown software, which, by the way, increasingly comes from Google.
Electric cars, charging and batteries
Cowboy has launched an all-terrain electric bike to attract riders beyond European city centres.
Fisker's financial health is fading, and fast. The company said it had just $121 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 15, of which $32 million was restricted or not immediately accessible. The company has temporarily halted production of its electric Ocean SUV for six weeks as it scrambles for a cash infusion.
India has eye-catching statistics. The number of startups in India's electric two-wheeler market has risen to over 150, up from 54 in 2021, driven by government incentives to encourage clean vehicles and cut oil imports, reports TechCruncher Manish Singh.
Rivian customers can now order an adapter to take advantage of Tesla's extensive network of Superchargers in North America, making it the second automaker to do so after Ford.
Steve Burns, the ousted founder, chairman and CEO of bankrupt electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors, has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading investors about demand for the company's flagship all-electric pickup truck.
TechCrunch contributor Emme Hall takes the 2025 Honda CR-V e:FCEV — a hydrogen fuel cell version of the popular crossover — for a maiden ride and explores why this automaker is launching a car that barely exists There is no infrastructure. Oh, and I discovered that this car has some sort of plug-in hybrid conversion.
A flight
DoorDash has expanded its partnership with Alphabet's Wing to bring its autonomous delivery drone to the US. It's somewhat limited at the moment; Select users in Christiansburg, Virginia, will be able to order qualifying menu items from their local Wendy's store.
Joby Aviation, the startup developing electric air taxis, said it will deliver two aircraft to MacDill Air Force Base in 2025 as part of the eVTOL company's AFWERX Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force.
The US Department of Transportation plans to conduct the first industry-wide review of data security and privacy policies across the largest US airlines. The agency says it will examine whether giant US airlines properly protect their customers' personal information and whether airlines “unfairly or deceptively monetize or share this data with third parties.”
Technology inside the car
Nvidia held its annual developer conference (GTC) last week. You can follow all of our GTC coverage here, including some surprises in the keynote from co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang. Automotive News has focused on how Nvidia's computing architecture is being used by companies like Cerence, SoundHound, and Wayve to design user interfaces that integrate generative AI into the car.
Wheels this week
Image credits: Kirsten Korosek
I spent some time in the 2024 Subaru Solterra, a battery-electric crossover designed as part of a joint venture with Toyota, to experience what has changed or improved since the car's launch the previous year. And there were changes!
The most noticeable is the steering wheel, which is no longer a circle and is now square in shape, a change made after consumer feedback. You'll notice that the instrument cluster is actually located above the steering wheel, which takes some getting used to. The new shape helps improve vision.
There are two other items worth noting, once the Subaru Solterra app was linked to the car: The infotainment experience was okay. There were some buggy moments, and there's no intuitive and easy way to swipe or tap to switch between Apple CarPlay and the native software system. This wasn't my best experience with in-car software, but it certainly wasn't the worst either.
On the advanced driver assistance front, Subaru has added a Traffic Jam Assist feature that provides hands-free steering in low-speed traffic jams up to 25 mph. This is a very specific use case that many drivers may never need due to speed restrictions. Thanks to Phoenix traffic, I was able to test it out. Lane Change Assist—another new feature that will automatically change lanes if the driver presses the indicator—I found it difficult to understand exactly when to use it. (This feature only works between 55 and 85 mph.)
